Digimon: Magog
by Fruitloop Trooper
Summary: The Final Act has begun. The XChosen, now with children of their own, face quite possibly their most deadly enemy. The demon digimon return, a new Digital World, and a secret organization. can they stop these new threats before they are all destroyed?
1. Heir of the Priestess: Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Digimon is own by Toei.

Author's Note: May not be suitable for young children. While the rating is due mostly to language and violence, there may be suggestive adult themes and situation. Better to be safe then sorry.

This is the sequel for Digimon Apocalypse and Digimon:Gog, it is a very good idea to read those fics first. Why a trilogy? Because I have always wanted to write one, ever since my fic, "Legacy."

Also, the name 'Magog,' has many definitions, but for the purposes of this tale, it refers to the Book of Revelation. Basically, after Armageddon, there will come a thousand years, and then will come the Battle of Gog and Magog. So, basically, it means, the battle after the last battle, or, in this case, the struggle after the Apocalypse.

Enjoy

_Even in the deepest darkness, there is always light…_

Digimon: Magog

_            A world floated within a void, a world comprised of data, rather then minerals and atoms. A world whose native population partnered with the native population from another world-humans and digimon together as the Chosen. That was, until, a disease began to spread across the world…_

_            Thousands of humans and digimon lay across the Digital World, sick, ill, dying. The Second Black Death stripped them of not only their ability to evolve, but it eat away at their bodies, taking away limps, eyes, lungs. _

_Sora Takenouchi hobbled forward on crutches, her leg and eye missing._

_            Noriko Kawada was covered in red spots, her skin beginning to vanish. _

_As the end fast approached, the Chosen unleashed the X-Antibody, but as it washed over the Infected Chosen, only ten percent were affected. They were healed, cured, granting new powers in the process-the X-Chosen._

_            But the Infected Chosen still lay dying, hopeless, until a young woman appeared, a priestess, name Chihi Miayag. She brought the message of the Digital God with her. She gathered Infected Chosen to her, allies of the Odaiba Chosen, the Digitalatri. This neo-religion spread fast, and invaded a city called Nightsun._

_            Taichi, Yamato, Hikari, Jyou, Mimi and Michael, the X-Chosen, came to defend that city, but eight young women, Sora and Noriko from Japan,  Catherine from France, Maria from New York, Anna from Siberia, Iduia from Brazil, Keeya from Africa, and Lynna from Australia, each one a descendent of the legendary First Chosen, and each one possessing control over an element: Fire, Darkness, Light, Earth, Wind, Metal, Forest, and Water._

_            The Daughters of the First gave their powers to the X-Chosen, allowing them to evolve. While Miayag found the mysterious Staff of Yuushi, Taichi wielded the Katana of Hidokoro and Yamato used the Shotguns of Lucien, but their battle was interrupted as the Demon Lords-dark versions of the Crests, appeared. The X-Chosen defeated six of the demons, but the last one, Cahiti, the Demon Lord of Pride, the evil duplicate of Taichi, used an ancient device to steal the energy from the Daughters of the First. Using the Soul Catcher, he smashed into the ground, and caused the Digital World to break apart._

_            Taichi and Yamato fused with their digimon and became Wargreymon X and Metalgaurumon X. Cahiti, fused with his Lucemon partner, became Lucemon Satan Mode. A tremendous battle occurred, but in the end, the two X-digimon were able to annihilate the Demon Lord._

_            But as the Digital World was destroyed and drifted into space, an area was uncovered. However in the center of what was once the Digital World, an evil Dark Area was uncovered, where the true God of the Digital World was uncovered, a Demon Beast named GranDracmon. He abandoned Miayag, and she joined with the X-Chosen; together they flew to encounter the vampiric demon. As they did, they past by four tombstones that read: Catherine Rupert, Iduia Ramiro, Keeya Genet and Maria Silvano._

_            The collected Chosen battled against GranDracmon, but to no avail, the Demon Beast soundly defeated them. Miayag then gave Taichi and Yamato her Fate powers, the power of Yuushi of the First Chosen. Combined with the other eight powers of the Daughters, they were able to evolve to Omegamon X. With simple ease, this Royal Knight defeated GranDracmon._

_            The scene changed to Tokyo, where Taichi and Sora were holding hands, as were Yamato and Noriko. An elderly man appeared, carrying a medieval flail. Tatuso Juro, the Fallen Chosen, with his Fail of Chance, ordered his Mega partner, Metal Piranhmon, to attack. _

_            As the Demonic Deep Saver defeated the digimon, his metal tail bashed into Miayag and her Plotmon, knocking them unconscious. Hikari picked up the Staff, and the Fate power flowed through her. Her Plotmon X evolved to Holydramon X, but it was not enough to defeat Metal Piranhmon. _

_            Juro stood before a giant Digital Gate, with the reluctant Kurata at his side. The Hypnos commander, Mitsuo Yamaki, and his digimon partner, V-mon, joined with the X-Chosen to fight Juro, and once again Omegamon X defeated his enemy. Kurata then grabbed Juro and together they leapt through the Gate to keep it from annihilating the city._

_            The Chosen stood together; the couples hand-in-hand. The image blurred and the ten young adults were replaced with ten middle-aged adults, a brown-haired girl and a red-haired boy stood between Taichi and Sora: a blond boy and a black-haired girl stood between Yamato and Noriko, a boy between Jyou and his wife, a girl between Hikari and Yamaki, and a brown haired boy and a blond haired girl between Mimi and Michael._

_            This happy scene was soon cut short, as a swath of fire  rained down from the sky, and the entire image was covered in darkness…._

_Digimon Magog_

_The Heir of the Priestess_

_Chapter 1_

            The teenage boy gave a yelp as he sat up in his bed, panting loudly, sweat pouring from his head. His head fell onto the pillow and he stared at the dull white ceiling of his room. He wiped the sweat from his face, then threw the sheets from his body and reluctantly climbed to his feet.

            He staggered out of his room and down the hall of the small apartment. He entered the bathroom and splashed cold water onto his face. He stopped sweating, and his heartbeat was once again under control. With his business in the bathroom done, he wandered into the kitchen area. A middle-aged woman was in the kitchen, making herself busy at the stove with a frying pan. She glanced over her shoulder and smiled broadly at him. "Good morning."

            "Morning," he responded, sitting down at the table.

            "How are you feeling this morning?" she asked, placing a plate of eggs and bacon before him on the table.

            "I had another one of those dreams again, Mother," he sighed, "I saw those Chosen fighting, I saw them battling against their enemies. What does it mean?"

            His mother was visibly shaken, but her son did not see it. She only smiled and gently rubbed his shoulder. "I am sure that your imagination is simply running wild. You should be focusing on your studies, not those video games that you keep playing."

            He did not answer, but began to eat. As he lifted his fork to his mouth, he glanced up at his mother's face, "But…maybe I am a Chosen?"

            "If you were a Chosen, where is your partner? You are certainly old enough to have received him or her by now."

            "I don't know," he sighed, "I feel as if my entire life's turning inside out, or it's about to."

            "Masahiko, I'm sure that whatever will happen, you will be able to handle it. You are stronger then you think."

            "Maybe.."

            His mother smiled and gently patted his hand. "Hurry and eat, I don't want you to be late." She glanced at the clock on the wall, then smiled even wider, "I should hurry before _I_ am late." She rose to her feet and walked to her own room.

            He sighed once more, then began to eat.

111

            The city of Tokyo was belonged to those cities that never slept. Even the early morning hours was dominated of cars, of construction, of people, dominated by the sound of the city. Yet, despite this overwhelming noise, a sound exploding from a high-rise apartment could still be heard. It was more then a mere sound, it was a voice, the voice of a frustrated middle-aged woman-a mother.

            "Kasumi! Get up now! This is the last time I'm telling you!"

            The redheaded woman sighed in frustration as she walked away from her daughter's door and sat down at the kitchen table. She was just in time to watch as her husband and son were removing their hands from over their ears. "Oh very funny," she said.

            Her redheaded son gave a slight smile. "Sorry Mom, Dad told me to do it."

            She cast him an evil glance. He gave slight smile, "Well, I just wanted to make sure that our eardrums didn't shatter like the windows."

            She playfully punched him in the arm.

            The door to their daughter's room finally opened, and a 15-year-old girl with brown hair came running out. She was tucking the bottom of her blouse into her uniform skirt. "All right, I'm up, I'm up!" she shouted, "Asami kept me up half the night in the Chat room…"

            "Don't blame this on your cousin," her father said, "If your mother has to yell at you like that to get you up one more time, your video games are getting taken out of your room."

            "What?" she shouted, "Oh, come on!"

            "Don't argue," he said, "Now eat your breakfast before you're late for school."

            She just fell into her seat and grumbled as she began to eat her breakfast. She did not even notice her partner exiting their room with a yawn. "Good morning."

            Kasumi glanced at the white-skinned dinosaur. "Don't bother, Yuki, we're in trouble."

            Yuki Agumon glanced at the humans, then over at the smaller table where the digimon were sitting. "We are?"

            Agumon and Piyomon nodded. "Yes, Kasumi has to get up for school, just because you stay here during the day, doesn't mean she can."

            "I sure wish I could," Kasumi mumbled.

            Taichi turned to her. "You're in enough trouble as it is, don't make it worse."

            Her younger brother, Akira, snickered at her. She would have kicked him beneath the table, but she knew she would be in even more trouble. She just quietly ate her food.

            There was a knock on the door. Sora rose from the chair, and grabbed her crutches, which were resting on the wall beside her. Sixteen years after contracting the Second Black Death, the deadly disease was still in remission. Although she had lost her eye and her leg, it had not spread any further.

            Yet, as she moved forward on her crutches, she had to pass by another set, which were lying on the floor. "Akira!" she snapped, "Pick up your crutches."

            "But Mom," her son protested, "I'm using my artificial leg…"

            ""Don't leave them on the floor," she said, continuing forward. She shifted her weight and opened the door. "Oh, Mitsuo, Asami, good morning."

            Her brother-in-law and niece gave a slight nod. He was dressed in his black suit, and Asami was wearing the blue and green fuku uniform of Shinjuku junior high school. "Good morning," Mitsuo greeted. Asami pushed past Sora to join her cousins at the kitchen table.

            Taichi had come to the door to see to whom his wife was speaking. "Oh, hey Mitsuo."

            Yamaki nodded at him as well. "Yeah, morning."

            "What are you doing here?" he asked.

            He gave him a serious expression. "We've got a major…_thing_."

            Taichi's eyes narrowed. "A problem _thing_ or a-I-don't-know-what-it-is-yet-thing?"

            He sighed. "Both. I can show you better at headquarters."

            He nodded. "All right. Just let me get my bag." He grabbed his suitcase from beside the table. "Come on, Agumon, we're leaving."

            His orange dinosaur was just about to put a bun into his mouth. "What, now?"

            "Yes," Taichi replied. He kissed Sora on the cheek. "I'll see you later tonight. Later, kids."

            "Bye Dad," Kasumi and Akira said in unison as Taichi and Agumon exited the apartment.

Sora turned to her niece. "Would you like some eggs?"

            The brown-haired girl shook her head. "No thank you, I don't really like eggs."

            "You sure?" Kasumi asked, "Mom makes the best eggs."

            "No thank you," she replied, "I already had _miso_."

            Her cousin shrugged. "Your loss."

            Sora smiled slightly. "You should get going, or you're going to be late."

            Asami rose from her chair, and Kasumi reluctantly stood as well. She grabbed her bag and followed her cousin. She called a "Good bye,' to her mother before leaving.

111

            Masahiko kept his head low as he walked through the crowded halls of teenagers. His dreams were filling his waking moments, he could not force them out of his head. Who were those mysterious Chosen? Who was that demon they were fighting against? Most importantly, why was _he_ dreaming them? If he was not a Chosen, why were those thoughts entering his mind?

            "Masa!Masa!"

            He blinked and glance over his shoulder. A teenage girl with long blond hair was calling out to him as she ran through the crowd. "Oh, hey, Gwen, what's up?"

            "You didn't even say hi to me?" she asked, lightly punching him in the arm.

            "Sorry," he replied, lightly kissing her, "I've got a lot on my mind."

            She could tell by the sound of his voice that whatever was bothering him was really bothering him. "Wanna talk about it?"

            He shrugged. "It just these weird dreams, I don't have any idea what they're about."

            She nodded. "W…what are they about? I mean, what are they?"

            He told her about the mysterious vision he had about the Chosen, and their fight against the deadly demons.

            His girlfriend grinned. "You're probably just watching too many _animes…_"

            He frowned. "Mom thought I was playing too many video games."

            Gwen giggled. "She's right you know…"

            He sighed. "All right, so, if my imagination is just running away with me, why am I dreaming about Chosen?"

            "Because you, just like every other teenager, thinks it would be the coolest thing ever to have a Digimon partner!"

            "Even if most of them got wiped out by that disease?"

            The young couple turned to see one of their friends standing beside them. Peter, a teenager with light brown hair, was smiling slightly at them. "Come on, didn't your parents ever tell you about how scared the world was that it was gonna spread to normal humans?"

            "Wait," Gwen said, "Yeah, I think my Dad told me something about that. It was, like, the Second Black Death, right?"

            Peter nodded. "Right. Pretty scary if you ask me." He sighed, "Besides, there aren't any Chosen around here, they're all in Japan."

            "What about those Chosen in New York?" Gwen questioned.

            Peter shrugged. "Eh, I think that's just an urban legend, you know, to give America some Chosen. Trust me, there aren't any here."

            Masa frowned. "Yeah…unfortunately…"

            A loud bell sounded through the halls. "Come on," Gwen said, grabbing his arm, "That's first period."

            She dragged him through the halls of the school before running inside a classroom. They sat in their assigned seats and waited as their English teacher, Mr. Dickinson, walked inside. "Good morning," he said, marching up to his podium.

            After taking role call, he begin to teach his lesion. "Today, we'll be starting Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, so I hope everyone read it last night. Open your books and we'll begin." He waited for a moment while his students readied themselves to the proper page. "Okay, Middle English can be difficult if you haven't studied it, but a good rule of thumb is to pronounce every letter-the rules of 'two vowels goes walking the first one does the talking," and "silent e," don't usually apply. Let me demonstrate wit the _General Prologue:_

            _Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote/The droghte of March hath perced to the roote/And bathed every veyne in swich licour…_"

            As his teacher read in the not-so-ancient language, Masa's mind begin to wander. As it did, he began to grow tired-he had not been sleeping as fully since his mysterious visions began, and it was beginning to affect his daily life. He propped his head up against his bend arm, but it was not any use, his eyes became heavy and he started to drift to sleep.

            _The priestess had reached the end of the hall and entered another large rock room. It was much like the previous room, except for two major differences. First, there was a tunnel on the other side of the room leading deeper under the ground. And second, a large altar in the center, standing a full twelve feet, so tall that stairs were required to reach it. Resting on top was a square-shaped stone box, designed with strange and wonderful symbols, while on top were small stone carvings of the three great angels: Seraphimon, Ophanimon and Cherubimon. Standing before the box was a long metal staff designed on top with a metal sun. She grabbed the staff with eager interest and shoved it into the air._

_"The Staff of Yuushi! It is mine at last!"_

_"Staff of Yuushi?" a male voice asked._

_Miayag and Witchmon spun around and saw Taichi, Yamato and their partners standing in the opening leading to the hall. The High Priestess of the Digitalatri slowly walked back down the stairs, holding the staff proudly before her. "My compliments on passing through the seal."_

_Taichi raised his eyebrow. "You mean that rock/door thing? I was able to walk right through it."_

_The High Priestess only smirked. "I will miss your so-called 'wit.'" She lifted her digivice and slowly brought it towards the Staff of Yuushi. They two items began to glow brightly, but once the light faded, the staff and the digivice had merged together to create a slightly larger staff with the same sun symbol but a set of buttons down the side and the screen near the middle._

_She waved it around in the air. "Now, Bastemon, we have the ability to evolve once more!"_

_Bastemon ceased her dance and leapt into the air, her body starting to glow with an odd mixture of pink and orange light. "Bastemon evolve to…" The cat-girl began to change once more, this time to a humanoid fox woman dressed in blue armor, with long white hair flowing behind her and a staff appearing in her hands. "…Kuzuhamon!"_

Masa's eyes shot open, thankfully, he was able to keep from screaming aloud. He glanced around nervously, no one had noticed that he taken a short nap. He breathed a sigh of relief, and forced himself to stay awake.

111

            Lt. Onodera smiled and bowed as the two men entered the control room. "Good morning, Colonel, good morning Minister."

            Yamaki nodded slightly. "Megumi."

            "Yeah, hey," Taichi responded.

            Her PawnChessmon walked over with a tray in his hands. "Would you like some tea and pastries?"

            Agumon, and Yamaki's partner, V-mon, both grinned. "Yeah!" they cheered, jumping up to snatch the treats from the tray.

            "Did you like that cookie recipe?" she asked.

            Yamaki nodded. "Yes, Hikari was really happy with how they turned out, thank you."

            Taichi sighed and glanced at his watch. "If you don't mind, the Cabinet is meeting in two hours."

            Yamaki nodded. "Right, sorry."

            Taichi followed his brother-in-law through the clutter command room, past the computer terminals and workstations. Yamaki stepped inside his circular command podium. "Lt, Ootori, please bring up the readings."

            Reika Ootori was seated at a smaller workstation directly in front of Yamaki. "Yes sir," she replied, entering commands into her keyboard. A large monitor on the far wall came to life, displaying a set of numbers and energy waves. "Okay," Taichi said, "You're going to have to explain it."

            Yamaki cleared his throat. "What you're seeing is energy waves emanating from a sector that should be empty."

            "Sector of what?" Agumon asked.

            "The physical manifestation of the Internet."

            The orange dinosaur snorted. "You mean the Digital Plane?"

            He cleared his throat. "Um, yes." He tugged at his tie before continuing.

            "Anyway…?" Taichi asked, annoyed at not being told immediately.

            Yamaki mentioned to Ootori, "Just show him the image."

            "Right."

            She entered another command into her terminal, and the display of numbers and waves changed to one of an Earth-sized planet hovering within space. Agumon's eyes opened wide. "Is that…the Digital World?"

            "We think so," V-mon replied, "I mean, its occupying the same space around the Digital sun."

            "But…that's impossible!" Taichi explained, "It was destroyed! I was there, I saw it happen!"

            "I have no other explanation," Yamaki replied, "The scientists have some theories, but they all basically agree that the Digital World somehow reconstructed itself."

            "It did that once before," Agumon pointed out, "After Apocalymon destroyed it."

            "Yeah, but that was right away," Taichi said, "The Digital World was gone for years, why would it suddenly just come back?"

            Yamaki shrugged. "We don't know."

            V-mon gave a slight smile. "It would probably need to be…explored…?"

            Taichi's ears perked. "Explored?" He glanced at his watch, "This'll have to wait until later, I'm gonna be late. Agumon, you wanna hang here?"

            The orange dinosaur blinked, "Uh, yeah, I guess so."

            He nodded. "All right, I'll see you later." He gave a wave to Yamaki and the others before leaving.

111

            Masa slowly walked home from school. It had been a harrowing day for him, every time he attempted to concentrate on any form of work, his mind drifted back to his mysterious visions. He was certain that they were more then simple imagination-induced hallucinations, They felt as though they were tugging at the deepest part of him, but what did they mean?

            He was so lost in thought, that he did not notice the person standing before him. He knocked into him, then fell onto his rear. He instantly realized what had happened, but was amazed at the fact that not only was the other person still standing, but the recoil from knocking into him was enough to send Masa backwards-it felt like he had run into a brick wall.

            "I'm so sorry!" he gasped, rising to his feet, "Are you okay?"

            The person standing before him appeared to be only a few years older then Masa, no older then twenty. He had shaggy brown hair and was dressed in what appeared to be a long dark jacket. Masa blinked. "Are you okay?"

            The other man smiled. "Yes, I am, thank you."

             "Your name is Masahiko, isn't it?"

            He nodded slowly. "Yes…"

            The man grinned, "You can call me Hinkon."

            Masa was not sure what to say. "W…well, it's nice to meet you." He felt a strange chill from this man, so he walked past him and continued down the sidewalk.

"One more thing," Hinkon called.

Masa slowly turned back around and saw that the mysterious man was grinning wickedly at him. "Duck!"

            Masa heard the shot and fell to his knees. It was only through the grace of divine intervention that he was able to avoid the projectile, which shattered into a street light hanging over them. Masa stared with horror at Hinkon, yet could not see any sort of firearm in his hands. Another shot fired, this one striking the ground, inches in front of the teenager. He jumped to his feet and began to run. A few more shots sounded, but he fought past his fear and kept running. About a mile later, his legs simply would not move any more and he ducked into an alley. He slid to his knees, his back against the outside of the building.

            He panted heavily for a full minute before enough of his strength had returned for him to peek around the building. Hinkon was no where in sight.

            "What was that about?" Masa asked himself.

            "You'll know soon enough."

            He felt his heart turn to ice. He flipped around and found Hinkon standing only a few feet before him in the alley. The mysterious man dove for Masa's left side, and the teenager shot to the right to avoid him. Hinkon twisted around, and Masa ran, but unfortunately, when Hinkon leapt at him, he had forced the teenager to turn so he was facing deeper into the alley. Masa ran as far as he could, but a tall chain-link fence was sitting within the center of the alley, blocking access to the other exit. Masa was trapped.

            He pressed his back against the fence and stared at the approaching man. "W…why are you doing this?"

            "I've got my orders," he smirked, "I just hope you're better then the others." He raised his arm once more as another projectile shot at Masa, this one hitting landing between his legs. The teenager could now see the horrible truth, he could not see a firearm, because Hinkon was not holding one, the forefinger on his right hand _was_ a firearm-a sliver gun barrel.

            Another shot blasted near Masa's feet, "Come on, kid, let's see that power of yours!"

            "What power?" Masa shouted back. Hinkon responded with two more shots, these coming dangerously close to his shoulders.

            "And he said you were the one," he muttered, "What a waste! A sniveling little brat!"

            Another shot fired only inches above Masa's head. "You're running out of chances," he said, "I'm not as good as that bitch with the crossbows, so I can't keep accidentally missing you. Sooner or later, I'm gonna hit you, and it's not gonna be pretty. I want to see that power!"

            "I don't know what you're talking about!"

            Three more shots, two were on either side of his stomach, the third impacted inches below his crotch. Hinkon smirked, "That was closer then your head, I bet Gwen would be pretty ticked if you lost that."

            Masa froze.

            "Yeah, that's right, I know all about Gwen, his mother, what school you go to. I've been watching you for a while now, how do you think I knew you'd be walking down this street? Because you come this way every day after school. I know everything about you…."

            He began to fire more, a bullet after each word, "If…I…don't…see…it…I'm… going…to…see…Gwen…next!"

            Masa imagined his girlfriend lying dead, a million bullets wounds in her body. Something snapped within the teenager, and he screamed as loud as he could. Suddenly, a column of light erupted from the ground between him and Hinkon. The mysterious man smirked. "Finally."

            Masa stared with awe as the light dimmed and a figure appeared before him. It was a creature that resembled a dragon/dinosaur amalgamation, with purple fur, a long, fox-like tail, and triangle-shaped jewel in its forehead. It stared at Masa before smiling. "Hello."

            The teenager attempted to speak, but only mumbles emerged. "You…you…you're a…a a….a….d…d…d…."

            "Digimon, that's right," the creature bowed, "My name is Dorumon."

            "D…dorumon?"

            "That's right. Digital or Unknown Monster. DoRUmon."

            "D…igital or unknown…W…where did you get a name like that?"

            He shrugged. "I don't know, someone called me that once, but I don't remember who."

            "I…I see."

            Dorumon looked him over and gently sniffed the air. "And you must be Masahiko, my partner."

            "P…partner?" he gasped, "I'm…I'm your partner?" A smile spread over his lips, "I'm a Chosen? I've got a partner?!"

            "That's right. Oh, I've got something for you…"

            The small digimon handed him a rectangular device, with a small screen near the top, and a row of buttons beneath it. "That's your digivice, it connects me and you together."

            Masa was staring in pleasant surprise. "How do you know this?"

            "I don't know, just…somehow…"

            The teenager suddenly remembered Hinkon. His head shot back forward and saw that the mysterious man was still standing before him. "Good job," he smirked, "But now it's time to go to level two!"

            He threw his arms downward and metal stars emerged from the sleeves of his jacket, caught by his hands. He raised his arms and continued to grin. With one simple motion, the star in his left hand was thrown across the alley before slicing through the metal fence. Hinkon moved his other hand, still holding the star, closer to his face. "This time, I'm not gonna miss."

            Masa gripped his digivice tightly. "You can attack, right?"

            Dorumon grinned. "You betcha. Metal Cannon!"

            An iron ball shot from his mouth, sticking Hinkon in the stomach. The mysterious man winced, but still kept his hand firmly on the metal throwing star.

            Hinkon smirked once more. "That was good, but not good enough!" He threw the other star at Dorumon's head, but the small Beast ducked and the weapon struck the ground. The digimon fired another Metal Cannon, but Hinkon was able to bat the ball aside. He produced another star and whipped it at tremendous speed. Both Chosen and digimon dove to avoid the attack, but this left Dorumon's side wide open. The mysterious man shot forward and kicked as hard as he could.

            Masa gasped in horror and call out his partner's name. The small Beast struggled to his feet. "He's too strong! You've got to evolve me!"

            In his mind, the teenager had a vision of his dreams, in which each Chosen evolved their partners by using the digivice. He pointed the mysterious object forward and screamed. The device began to glow.

            "Dorumon evolve to Dorugamon!" The small Dorumon grew to a larger size, becoming more dragon-like, with longer and larger feet, long wings on his back, and a long tail used for balance.

            "So, ya finally did it," Hinkon grinned, "But unless you can do better, this is the end of the line!"

            He began to whip flying stars as fast as he could. Dorugamon was able to dodge the first round of attacks, but with the second round, he used his long tail like a bat, whipping the shards of metal back at Hinkon. The mysterious man had to use his arms to shield his face. Several stars impacted and sunk deep within his jacket-covered limbs.

            Masa grinned at the sight. "Not so tough now, are you?"

            "Masahiko?" Dorugamon asked.

            "Yes?"

            "Humans should bleed if they're been cut, right?"

            "Yes, what of it?"

            His digimon partner pointed his finger at their opponent, "He's not bleeding."

            Masa then realized to his horror that Dorugamon was correct, with so many lacerations to his forearms, there should be a puddle of blood around Hinkon's feet, but there was not any-there was not even any blood dripping down his arm. "How can this be?"

            The mysterious man grinned, then ripped one of the sleeves from his jacket. There, where an arm of flesh should have been, was none. Instead, was a limb of metallic substance. "Do you know understand?" he chuckled, "I am far more then human!"

            He ran forward, and Dorugamon leapt into action. The Nature Spirit pulled his head back, then whipped it forward, exhaling a larger metal sphere. "Power Metal!"

            Hinkon batted the first one aside, but he was not fast enough to stop the second, it impacted him directly in the face, the force flipping him around and he landed on his back. He was about to leap back to his feet, when he heard Dorugamon order, "Dove more, or the next one's going to crush you!"

            The mysterious man smirked. "I'll see you again!" He pressed a button on his belt, and a black shadow suddenly appeared beneath him. His entire body fell through and the hole vanished seconds later.

            "Where did he go?" Dorugamon demanded.

            "He must have teleported someone," Masa determined, "But who is he?"

            His partner shrugged. "I don't know, sorry."

            The teenager grinned, staring down at his digivice. "I'm a Chosen, I am a Chosen! Wait until my mother hears this!"

111

            "Shiro, what's up?"

            The blond teenager frowned when he heard his name called. He turned and saw a familiar teenage girl with her long brown hair pulled into a ponytail running towards him. Behind her was a girl with her brown hair flowing around her shoulders. "Oh, Kasumi, Asami."

            The younger girl held her hands in front of her waist. "Are you okay? You seem upset…"

            He smiled slightly. "A little worried about what my Mom's gonna say about the grade I got on Takahashi's test."

            Kasumi shrugged. "It won't be as bad as you think, what did you get on it?"

            "A 75."

            "You did better then me," she mumbled.

            "What did you get?" Asami asked.

            The older girl was pale for a moment. "T…that's none of your business!"

            "That bad?" her cousin asked.

            "No," Kasumi sighed, "Probably a hell of a lot worse."

            "You need to spend more time studying…"

            "You sound just like my mother!" she snapped.

            The three teenagers continued down the sidewalk for another five minutes, complaining about the school day they had just completed. Even Asami was annoyed because she felt that Mr. Takahashi did not grade the tests fairly.

            "You got a 93!" Kasumi exclaimed.

            "I should have gotten a 100," she pouted.

            Her cousin simply rolled her eyes.

They eventually arrived at Shiro's apartment building. The teenage boy was silent as the elevator climbed to the appropriate floor, and when he reached his apartment door, he hesitated while his hand nervously fumbled the door handle.

            "Just open it!" Kasumi snapped, kicking him in the back. He stumbled through the door and landed on his face.

             "Shiro! Are you okay?"

            "Yeah, Mom, I'm fine," he replied, climbing to his feet. His brown-haired mother was standing before him in the hall.

            Noriko nodded, then noticed the two girls. "Oh, hi."

            "Hi Mrs. Ishida," Asami said politely.

            "Hey," Kasumi waved.

            She smiled at the differences in the two girls. "Won't you come in?"

            The three teenagers shed their shoes and followed the middle-aged woman in the kitchen. "Do you want anything to eat?"

            "Like what?" Kasumi asked.

            Noriko fished through the cabinets over the refrigerator. "I have some cookies."

            "That'll do, thanks," the brown-haired girl said with a grin.

            While the two girls eagerly ate the treats before them, Shiro slowly approached his mother. "Um, Mom, I got Mr. Takahashi's test back…"

            Noriko raised her eyebrow. "Really, let me see."

            He reluctantly handed her the paper. She scanned the page before smiling. "A 75! That's great!"

            Both Kasumi and Asami stopped munching on their treats to stare at her in shock. Shiro did not look as surprised. "Mom…"

            "No, this is perfect!" Noriko interrupted, "I can't wait to tell the neighbors that my son got a 75 on his history test. That makes me the proudest mother in the building-no, the entire city! I'm just going to put it on the fridge so everyone can see what a great job you're doing." She marched over to her refrigerator and placed on the door with a large magnet. Shiro was staring at the floor, his face completely red.

            Asami whispered in her cousin's ear, "Now I know what he didn't want to tell her."

            "Yeah," Kasumi whispered back, but not quite as quiet. "My dad just yells and my mom punishes me." She paused for a moment, "She's just being sarcastic, right?"

            Asami sighed and rolled her eyes.

111

            Masa held tightly to Dorugamon as his partner ran as fast as he could. Despite his wings, Dorugamon's power of flight was limited, and not wishing to attracted unwanted attention on the street, they took to running across the rooftops. The teenager held tightly as his partner easily cleared twenty-foot gasps between buildings. 

"Are you okay?" Dorguamon asked.

"Yes, just hurry! I have a terrible feeling! Just hurry!"

Eventually, they entered the suburbs of the city, and without tall buildings, they were forced to use the trees and shrugs as cover as they darted further on their journey.

            "Dorugamon, wait!"

            The Nature Spirit slowly to a stop. "What is it?"

            Masa leapt off of his partner and ran to a one-level house. "This is where I live!" He threw the door open and leapt inside. "Mother!" he shouted, "Mother?" He ran down the hall and searched inside his mother's room, but found nothing.

            Dorugamon trotted inside behind him. "What's wrong?"

            "My mother isn't here," he frowned, "And I really wanted to show you to her. It's odd that she wouldn't be here."

            "She's here a lot?" Dorugamon asked, sniffing the furniture.

            "Today was her day off," he replied, "And she doesn't really go out."

            The Nature Spirit continued to smell the objects in the room. "Your sent is here, with a bunch of other people."

            "Really?" he asked, starting to become worried.

            "They're really old though, really faint…"

            He breathed a sigh of relief. "Probably our friends."

            Dorugamon moved over to an armchair. "Here's your mother's."

            "How can you tell?"

            "She sort of smells like you."

            He gave a slight smile. "Are you saying that I need a bath?"

            He blinked. "No! You see, every living being has a sent…"

            "I was kidding," he smiled, "Just kidding."

            "Oh, hah, yeah, I get it, heh…"

            Masa rolled his eyes.

            His partner continued to smell the furnishings, until he gasped. "What?" Masa asked.

            "There's another fresh sent here."

            "Who's?"

            Dorugamon narrowed his eyes as he stared at his partner, "Hinkon."

            Masa tighten his grip. "Can you follow the sent?"

            His partner sniffed a few more times. "It's strong, I should be able to."

            "All right, then proceed."

111

            Kasumi yawned as she stepped through the front door of her apartment. "Hey, I'm home."

            She pulled off her school shoes and walked towards her room. She heard someone walk from her parents room, it was her mother. "Hey, wait, why are you dressed up?"

            Sora was wearing a low cut, black evening dress. The 'skin' on her prosthetic leg had been upgraded to a near perfect match-no one would ever be able to tell it was fake. "Your father called, and he wants me to meet him at a restaurant."

            "What about me and Akira?" she asked.

            "You're going to stay over at the Ishida's tonight."

            She was silent for a moment, then shrugged. "Okay I guess."

            "Hurry and grab your things."

            The brown-haired girl walked into her room where she saw her partner seated on the desk chair, watching television. "Hey, what's up?"

"I guess we're spending the night at Shiro's."

"Yeah, your mom told us," Yuki Agumon answered.

Kasumi quickly threw off her school uniform and pulled on her jeans and yellow t-shirt. She dragged out a suitcase in the back of her closet and threw in a pair of her blue pajamas, along with her other hygiene products.

            There was a knock on the door. "Are you ready?"

            "Yeah, come on Yuki."

            Yuki Agumon followed her partner to the living room, where Akira as his Falcomon partner were waiting.

            "Kasumi," the little boy gasped, "What the hell is that on your shoulder?"

            "What?" the brown-haired girl shrieked, looking at his shoulders.

            "Oh," Akira grinned, "It was just your face."

            She started to growl, and stepped forward.

            "Don't start you two," Sora sighed in annoyance, "If I hear any bad stories from Mrs. Ishida, you two will be grounded, understand?"

            "Yes, Ma'am," they both said.

            Piyomon mentioned to Yuki Agumon and Falcomon, "And that goes for you two as well."

            Both digimon hung their heads low.

            "All right, come on, get a move on," Sora said, ushering kids and digimon through the door.

            They climbed into Sora's car, which was parked in the garage beneath the building. The redhead woman maneuvered through traffic to reach the other side of Shinjuku, where the Ishida's apartment building was located.

            Sora knocked on the door to the Ishida's apartment. A girl with long dark brown hair answered-she was missing her right hand and most of her right arm. "Oh, hi, Mrs. Yagami."

            "Hello Yasu," she bowed.

Noriko appeared behind her daughter a moment later, "Sora, hi."

            The redhead and her pink partner ushered their family through the door. "You guys behave, understand?" she said.

            "Won't you come in for a minute?" Noriko asked.

            "We're running late as it is," Piyomon said.

            "We'll be back tomorrow morning," Sora smiled, "Good night."

            "Have fun," Noriko smiled as she closed the door.

            Akira and Yasu wandered off together, while Kasumi walked to Shiro's room. The blond-haired boy was seated at his desk, using his computer. "Shiro, what's up?" she grinned.

            Yuki Agumon greeted Shiro's Psychemon, who was seated in Shiro's bed, reading a book. "What'cha reading?"

            "_Beowulf."_

            The white dinosaur snorted.

            "You don't read?"

            "I like magnas."

            Psychemon gave a slight smile. "This one's about a warrior who rips off a monster's arm."

            "Really?"

            Kasumi turned to Shiro. "So, your Mom's not gonna freak out again, is she?"

            "Probably," he muttered.

She mentioned to the computer. "So you're not grounded any more?"

"I am," he said, "But she didn't want you to have to be punished to, even though she said you should be pun…"

            "That's good, that's enough," Noriko said, running to the room. "Um, so what do you guys what for dinner?"

            "Have any burgers?" Kasumi asked.

            "No!" Noriko gasped, "Um, no, we…uh…don't. How about pizza?"

            "That sounds fine," the brown-haired girl grinned.

            The middle-aged woman nodded and went to order a large pie. "What was that about?" Kasumi asked.

            "Mom hates burgers," Shiro whispered, "Dad said she got traumatized at a job or something. Whenever she goes to visit her parents, me and Dad pig out at the local Burger King."

            "Cute," she sighed, rolling her eyes.

111

            Dorugamon leapt over the fence to the elementary school playground. It was well after hours, so it was empty save for a set of swings, a jungle gym, and other playground equipment. There were street lights illuminating the area. "He's here," Dorugamon said, sniffing the air.

            Masa leapt off of his partner's back. "Where are you?!" he shouted, "Where is my mother?!"

            "Your mother's currently enjoying the company of our master," Hinkon's voice sounded through the playground.

            "Where?" Masa demanded.

            The mysterious figure leapt down from atop the school's equipment shed and landed before them. Dorugamon tensed and readied for battled. Hinkon smirked, "If you want to know, you'll have to get past me."

            Masa nodded at his partner. Dorugamon took a deep breath and fired a massive metal ball. "Power Metal!"

_……..The Final Act has only just begun………_

Author's note: As I've said before, this is the third part of a trilogy of Apocalypse, and Gog. While it's not absolutely necessary to read Gog, it's pretty important to read Apocalypse. Even though Masa's dream sequence at the beginning was kind of an 'in-story,' summary, a more direct and to the point summary is as follows:

            Eight years after the end of 02, the Chosen Children have grown up and started their own lives. Taichi got a job as a gym teacher in Shinjuku, Hikari got a teaching job in the same distract, so they shared an apartment together. Taichi moved on with his studies and went to a university for political science. Yamato was a small-time musician, while waiting to get accepted into the Japanese air force. Sora became a freelance fashion designer, Jyou started his hospital internship, Mimi and Michael got married, with him producing her cooking show.

            But an annoying computer virus started to appear on the internet, it eventually mutated into an epidemic that attacked all digital matter-Chosen have a high percentage of digital matter in their bodies. This virus, the Second Black Death, or BD2, literally ate away at the bodies of Chosen and digimon, they lost limbs, eyes, organs. Hundreds died in the first wave, and even more were given to a slow, painful death. But digimon could not survive on Earth indefinitely. So many Chosen moved to the Digital World, where large populations were forming.

            Koushiro Izumi created a cure for the BD-2, the X-Antibody. He unleashed it upon the Chosen population, but only ten percent were compatible. Digimon who accepted the X-Antibody were cured of the BD-2, but they became mutated-they changed forms, evolution lines, they were stronger, faster. They became the X-digimon, and their Chosen accepted the X-Antibody too. Taichi, Hikari, Yamato, Mimi, Michael and Jyou became the X-Chosen. However, Koushiro Izumi, Takeru Takaishi, Daisuke Motomiya, Miyako Inoe, Ken Ichijoji, and Iori Hida all died from the virus. Sora Takenouchi from Japan, Anna from Russia, Maria, Tatum, Sam from New York, Catherine from France, and Noriko, Hiroshi, Keiko and Takashi from the Dark Seed Kids were all infected. After the death of Koushiro and Daisuke, Taichi lost all interest in the Digital World. He turned his back on his friends, except for Hikari.

            Two years later, and the virus was still running rampant, with hundreds of Chosen being infected and dying daily. A mysterious young woman named Chihi Miayag appeared, preaching the message of the Digital God. She coerced Hiroshi, Keiko, Takashi, Tatum and Sam into joining her religion, the Digitalatri. Hiroshi, Keiko and Takashi, along with a British Chosen named James, were given the power to evolve their partners, something they could not do with the BD-2 infection. Their partners became Piedmon, Pinocchimon, Mugen Dramon, and Metalseadramon, they became Digitalatri's military leaders. Tatum, Sam and a Mexican Chosen named Vincente were given Archnemon, Mummymon and Skull Satanmon as partners, and became the messengers.

            Noriko and Maria did not join with Digitalatri, and were spying on their friends, before they were captured. Yamato and Jyou had been keeping tabs on the Digitalatri, and knowing they were outnumbered, called Taichi and Hikari for help. They were able to rescue Maria and Noriko, but they encountered the mysterious Demon Lords.

            Meanwhile, Dingo, an X-Chosen from Australia, was watching a woman named Lynna, who was being chased by one of the Demon Lords, Karetu of Gluttony. Yamato and Jyou came to help, and that's when they realized the horrible truth, Karetu was an exact double of the deceased Takeru. Lynna displayed weird energy, and was able to make her Gizamon partner evolve, something he should not be able to do while infected with BD-2.

            Miayag and her Digitalatri, meanwhile, had begun to invade a city far in the north of the Digital World, called Nightsun, since for half of the year, the sun remained in the sky, even in the night. This city was inhabited by Russian Chosen, and led by Yuri and Anna-who had lost her eyes to BD-2. They called Taichi for help, and he brought Maria and Sora-who's own BD-2 infection was spreading, with him. Along the way, they were attacked by another Demon Lord, Shiokuro-who was a duplicate of Koushiro. Anna displayed a strange energy and her Penmon partner evolved as well.

            Yamato, meanwhile, was called to France by Catherine, who was having weird dreams. They were attacked by Karetu, and Catherine made Floramon evolve. In order to find the cause for her dreams, they went to see Mina in India. There they met Keeya, one of Mina's students. She was attacked by Karetu, and her Mushmon evolved. They received a call for help from Taichi, and so went to Nightsun to help. Along the way, they were attacked once more, and Noriko's Plotmon evolved.

            Mimi and Michael, meanwhile, went to the Digital city of New Havenwood where Tatum and Sam were preaching. They met another Infected Chosen, Iduia from Brazil, who was forced to wear a respirator, along with other artificial organs. After a short battle with Tatum and Sam, they were attacked by the Demon Lords, Amikyo and Enk, duplicates of Miyako and Ken. Iduia then displayed the same mysterious energy.

            They all answered the call to come to Nightsun as Digitalatri invaded. The last three Demon Lords: Seiduka-duplicate of Daisuke-Asro-duplicate of Sora-and Cahiti-duplicate of Taichi attack the young women during the war. Sora and Maria were the last to display the strange energy. Cahiti summoned Chimeramon to attack the X-Chosen, and the eight young women gave their energies to the X-Chosen, but Cahiti used a mysterious object called the Soul Catcher to steal that energy. Sora and Catherine did not give their energy, but the Demon Lords captured them.

            The X-Chosen were able to evolve to the Fully Evolved level, but they still lost the city to the Digitalatri. Miayag entered a secret cavern below the city to take an artifact called the Staff of Yuushi.

            The young women were each the granddaughters of the legendary First Chosen. Sora was the granddaughter of Hidokoro of Fire, Catherine was the granddaughter of Lucien of Light, Maria, Montengro of Earth, Lynna Kendra of Water, Iduia, Glaucio of Metal, Keeya, Abungu of Forest, Noriko, Daiyu of Darkness, and Anna, Svetlana of Wind. The Demon Lords manipulated each Daughter to awaken to their inherited powers so that they could steal it, and remake the Digital World into a world of their own image.

            As more and more Chosen entered the Digital World, a government body was created, called the Chosen Council. Their leader, Victor von Schmidt, fearing the spread of the Second Black Death, instituted a policy to relocate all the Infected Chosen to centers around the Digital World. The Demon Lords approached him for an alliance-a Chosen council member would be paired with a Demon Lord and sent to a different center. The X-Chosen split into two: Taichi, Jyou and Hikari on one team, and Yamato, Mimi and Michael on another. They toppled each center, and Shiokuro was killed.

            Taichi and Mimi briefly returned to Earth to return the captured Maria and Iduia. Amikyo came to recapture them, but Mimi and the Daughters drove them off, killing the Demon Lord. While there, Miayag attacked, and Taichi's mother revealed a tremendous secret, Miayag's mother was Taichi's mother's younger sister-Taichi and Miayag were cousins!  During that fight, Mrs. Yagami was injured and sent into a coma. Miayag returned to the Digitalatri's base on the Digital World's Central Island. Tatum, seeing the distress of her Priestess, took Sam and Vincente to Earth to capture Taichi. Mimi would not let them near him while he was worried about his mother, and during that battle, Tatum, Sam and Vincente were killed.

            Taichi, Hikari and Jyou broke into the Chosen Council's headquarters to find the locations of the Demon Lords' base. They encountered Enk, and the Demon Lord was killed. They discovered the Demon Lords were in a temple in the center desert, and Yamato's team snuck inside. They were seconds away from rescuing Sora and Catherine when Karetu attacked. Yamato was finally able to defeat the evil double of his brother.

            The remaining members of the Demon Lords and the Council invaded the Center Island to drive away the Digitalatri. With the powers of Sora and Catherine finally his, the Soul Catcher full, Cahiti initiated the Digital Hazard, and the elements of the Digital Would began to attack one another.

            The X-Chosen arrived, and while Taichi, Yamato and the Daughters charged inside the ancient castle, the rest of the X-Chosen defeated Schmidt and his secretary, Raven Osborn. While Yamato rescued Catherine from Seiduka, Taichi defeated Asro to save Sora. They then shared their first kiss.

            Sora and Catherine gave Taichi and Yamato their energy, and they evolved to their Mega forms: Wargreymon X and Metalgarurumon X. With their combined might, they defeated Cahiti, but the Digital World still self-destructed…..


	2. Heir of the Priestess: Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Digimon is own by Toei.

Author's Note: Taichi and Yamato were brought back to life during the last chapter of Digimon:Gog. It happened when their various…'personalities underwent the reformation, and they became whole again. I hope that clears up any confusion.

_Digimon Magog_

_The Heir of the Priestess_

_Chapter 2_

            Dorugamon leapt over the fence to the elementary school playground. It was well after hours, so it was empty save for a set of swings, a jungle gym, and other playground equipment. There were street lights illuminating the area. "He's here," Dorugamon said, sniffing the air.

            Masa leapt off of his partner's back. "Where are you?!" he shouted, "Where is my mother?!"

            "Your mother's currently enjoying the company of our master," Hinkon's voice sounded through the playground.

            "Where?" Masa demanded.

            The mysterious figure leapt down from atop the school's equipment shed and landed before them. Dorugamon tensed and readied for battled. Hinkon smirked, "If you want to know, you'll have to get past me."

            Masa nodded at his partner. Dorugamon took a deep breath and fired a massive metal ball. "Power Metal!"

            Hinkon flipped around in the air, kicking the ball as hard as he could with his foot. The metal sphere sailed back towards Dorugamon. Masa and his partner dove to the ground as the projectile flew above their heads. The Nature Spirit leapt back to his feet and darted forward, firing a barrage of metal spheres from his mouth. "Cannon Ball!"

            Hinkon only chuckled as he darted between the incoming spheres. He lifted his arm to avoid one to the left, he ducked to avoid one that sailed above him. Another one came for his right side, and he twisted around to avoid it. However, he became too arrogant, and he missed the next one-which slammed him directly in the chest. He staggered backwards in pain, but Dorugamon did not allow him a chance to recover. He head-butted him as hard as he could in the same injured area, then whipped around, knocking his tail into the side of his head.

            Hinkon recovered quickly, and grabbed the Nature Spirit's back appendage. The Nature Spirit struggled to free himself, but his mysterious opponent began to swing him around in the air.

"Dorugamon!" Masa shouted.

            His partner struggled to break free, but Hinkon's grip was iron-clad. He continued to swing him around until he was certain that the Nature Spirit was too dizzy to fight back. He strengthened his grip and began to bash Dorugamon into the ground again and again.

            "Dorugamon!" Masa shouted again, "You must free yourself!"

            Extremely disoriented, the Nature Spirit was still able to twist his body around before his head would have impacted into the pavement. He back slammed into the ground, but his head was safe. He whipped around and planted the teeth of his jaw into Hinkon's calf. He knew that his opponent had metallic arms, so he hoped that his legs were still organic.

He was right. Hinkon struggled to hold his pain back, but he was forced to release his grip on the Nature Spirit. Dorugamon darted to his partner's side.

            "You are not hurt, are you?" Masa asked.

            Dorugamon stumbled for a moment, attempting to shake away the disorientation he felt. He spied Hinkon charging towards them. He pushed his partner to safety and shouted, "Power Metal!"

            The mysterious man ducked to avoid the giant sphere, then whipped a barrage of his shooting stars. "Let's see what you've got!" he shouted.

            The Nature Spirit was able to avoid a number of the sharp projectiles, but due to his head injury at Hinkon's hands, he was not able to continue dodging. All it took was one metal star slashing through his leg to throw him off balance. He was completely overwhelmed, his entire body lacerated by the metallic objects.

            Masa stared in horror at the body of his body, lying motionless before his eyes. The Nature Spirit's body was covered in giant wounds, his fur sliced from the skin. "Dorugamon! Dorugamon!" he shouted.

            Hinkon snorted and crossed his arms. "And the boss said you were the one, you're nothing but a sniffling weakling!"

            The teenager narrowed his eyes at Hinkon, then turned back to his partner. "Dorugamon, please….you've got to get up….please…." He strained his neck back and screamed, "Dorugamon!"

            Masa's body suddenly began to glow with gold light. This energy flowed across his entire body, before collecting into the palm of his right hand. This collection of energy began to grow larger, into a long gold shaft with a star placed upon the top. "What is this?"

            Masa stared at the mysterious object that had appeared within his palm. He flinched slightly as an image flashed into his mind-a image that he had seen within his dreams. The mysterious priestess wielded the same weapon, which made her partner evolve.

            "The Staff of Yuushi," he muttered, "W…why do I have…"

            He gasped and turned to his partner. He held the Staff in one hand and his digivice in another. He pointed both digital artifacts towards his dying partner. "Dorugamon!"

            Dorugamon's body began to glow with the same golden light. His front legs became larger and bulkier as his entire body fell onto all four legs. His neck grew larger and snakelike, while his tail did the sail, curling around his legs. His wings grew larger as well, doubling into four black wings. A helmet appeared on his head, with a large, metal spike on his nose. His blue fur underwent a rainbow of colors before settling on a dark red.

            "Dorugamon evolve to Dorugremon!"

            Hinkon could only stare at the towering dragon standing before him. "What the fuck? This wasn't on the print-out…"

            Masa blinked in surprise. "It truly worked, I…"

            Dorugremon turned his head towards his partner. The teenager started to become worried, what had his partner become? Was he even more dangerous now?

Dorugremon began to grin. "Don't worry, I'm still me."

            Masa exhaled in relief. "Okay…that's good, I was worried that I had lost you…"

            Hinkon snorted. "Oh, how cute," he sneered, "Why don't you two get a room!"

            Masa gripped his staff while Dorugremon growled, narrowing his eyes at his enemy. Hinkon whipped his arm to his sides, metal stars sliding from his sleeves and arriving in his hands. "Let's get on with this!" He shouted. He quickly whipped a barrage of the self-same metal stars.

            Dorugremon fired a massive ball of iron from his mouth, impossibly twice as large as the dragon digimon. "Metal Meteor!" The ball blasted through the hail of shooting stars, deflecting them in all directions. Hinkon stared with horror as the giant orb flung towards him. He was not able to move out of the way within any time, so the ball caught him in its momentum and slammed him into the outside wall of the school. When the metal ball vanished a moment later, Hinkon staggered forward, and slid to the ground, his back against the building.

            Masa glared at his defeated opponent. "Where is my mother?"

            Hinkon only laughed and flung another set of metal stars at him. The teenager braced for impact, but Dorugremon wrap his tail around his partner, and each star imbedded itself into his rear appendage. He winced in pain, but was none-the-worse for wear. When he removed his tail, Masa saw that Hinkon had once again vanished.

            "Damn it!" he shouted, "Where has he gone?!"

            "Don't worry," Dorugremon said, sniffing the air, "I have his sent, he can't go far."

111

            Sora did not even care about the reason her husband had called her late in the afternoon and invited her to dinner, this had been the most romantic evening she and Taichi had had in….she could not even remember. At least before Kasumi was born…or at least before she had begun to feel the affects of her pregnancy and in the morning she vomited everything she had eaten the dinner before.

            Taichi, on the other hand, was only thinking that Sora still looked as beautiful as she had the day that he saw her in that bar, the day he first saw her after cutting her out of his life for two years, the day before the Demon Lords and Digitalatri, the day before their lives changed forever. She may have gained a few pounds in the last ten or fifteen years, her red hair may have begun to show streaks of gray, her breasts may have begun to sag, but he realized he had never been more in love with her.

            "I heard that Yamato might be sent up to space on the new shuttle," Sora said.

            Taichi sighed, "Please, let's not spend the night talking about Yamato."

            His wife sighed and rolled her eyes. "You've been best friends for years…"

            He just shrugged and continued to eat his steak. Sora sighed and began to eat her own dinner. "Kasumi got her history test today…"

            "Oh really?" he asked, "How bad was it?"

            "You don't want to know." She sighed, "That's _your_ daughter."

            He was about to place a fork full of food into his mouth, when he stopped. "What do you mean, _my_ daughter?"

            "You're the one that helped her study, right?"

            "Yeah, so? I taught her everything that I…." he trailed off, "You know, do we have to talk about the kids?"

            She sighed and grasped her wine glass. "Why did you bring me out tonight? What was the special announcement you couldn't wait to tell me?"

            Taichi was in the middle of chewing his steak, so he could not answer her right away. Instead, his mind began to drift to the events of earlier in the day…

-           _Taichi sat in the his seat, nervously tapping his pen against his pad of paper. He glanced around the Diet Building, staring at the men and women of the Japanese government. He was clearly the youngest person there…by at least twenty years. He peered over at the Minister of Justice to his right, while the Minister of Defense was to his left. Jinen Watanabe was the oldest member of the Cabinet, at seventy-five years, he was forced to use a cane to aid him while walking, his sight and hearing were failing, yet, he still possessed the same force in his voice that he did years ago._

_            The elderly man saw Taichi and smiled. "Don't worry," he said, "You don't need to be so nervous."_

_            Taichi sighed. "I can lead a force of Chosen into battle, but when I have to give a speech, I get as scared as a freakin' two-year-old in a school play."_

_            "You will do fine," he said. He glanced towards the center of the room, "I think you're up, good luck."_

_            Taichi turned and saw that the entire room was staring at him. He took a deep breath and began. "Thank you. Um, first, I'd like to thank our Prime Minister, for allowing so many of us to keep our appointment positions after your recent appointment by the Emperor…"_

_            The Prime Minister gave a slight nod. _

_            Taichi continued. "I know that we're here today so that I can inform you of my department. Um, I am the Vice-Minister of Digital Affairs, and my department is part of the Ministry of Defense, so we answer to the Minister of Defense. In addition, I am also the chief administrator of the DATS organization, which is directly maintained by Mitsuo Yamaki."_

_            He took a deep breath, "DATS was created as the, 'um' upgrade of the former SIGNET agency, Hypnos. Hypnos came to a premature end when their chief scientist, Kurata, became involved with an evil Chosen named Tatsuo Juro. These two created a Digital Gate that nearly destroyed the city. That was when the government decided to work more closely with the Chosen."_

_            "There are Chosen working for DATS?" one of the Diet members asked._

_            "Yes," Taichi nodded, "All DATS agents are Chosen."_

_            "Who?" another member asked._

_            "I'm sorry," he said, "But all DATS agents are classified."_

_            "Classified?" the Prime Minister asked._

_            The Minister of Defense spoke before Taichi could answer. "We can provide you with a list if you want, but for privacy issues, we cannot reveal their identities. Many of them are DATS agents on the side, so to speak. They have other occupations, and are involved with DATS occasionally."_

_            He nodded. "Please continue."_

_            Taichi cleared his throat. "DATS has been operational for the past ten years, protecting Japan and Earth from various digital threats."_

_            The Minister of Finance spoke, "Could you please explain further about the Second Black Death and the X-Anitbody."_

_            He nodded. "Yes. As near as we can tell, a computer virus that was designed to destroy the memory on a computer's hard drive entered the Digital World and mutated into a plague that ate away at the digital information of the digimon and the Chosen. A Chosen scientist created what he called the X-Antibody, but only a small percentage of the Chosen population was able to accept this Antibody. They became known as the X-Chosen. These X-Chosen are stronger, and their digimon partners gained different appearances and different evolutions, even."_

_            "But those Chosen have children of their own, right?"_

_            Taichi nodded._

_            "And how does the X-Antibody and BD-2 transition to the children?"_

_            "Well, we found out that both of these can be passed to children. In fact, with several families where one parent has the X-Antibody, and another has BD-2, one child has the X-Antibody and another has BD-2. The children with the X-Antibody are X-Chosen, but their partners do not refer to themselves as X-digimon, most probably because they were born with the X-Antibody."_

_            "What about the children with the Second Black Death? Should they be considered a threat to safety?"_

_            Taichi shook his head. "All of our testing indicates that BD-2 has mutated once again, to a genetic condition. There shouldn't be any need to worry about contamination."_

_            He continued to answer questions for the next hour. When the session concluded, Taichi slowly gathered his belongings while the room quickly emptied. Soon, only he and the Minister of Defense remained._

_            Wantanabe smiled at his younger associate. "That was well done, Taichi."_

_            "Yeah, maybe," he sighed._

_            "No, I'm certain of it, your agency will continue to receive funding."_

_            Taichi rose to his feet and waited while the older man slowly climbed out of his seat. They exited the room, Wantanabe limping forward on his cane. "So," he said in a serious tone, "I take it there has been no progress in attempting to cure your son?"_

_            He sighed and shook his head. "No. Jyou and the DATS scientists have been working together for the past year, but there's nothing they can do. The good news is that they don't think Akira's gonna get any worse, but..." He sighed, "I mean, Sora's dealt with having a missing leg…but Akira's only ten…."_

_            He blinked. "Oh, by the way, thanks for helping me, you know, back there…"_

_            Wantanabe smiled. "I know that you're not ready to reveal that you're a Chosen, or your family and friends…"_

_            The two continued to walk through the halls. Finally Wantanabe broke the silence. "I will be retiring soon…"_

_            Taichi blinked and stared at him. "Y…you are…?"_

_            He nodded. "That's right, and I am going to recommend to the Prime Minister, that he appoint you to succeed me."_

_            Taichi completely stopped. "Y…you are?"_

_            "That's correct."_

_            "I…I don't know what to say…."_

_            The elderly man gave a slight nod. "I am not planning on leaving until next year…."_

_            Taichi did not hear anything that he said from that point forward, his mind was too focused on the surprising news._

            "Taichi!" Sora snapped.

            He blinked, remembering that he was in the restaurant. "Oh, right. Um…" He took a deep breath, "There's going to be a change in my, uh, job next year."

            His wife was silent for a moment, then a slight smile crossed her lips. "I was worried for a second, but then I thought, why would you bring me out to a fancy restaurant, if it was bad news?"

            He smiled. "Yeah, you're right." He took a deep breath, "Wantanabe is going to be retiring next year, and he wants me to replace him."

            Sora blinked. "You, the Minister of Defense?"

            He nodded. "Yeah."

            "T…taichi, t…that's….that's wonderful! We…we could move out of that cramped little apartment!"

            He smiled. "Yeah, I know. It's great, isn't it? I just hope I'm up to it…"

            "Oh, of course you are!" She could hardly contain her excitement. "Taichi, that's wonderful!"

111

            Akira and Yasu were in the Ishida living room, using the Playstation 5. They had decided to execute a 'tag-team' style approach, with the feet controllers strapped to Yasu's feet to move the robotic knight character on the screen, while Akira had the arm controllers around his hands to control the knight's fight capabilities. Yasu was running in place, while Akira was swinging his arms, making the knight's sword slash at demonic creatures.

            "Yeah, yeah!" Yasu's Labramon cheered from her spot on the rug, "Come on, come on, work together!"

            The demonic creature slashed at the knight, but Akira waved his arms, making the knight block with his sword.

            "That's it!" Akira's Falcomon cheered, "Come on, go to his left, his left!"

            The red-headed boy swung his arm around, and the knight began to slash repeatedly at the demon's lower side. The evil character could not defend himself, and was soon defeated.

            "Yeah!" all four cheered.

They were truly enjoying themselves, when they heard the unmistakable footsteps of teenagers stomping down the hall.

            "Hey, squirt, we want to play."

            Akira sighed and turned to see his older sister and Shiro Ishida, along with their partners, standing on the living room rug between the couch and the coffee table. "We're using it.."

            "Come on, you've been playing all afternoon!"

            Shiro looked to his sister. "All right, it's our turn."

            Yasu looked up to her brother, her eyes growing large. "Please Oniichan…"

            He looked down at his pleading little sister. "Y…yasu…"

            "Don't give in!" Kasumi snapped. She felt tugging on her pajama legs and when she looked she saw her own younger sibling staring up at her.

            "Oneechan…" Akira pleaded.

            She sighed. "All right…"

            Shiro grumbled. "_Don't give in…_"

            "Shut up," she snapped. The teenager walked over to the couch and plopped down. Shiro joined her a moment later. Kasumi's Yuki Agumon joined Shiro's Psychemon as they sat down on the carpeted floor, their backs resting against the bottom of the sofa. The older Chosen and digimon all gave off every indication that they were not happy that they could not use the video game system, but after ten minutes of watching their younger siblings play, they soon joined in with Falcomon and Labramon's cheering.

            Soon, Noriko and her Plotmon entered the living room. "Okay guys, it's time for bed."

            "Oh, come on!" they all protested.

            "It's Friday night!" Shiro gasped.

            "That doesn't matter," she replied, "You need your sleep, now move. Besides which, those video games'll rot out your brains!"

            Yasu frowned. "I'm sure you had games when you were younger."

            "That's not the point," she said, "Now get to bed."

            They all grumbled as they filed into their rooms-Kasumi and Akira in the guest rooms. Once their doors were closed, Noriko and Plotmon turned to the arm and leg controls lying on the carpet. The middle-aged woman glanced to the mammal digimon, "So, you wanna control the legs or the arms?"

111

            In another section of the city, Asami was seated in the desk in her room, her eyes eagerly scanning the lines of text in the book she was holding. She was curled up against her headboard, completely involved in her story. She had reached the part when the heroic warrior was about to save the beautiful princess, when she felt a familiar sensation within her waist.

            "Darn it," she mumbled. She threw her covers off of her body and walked out of her room and into the hall. As she made her way to the bathroom, she glanced into the kitchen, her mother was at the table, a stack of papers before her. "Mom, you're still awake?"

            Hikari turned to her daughter. "Oh, yeah, I've been behind with my grading." She smiled slightly, "If I don't grade these mid-terms by Monday, I think the _kids_ are going to kill me…" She sighed, "Or whatever's left, after the principal's done with me."

            Her daughter gave a slight giggle. "Where's Dad?"

            "Still at work," she sighed, "I think there's something major going on, and he hasn't said anything yet." She sighed slightly, "I called your Aunt Sora, but she didn't know anything either."

            "Are you worried?" Asami asked.

"A little. Whenever your father doesn't talk to me, I…." She smiled, "It's nothing. You should go back to bed."

            She nodded. "Okay Mom." She turned and began to walk back to her room, when she noticed their two partners, curled up together on the couch in the living room. "Mom, look."

            When the older woman saw what the teenager was pointed at, she smiled as well. Hikari's Plotmon X and Asami's Leormon were curled up together, fast asleep. "That's so cute!" Asami grinned.

            "You'd better not tell Plotmon," Hikari chuckled, "She'll be sore for days."

111

            Sleep did not come for either Masa or his Fully Evolved partner. The teenager held tightly to Dorugremon as his partner flew through the night sky. While the Nature Spirit used his sense of smell to track the unmistakable sent from Hinkon, Masa was clutched tightly to his partner's back, staring at the mysterious staff that had appeared in his palms. It would have seemed odd to him only a few shorts hours ago, but after being attacked by Hinkon and receiving his partner, nothing seemed strange anymore.

            "We're getting close," Dorugremon spoke up, "His scent's getting stronger."

            "That's great," he replied.

            "You're worried about your mother?"

            He sighed. "Yes, but also, I am wondering about the odd things that are happening to me. First I have weird dreams, then a digimon partner…." He looked at the staff, "And now this…"He shook his head, "None of it makes any sense!"

            "Sorry."

            "For what?"

            "I don't know anything to tell you, I wish I could, I don't even remember why I'm named what I'm named."

            Masa gave a slight smile and gently rubbed his back. "We'll figure this out, I'm certain we will."

            Dorugremon's eyes focused on a large building below them. "He's down there."

            "Are you certain?"

            The dragon nodded. "Yes, I can smell him."

            Masa took a deep breath. "All right, let's go."

            The Nature Spirit dropped to the ground with an elegant landing. Masa leapt off of his partner and examined the surroundings. They were standing in the parking lot of a local mall, surrounded by buildings. The teenager's eyes darted back and forth, his heart racing at every shadow-cast only by the light of the stars.

            "Why aren't the lights on?" Masa asked, looking up at the dark overhead lights. "This cannot be good."

            Dorugremon sniffed the air, then mentioned to one of the buildings. "He's in there."

            Masa clutched to the Staff of Yuushi. "All right, let's go."

            The duo silently marched towards the building, when one of the glass doors suddenly shattered. They braced themselves for an impact, but there was none. "What happened?" Masa asked, glancing around.

            "Hey, look," Dorugremon said, "On the ground."

            The teenager saw to what his partner was mentioning, an odd-shaped object a few feet in front of them. They cautiously approached it, moving slowly, and as it did not appear to be a threat, moved faster. "It's one of those metal stars he throws around!" Dorugremon gasped.

            Masa's head darted from side-to-side, attempting to see his mysterious enemy. "Where is he?"

            "Masa!" Dorugremon shouted.

            The teenager turned back around, the metal star was now spewing forth a mysterious purple gas. Masa had seen enough television and movies to deduce what this gas would do, but before he could warn his partner, his eyes drooped and his head fell to the ground.

            When he awoke, he knew instantly that he was no longer outside in the mall parking lot. He had an overwhelming sense of claustrophobia, he was inside somewhere, deep inside a building, and judging by the laser-bars comprising the fourth wall of the small cell. Yet, not so small the large Dorugremon could not be sleeping off to the side. He crawled over and gently shook his partner. "Dorugremon…Dorugremon!"

            The dragon groaned and slowly opened his eyes. "M…Masa? W…where are we?"

            He shook his head. "I don't know."

            "We are far from home."

            The two noticed for the first time that they were not alone in the cell. A human was leaning against the wall. "Mother!" Masa exclaimed, "Mother, what…what is happening?"

            His mother sighed again. "I suppose I have kept this from you for too long…"

            "Kept what?" he gasped, moving closer to her. As he did, he placed his hand on something soft.

            "Hey, watch it!"

            He jerked his limb back, then gasped at the strange creature lying on the ground. "W…another digimon?"

            His mother smiled. "Masa, I would like you to meet Plotmon, she is my digimon partner."

            "D…digimon partner?" he gasped, "Digimon partner?! You're a Chosen!"

            She nodded. "Yes, that is correct."

            Masa turned to Plotmon. "Hi," she waved, "It's great to finally meet you."

            "What is going on here?!" Masa screamed.

            His answered him. "You were brought here shortly after dawn…Or rather, what I believe to be dawn, I think we are very far below the surface of the planet."

            He shook his head in frustration. "That's not what I mean! Why are you a Chosen, and you never…" His voice trailed as his eyes opened in shock. He examine the cell feverously.

            "What are you looking for?" the Plotmon asked.

            "My staff, it's gone!"

            His mother and her Plotmon glanced at once another. "Staff?"

            "Yes, it just appeared during the fight with…"

            His mother chuckled. "So, that is why I was not able to call it, it was obeying you. I wonder if the others will encounter the same problem?"

            "What?" he snapped.

            His mother smiled warmly. "That weapon is called the Staff of Yuushi, and it is impossible to lose that weapon."

            "What do you mean?"

            His mother held out her arm. A bright gold glow exploded in her palms, and when it faded, the mysterious Staff of Yuushi was within her hand. Masa stared at her. "You…you were the priestess in my dreams!"

            She sighed. "I believed that was so…."

            "Why didn't you ever tell me any of this!" he gasped, "You…you fought those Chosen Warriors I saw!"

            "The X-Chosen."

            "What?"

            "The X-Chosen is what they are called, and we…" She mentioned to Plotmon, "Reluctantly did battle with them."

            "Why didn't you tell me?"

            A new voice answered him, a sinister voice that resented with rage. "Because she thought she could protect you from your destiny."

            Masa saw the snarl forming on his mother's face. He turned around and saw a large figure standing on the other side of the laser-bars. It was a man with a large physique, broad shoulders, and a muscular chest. His face was not familiar, but the left side contained a metal plate, yet his human eye was clearly visible.  He was dressed in the same dark jacket as Hinkon.

            "What destiny?" he asked.

            The man with the half-metal face crossed his arms. "Tell me, when you're sitting in school, hanging  with your girlfriend, seeing your friends, did you ever think you were just a normal teenager?"

            He did not answer.

            "Well, you are anything _but_ normal."

            He smirked. "Well, I am a Chosen, right?"

            "Chosen?" the man with the half-metal face began to laugh, "Believe me, you are far more then any Chosen that came before you. Make no mistake, you are more then a normal Chosen, but, I wonder if you are the one? Well, that can be determined by a simple examination…"

            He turned to face another man that had appeared behind him. This man was taller, but thin and lanky. He, too, wore a long dark coat, but his face was completely covered by a metal mask, not even his eyes were visible. "Tell them to get ready, the next subject is on their way."

            "Right," the other man nodded. Masa could tell that neither of them were Americans from their accents, so he asked the question that he was thinking.

            "Where are we? We're not in America anymore, are we?"

            "Oh no, boy," the man with the half-metal face chuckled, "You are far from home, and if you ever want to see your home again, don't try anything, understand?"

            Masa nodded. The man with the metal-face grinned, "Then let the fun begin."

111

            Colonel Yamato Ishida of the Air Self-Defense Force entered the office in the Misawa Air Force base.. He walked to the desk and fell into the chair exhaling heavily, releasing all of his stress.

            "Rough day?"

            He glanced over and saw Gabumon seated in one of the guest chairs, watching television. "What are you doing?" he gasped, "What if someone saw you?"

            "The only one that knows I'm here is Tamiko."

            Yamato shook his head. "We're trying to perfect that new rocket engine drive, but we just can't get it right. It's driving me crazy!" He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "I think I'm getting an ulcer."

            His digimon partner gave a chuckle. "Does that mean we're going home soon?"

            Yamato sighed. "I need some time off, but you know that we can't move this project back to Tokyo until we determine that the engine is going to cause any civilian damage." He sighed again, "I can't even call Noriko without Tsunank downstairs censoring it just because I'm working on an important project!"

            "Why don't you just give him some time off like before."

            Yamato smiled slightly, remembering how he was successfully able to bribe the censorship officer long enough for Noriko to smuggle Gabumon into the base. "Yeah, that might not work again. We're just lucky that Tamiko's okay with hiding you here."

            The small digimon was about to respond, when the door to the office opened and a young woman came inside. "Excuse me Colonel."

            "What is it?" Yamato asked his secretary.

            "There's someone here to see you…"

            "Who?"

"I don't know, but I think they're from somewhere in Europe."

            "Europe? I don't know anyone in Europe," he said, following Tamiko out of the room.

            "Well, I don't know, sir, but she's been waiting for you to finish your shift."

            Yamato just nodded. They maneuvered through the halls of the base before arriving at the civilian waiting area. There was a woman who was seated in one of the chairs, and when he entered, she rose to her feet. He stared at her face, and nearly felt the ground cave away beneath him. He stumbled backwards, and only by catching the wall, was he able to keep from crashing to the floor. The woman standing before him had to be in her late 20's to early 30's, which bright blue eyes, and long, golden curly hair. Her face was unmistakable, but he was certain that his mind was only playing tricks on him.

            The woman smiled. "_Bonjour, Monsieur Ishida."_

            Yamato had to grab the door to steady himself.

            The woman looked confused for a moment, then smiled. "I see, you t'ink I am Catherine, do you not?"

            "T…t…that thought had entered my mind," he stammered.

            She gave a slight bow. _"Mon nom est Alexandrie Debre._ I am Catherine's little sister."

            He blinked a few times. "W…you are? I…I didn't know she had a sister…"

            Alexandrie giggled slightly. "Well, I was much younger zen her when you last saw her."

            Yamato frowned. "I'm…sorry that…that I couldn't even give your parents a….well…a…."

            "Whole body?" she asked, "My parents understood what Catherine was, and zat she died fulfilling zat destiny."

            He gave a slight shrug, "I just wish I could have given you some closure…." He sighed, "It's better then we gave Maria, Keeya and Iduia's family, there's wasn't even a body to give."

            Alexandrie smiled slightly. "Well, here iz my daughter, Eliane."

            "Eliane?" he asked, looking down at the girl standing at Alexandrie's side.

            "Do you not remember our phone conversation?" Alexandrie asked.

            Yamato searched his memories. A flash shot through his mind. "Oh, right, yes…yes…I remember now, right."

            He smiled at the preteen  "_Bonjour._"

            The girl nodded. "_Bonjour_, it's a pleasure to meet you."

            Yamato smiled. "Ah, she speaks Japanese, good. I didn't feel like translating."

            Alexandrie's smile faded. "As you can probably tell, she has ze Second Black Death."

            "She does?"

            She pulled up the bottom of her daughter's shirt. The outer layer of skin around the abdomen was completely gone. "Just like Noriko," he sighed.

            "Your wife?" Alexandrie asked.

            He nodded. "Her infection is the same."  He rose to his feet and spoke to Alexandrie quietly. "What about Catherine's power?"

            "She has not shown any yet."

Yamato turned to the young girl, "Well, why don't we check out your partner?"

            The girl grinned. "Sure, zat's great."

            Yamato grinned. _"Can't wait to tell Taichi he's got another one."_

111

            Masa was strapped to the metal table, struggling against the metal clamps that held his arms and legs firmly attached to surface. A scanner-like device was positioned above his head. To his right was Dorumon, confined to a carry-case like cage, where florescent-shaped devices were pointing at him from all four angles. They had to wait until Dorugremon had finally regressed to his Child form before they even had a chance of moving him to the un-godly examination room they were now occupying. The Man with the Metal Mask was standing on the other side of a plate glass window in a control room of some sort.

            "Struggling isn't any good, you know," he said over a speaker, "You won't escape."

            Masa glanced away from the window and looked at the white walls. He had no idea what the rest of this faculty looked like, but all of the walls he saw in this section, the walls were completely white. It reminded him of a hospital, but that was a place where people went to be cured of their illnesses, he was certain this place existed to _make_ illnesses-physical and mental.

            "We are about to begin the procedure," the Man with the Metal Mask said.

            Masa tensed his body as the scanner began to slide, showering his body with a strange green light. He felt a wave of intense pain wherever the light touched. He held it in as best he could, but the scanner was slow, and the light was only at his abdomen before he began to scream in pain. When the scanner finally came to a stop a few inches past his feet, he panted heavily.

            The Man in the Metal Mask's voice sounded through the speakers again. "Was that painful?"

            "Yes!" the teenager screamed.

            "That's odd, it shouldn't have hurt…."

            "What the hell was that?" Masa shouted again.

            "Just a simple genetic tester," he explained, "To determine the digital information present in your body, the type of digital information, the amount, and so on." He looked at his computer screen, examining the lines of information being displayed. "Hmm, X-Antibody is present….Wait, what…that's…amazing! Incredible!"

            Masa smirked. "I take it you found what you were looking for?"

            "We shall see," he said, "But I'll reserve judgment until I see the readings from your partner."

            Dorumon looked at Masa with a worried expression in his eyes. "Just be calm, okay? It'll be fine," Masa said to his partner.

            "Starting now," the Man with the Metal Mask said.

            The four devices surrounding Dorumon's cage began to glow with green light. The small digimon began to scream as pain coursed through his body.

            "Dorumon!" Masa shouted.

            The Man in the Metal Mask could still be heard over the speaker. "Amazing. These readings are higher then anything I've ever seen! I've got to pry deeper…."

            The light from the devices began to glow brighter, and Dorumon's screams grew louder.

"Stop!" Masa shouted to the glass window, "Stop it!"

            The Man in the Metal Mask ignored him. "I'm increasing the power…"

            Masa's head twisted to his partner, who was screaming even more. The teenager could see the pain and fear in Dorumon's eyes. Soon, he too began to feel an over whelming pain washing over his body. He was not prepared for this, and so, began to cry out as well.

            "Incredible!" the Man in the Metal Mask sounded over the speakers, "You are actually feeling his pain. Not even Yagami or Ishida's connection is that powerful! I've got to find out more…"

            Masa's entire body began to shake with pain. He knew that if this continued, neither he nor Dorumon would survive much longer. They had to get free, but how? His mind flashed him a memory of his mother calling the mysterious staff to her hands back in the prison cell, but would it work? He called it before, undoubtedly subconsciously, so he could do it.

            He concentrated as hard as he could, focusing on his right hand. A small ball of gold light appeared, which quickly grew to a large side before it exploded, revealing the Staff of Yuushi. Yet, the golden light did not cease, but grew in intensity, completely enveloping both human and digimon.

            "What?" the Man in the Metal Mask exclaimed, "Evolution! Such power!"

            "**Dorumon warp evolve to…"**

            **The Staff of Yuushi exploded forth, showering Dorumon and Masa.  Both human and digimon began to rotate around a silhouette that appeared in the center. As they spun, their bodies merged together, first Masa's hand, then Dorumon's hand, then a metal hand, first Masa's legs, then Dorumon's legs, then metallic legs, first Masa's head, then Dorumon's head, then a snout-ed metal face. The new figure flapped his giant wings and caught the falling Staff of Yuushi in his hands.**

            **"Dorugoramon!"**

            The Man in the Metal Mask ran from the control room seconds before Dorugoramon's tail smashed through the glass window. The metal dragon man easily smashed through the walls of the room and entered the white halls. As he demolished the structure, he must have knocked into a power line, because the main lines instantly ceased illuminating. A moment later, red backup lights began to shine into the halls, and alarms started to blast. Dorugoramon ignored the blaring noise and charged through the halls. It was a tight squeeze, but he was able to maneuver through the corridors.

            "Which way did I come from?" he asked, spying the intersecting halls stretching before him. The walls were covered with doors and windows, but none of them looked familiar. He ran down a left hall, before turning right at the next corridor. He continued aimlessly until he arrived within a long corridor, with a single door on the far end.

            "This definitely isn't right," he sighed.

            He heard voices from behind him. He glanced over his shoulder and could see flashlights in the distance. If they were normal humans, he probably could have handled them, yet, he was not completely certain what _they_ actually were; Hinkon stood up to the assault of Dorugremon, a Fully Evolved digimon, they cannot be normal humans. Besides, he did not want to get into a fight….at least, until he escaped with his mother. He took a deep breath and charged through the door, completely destroying the wall. He arrived in a large room-a hanger judging by the vehicles and aircraft pushed to the side. It was completely vacant of people, except for one figure standing on the other end of the room.

            "Well, well, well," Hinkon grinned, "My, how you've changed since I saw you last."

            "Shut up!" Dorugoramon shouted, "Where is my mother?"

            "Sorry, can't say."

            "Then get out of my way!"

            Hinkon remained in place.

            "I said get the fuck out of the way!" he screamed. A wave of energy erupted in all directions, knocking into the vehicles, causing five of them to explode, which set off a chain reaction, destroying the remaining craft.

            "My my my…" Hinkon chuckled, "Such a temper, we'll have to keep that under control."

            Dorugoramon roared once more, clenching his hands and pulling his head back.

            "I see there's just no use talking to you this way, is there?" Hinkon grinned, "So I guess it's up to me to reign ya' in. Once you've calmed down enough, we get can back ta work. Ya see, the guy with the metal mask that was examining you, well, he's got a pretty nasty temper, and if he found you…you might not be here. So you should probably thank me, I'm just gonna bring ya back to a more…manageable size…."

            He crossed his arms over his chest. He whipped his left hand to the side, and a gun like device fell out of the sleeves of his jacket but instead of falling to the ground, it slipped back over his hand, clicking into place. He whipped his right hand to the ground, and a large blade slid down, apparently attached to someplace higher on his forearm. He raised both weapons back to his face, smirking proudly. "Come on, right behind me is the way out, get past me…and well…you know the rest…"

            He pointed his gun-barreled arm forward and fired a barrage of his shooting star weapons. Dorugoramon turned to the side, using his large wings as a metal shield, the projectiles deflecting back in all directions. He charged forward, his fists glowing red with energy. He swung his fists, but Hinkon back-flipped into the air, spinning around to fire more shooting stars at the Nature Spirit's head. Despite the close rang, only three stars impacted into the Beast Dragon. This did not slow him down, and he whipped around, his left wing striking the descending Hinkon. The mysterious human was propelled to the side. Dorugoramon roared again and flew forward.

            Hinkon recovered from the attack and fired more shooting stars. Dorugoramon whipped his wings around once more to act as a shield. When he removed them, he saw that Hinkon was only inches from him, swinging his sword. The Beast Dragon blocked the blade with the metallic gauntlet, on his left hand, then used the fist on his right hand to Hinkon's jaw as hard as he could. Even with his Mega-level strength, Hinkon's head was still firmly attached to his shoulders.

            "What?" Dorugoramon gasped, "That…that should have taken your head off!" He stared at his opponent, "W…what are you?"

            "Beat me, and maybe you'll find out!" he shouted, swinging and jabbing with his blade. Dorugoramon blacked with his gauntlets.  First the right, then the left-right, left, right, left, right, left. The Beast Dragon blocked with his left arm again, then spun around quickly, his tail striking Hinkon's legs, knocking him into the ground. Dorugoramon pulled his leg back and kicked his opponent in the side as hard as he could. Hinkon rolled along the ground before he was a safe distance, then jumped back onto his feet, firing more shooting stars. These projectiles pierced the metal armor of the Beast Dragon's chest. He staggered back but recovered quickly. More shooting stars were coming towards him. He pulled his head back, then whipped it forward, sending a wave of metal shrapnel towards Hinkon.

            "Brave Metal!"

            His shards tore across Hinkon's body, tearing his jacket away from his body. Dorugoramon could now clearly see Hinkon's arm. The limb was covered with mutilated flesh and metallic components. The blade dipped down and merged in an area near his elbow, while the gun-device on his other arm was attached to his wrist through a mess of wires.

            "Holy shit…."

            Hinkon shrugged. "It's the price I had to pay, to gain the power I needed!"

            The two combatants charged forward once more. Hinkon raised his sword arm, ready to strike down. Dorugoramon raised his arm to block, but his mysterious enemy whipped his gun arm around and fired a quick burst of shooting stars, directly into the Beast Dragon left arm. Dorugoramon roared in pain.

            "Ha!" Hinkon laughed, "gotta be faster then that!"

            Dorugoramon glared at him, his left arm hanging limply at his side. His opponent then began to swing his bladed arm at the Beast Dragon, with only one arm, Dorugoramon struggled to block each jab and slash, but he was soon over-powered and stumbled back on his own feet.

            Hinkon laughed and raised his sword arm. "You weren't so tough after all!" He swung down, aiming for the Beast Dragon's head. Dorugoramon raised his un-injured arm….

            Hinkon's blade stopped inches from Dorugoramon's head before his arm fell limply to his side. The mysterious human's face was shaking and his eyes rolled backwards into his head. The Beast Dragon stared in horror at his opponent's chest, where a long gold staff had been shoved through his chest and out his back, it was none other then the Staff of Yuushi.

            Dorugoramon gasped. "I….I called that? But, I…I never meant to…"

            Hinkon's body fell over onto his back. The skin then began to vanish, as if maggots and other flesh-eating organisms were devouring the organic components at an impossible rate. When the flesh and bone were gone, portions of a metallic skeleton were left. These metallic items soon vanished as well, turning bright red before transmogrifying into smoke that dissipated into the air.

            Dorugoramon's body glowed brightly before returning to his previous forms of Masa and Dorumon. The Beast Digimon stared at his partner. "Humans don't normally do that when they die, do they?"

            Before Masa could answer, the sound of clapping was heard echoing through the large room. The partners turned and saw a figure walking towards them, his hands clapping. It was the Man with the Half-Metal Face, the one whom Masa assumed was the leader.

            "Well done. I wasn't sure that you were the one, but killing Hinkon was no easy task." He stopped and crossed his arms, a smile crossing his lips. "Dorugoramon, truly an impressive sight, the perfect combination of Yagami and Ishida."

He chuckled. "Four consecutive evolutions in a matter of hours for a newly-born digimon….that it quite impossible, yet, you did it without and trouble. Although, I was expecting something…different for your final form. But I wonder if you have the power to stand up to Omegamon X?" He shrugged, "But I guess it doesn't matter, you're still the key."

            "What are you talking about?" Masa demanded.

            "You'll learn all that, the more time you spend with us."

            The teenager looked to his partner. "What if we don't want to spend any more time with you?"

            "You don't have a choice, one false move, and your mother dies."

            "You bastard," Masa growled.

            He shrugged. "Perhaps, perhaps not. Now, will you come with me willingly, or must we force your cooperation with a serious injury to your mother?"

            "We don't have a choice," Dorumon said.

            Masa held his head low, sighing deeply. "I agree."

            The Man with the Half-Metal Face grinned. "Excellent. Now, let the fun begin."

To be continued….

_…….The Final Act has only just begun……._

Author's note: Masa's story was kind of essential for the beginning, the story will now focus more on Taichi and the others.

            Thanks for the great reviews, I'm glad to see that these fics are as much fun for you to read as they are for me to write.

_Continued from Last chapter….._

            With the Digital World destroyed, something was revealed to have been hidden inside the core of that world, a strange, dark sphere. This was the Dark Area, and inside resided an evil demon named GranDracmon, and he revealed himself to be the God of the Digital World. He had created the Demon Lords from the dark data from each of the original Chosen, when they experienced emotions opposite that of their crests. He used the Demon Lords to gather the energy of the First Chosen to destroy the Digital World, so that the Dark Area could be freed. He used Miayag to gather a congregation of worshippers, so that he could use their energy to bring himself to Earth.

            The Daughters of the First traveled to the three moons of the Digital World to gather the Spheres of the Angels, but Keeya and Iduia were killed. Back on Earth, GranDracmon's Four Horsemen gathered enough energy from the Digitalatri to create a gate to allow GranDracmon to come to Earth. Catherine and Maria were killed.

            Using the Spheres, Hiroshi, Keiko, Takaishi and James merged together into Apocalymon, Sora and Anna became Hououmon, and Noriko and Lynna became Pleisomon. Together, with Kuzuhamon, Wargreymon X and Metalgarurumon X, the assembled team fought GranDracmon. A fierce battle ensued, and each of the Daughters of the First-alive _and_ dead-Miayag, too, was a Daughter of the First-as she had Yuushi's Power of Fate, gathered their energy to Taichi and Yamato, and they were able to evolve to Omegamon X and defeat GranDracmon.

            A few months later, Michael and Mimi were married, along with Jyou and his wife, Kiku. With the destruction of the Digital World, the remaining weapons of the First Chosen-so powerful they could withstand the destruction, fell through a portal and entered Earth. Three of these weapons crashed into Japan-one was the Flail of Chance, the weapon of the Fallen Chosen, called Juro. He had been part of the First Chosen, years ago, but he turned against them, and was banished from all records of the Digital World. With his weapon finally returned to him, he began his revenge by killing Taichi and Yamato. \

Yet, their data did not dissipate as it should have. They and their digimon partners were split into their different personalities, each one merged with the power of a Daughter of the First. They were unintentionally found by the Hypnos organization, and set free. Kurata, the chief Hypnos scientist, used the data he gathered from these duplicates, and believed that by changing DNA into data, such manipulation could be possible. However, his let his ambition get the better of him, and he joined with Juro, who wanted him to use that gate to give him his youth back.

            The splinters of Taichi and Yamato joined with Hikari, Sora, Noriko, and Miayag. Hikari discovered that her boyfriend, Mistuo Yamaki, was in fact, the leader of Hypnos. Distraught at being used, she stayed behind with Miayag while the others searched for the other two weapons that fell to Japan. They acquired the Shield of Metal and the Bow of Forest. While attempting to use them, Jyou and Michael evolved to Metalseadramon X and Pleiosmon X, and like Skull Greymon, they were completely out of control. Hikari needed to use the Staff of Yuushi and was imbued with the Power of Fate. and evolved to Holydramon X.

            Kurata and Juro, meanwhile, had completed their Digital Gate and activated it, threatening the city. The splinters of Taichi and Yamato, along with Yamaki, who had received his own partner, V-mon, attacked the Fallen Chosen and the renegade scientist. The splinters reformed, and a complete Omegamon X finally defeated Juro's partner, the demonic Deep Saver, Metal Piranhmon. Yet, with the gate close to malfunctioning, Kurata redeemed himself by dragging him and Juro through the gate, stabilizing it and saving the city.

            With two-years worth of problems finally over, Taichi and Sora were married. They were followed by Noriko and Yamato, Yamaki and Hikari. They all continued on with their lives, having children and starting families. But now, with a new threat beginning to emerge, what will their future hold?


	3. Dawn of the Heroes: Chapter 1

Author's Note: Four months later…after the end of the last chapter.

_My name is Taichi Yagami, and I am the leader of the X-Chosen, although, my 'job' lately has been more…um…paperwork then actually field work. You see, I'm a member of the Japanese government now, specifically, the Minister of Defense's advisor on digital matters. It's a pretty good job, it certainly pays the bills, and with a family now, I've got a lot of bills. _

_            I married Sora shortly after the whole deal with the Fallen Chosen. She gave birth to our daughter, Kasumi, a few months later. I can't begin to tell you how happy I was when I saw Kasumi in Sora's arms. I was really relieved when she didn't have the Second Black Death, but….five years later, my son, Akira, was born. He, unfortunately, had that damn virus. He probably isn't going to get worse, but….I just can't help staying up in the middle of the night, worrying about him. I know Sora does the same. I guess it's part of being a parent._

_            And now, a new Digital World mysterious appeared. We're not even sure when, but we know it's there now. And we're planning an expedition to explore it, but I'm debating whether to bring the kids or not. They need the experience…but what if they get hurt, or worse? _

_Digimon Magog_

_Dawn of the Heroes_

_Chapter 1_

            Kasumi used her right foot to maneuver the soccer ball onto her left foot. She shifted her weight and jerked up on her leg, bringing the ball into the air. She waited until it dropped lower before bouncing it off of her left leg. She then began to bounce the soccer ball from right knee to left knee and back. She was dressed in her favorite outfit, composed of blue jeans, a yellow t-shirt and a denim jacket. Her long brown hair was pulled tightly into one long ponytail that dangled down her back.

            "Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah!" she cheered with each successful bounce.

            Yuki Agumon was seated on her bed, her claws pressing the buttons on the controller while her eyes stared at the small television set that was resting on the dresser. She had been trying to defeat the boss for the game she was playing, when the soccer ball smashed into her hands, causing her to drop the controller. She stared with horror as the enemy utterly defeated her character, causing a game over.

            "No, damn it!" she growled, staring at her partner.

            Kasumi smiled sheepishly. "Heh, sorry."

            "You sure got a lot of energy," she muttered, grabbing the controller again.

            "Sure do!" the teenage girl grinned, bouncing the ball again, "It's Friday! Mom and Dad aren't gonna be here this weekend…it's gonna be so cool!"

            "Where are they going?"

            Kasumi shrugged. "Who cares? Let's have a party or something! We can call Shiro and Asami, maybe we'll even drag Kenji here!"

            "What about Akira and Yasu?" she asked.

            Kasumi snorted. "Right, like I'm gonna invite my dorky little brother and that spoiled fucking brat!"

            The white dinosaur watched as Kasumi continued to bounce the ball. "You should probably stop that, you know."

            "Why?"

            "Your mother's not gonna like it…"

            "No, it's fine," the teenager protested, "I'm not gonna drop it or anything, jeeze, Yuki, give me some credit."

            With the last bounce, she gave it too much force and the ball slammed into the wall. Both human and digimon held their breaths, and when they heard a loud crash from outside the room, they both gasped loudly.

            "Kasumi!" they heard Sora shout from somewhere in the apartment, "That had better not have been one of my pictures!"

            The brown-haired girl poked her head outside the room and saw that it was, indeed, one of her mother's framed pictures, smashed on the floor, the glass scattered. She grabbed Yuki Agumon's arm, "Come on, let's get out of here!"

111

            Psychemon glanced up from his book at Shiro matched into their room. He watched as the blond teenager dropped a stack of books onto his desk. "Something bothering you?"

            "There's a huge exam tomorrow," Shiro said, flipping his book open, "It's gonna be an all-nighter…."

            His partner blinked in confusion. "I thought you studied all week."

            "That was another test…"

            "How many do you have?" Psychemon gasped.

            "Enough," Shiro sighed, "But, the point is, I need to study, that's the only way I can keep up my grades. This is a mid-term, so it's a _major_ grade, I've got to get a good grade on this, so I have to study. I can't let anything distract me."

            "Shiro! What's up?"

            The blond teenager froze as he heard the familiar female voice shot through the apartment. "Oh shit!" he gasped. He twisted to Psychemon, who nodded in silence. They both held their breath, waiting and hoping….

            The door to his room was thrown open. "Oh, what are you guys doing in here on such a beautiful day?"

            Shiro sighed, slamming his book shut. "Hey Kasumi…."

            The brown-haired girl mentioned to the textbook. "Was that your English book?"

            He nodded. "Yeah, I _was_ about to study for the mid-term tomorrow…" He hoped that she would understand the stress in his voice and let him worry about passing the major examination.

            She shrugged. "Eh, why do you need to learn how to speak English anyway? We live in Japan, right?"

            "Everyone speaks English," he protested.

            "Well, I'm gonna make a stand and _not_ learn."

            He sighed deeply, "I take it that means you're not studying…"

            She blinked. "Studying? For what?"

            "The mid-term!" he exclaimed.

            "What mid-term?"

            "The major test tomorrow? It's like, one third of our grade!"

            She was still giving him a clueless expression. "Damn it, don't you ever pay attention?" he gasped.

            She shrugged again. "Eh, my mind wanders a lot…"

            Shiro muttered, "Tell me about it…"

            She narrowed her eyes. "You know, maybe I don't pay attention because I'm so smart that I get bored with normal classes."

            The room was silent for a moment, before everyone, even Yuki Agumon, began to roar with laughter. The brown-haired girl glared at her partner, "I wouldn't laugh if I were you, when Agumon and Piyomon were trying to teach you how to evolve, you didn't even have any idea what they were talking about!"

            Psychemon fell to the ground, clutching his side. "You're kidding, right?"

            Yuki Agumon began to blush, which was embarrassingly visible through her white skin. "Shut up!"

            Kasumi breathed deeply, keeping her temper under control. "So, it's a beautiful day, let's go play soccer."

            Shiro shook his head. "Kasumi, I…"

            She frowned. "All right, we'll play basketball!"

            The blond boy was enticed by the idea of playing his favorite game-he was not really any good at soccer, but Kasumi was not really any good at basketball, it was the only game he could actually win against her. Yet, the 'academic' in him won out.

            "I can't…"

            The brown-haired girl grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him towards the door. "Yes you can, come on."

            "Kasumi!" he shouted, "I need to study!"

            "No you don't," she said, dragging him out the door, "Who cares about school anyway?"

            Yuki Agumon and Psychemon could hear Shiro protesting as Kasumi dragged him out the door. The fur-covered digimon glared at the scaled-covered one. "What?"

            "Shiro really needed to study, you know!"

            Yuki Agumon shrugged. "The fresh air's probably better for him anyway." Her eyes darted down the hall. "Anyone else home?"

            Psychemon shook his head. "No, Noriko, Plotmon, Yasu and Labramon went to meet Yamato and Gabumon at the airport." He sighed slightly, "They're finally back, their tour of duty ended two days ago, he's got the next two months off. We're finally a family ag…" He trailed off when he noticed that Yuki Agumon had vanished.

            He hopped off of Shiro's bed and wandered down the hall. Yuki Agumon was seated on the floor of the living room, playing the Ishida's video game system. Psychemon sighed. "You could have asked, you know."

            Yuki Agumon shrugged. "Yeah, but you might have said no."

            Psychemon growled in frustration, marching back into Shiro's room.

            "What the hell's up with him?" the white-colored digimon gasped.

111

            Taichi sighed deeply as he sat behind his desk in the DATS building. He glanced over to the large stack of papers resting in his 'in' box, while his 'out' box  contained only a small number. He tapped his pen against the desk as he stared off into space.

            "Can I say something?"

            He glanced over to where Agumon X was sitting in one of the chairs. "What?"

            "You shouldn't have agreed to this. You're bored out of your mind."

            Taichi shrugged. "Yeah maybe, but what else would I have done with a political science degree?"

            "You should have gone into the army like Yamato."

            He snorted. "Yeah, those fucking big shot generals-they haven't seen any real fighting in over fifty years. By the time I was 11, I'd already been in more combat then them."

            Agumon X gave a slight smile. "You just don't want anyone telling you what to do."

            He returned his partner's slight smile. "Yeah, I get enough of that at home."

            There was a knock on the door. Taichi glanced up and saw Yamaki and V-mon standing in the doorway. "If you got a minute, I'd like to talk to you about this new Digital World expedition?"

            "Oh, right, yeah, come in."

            "He wasn't doing anything anyway," Agumon X added.

            Taichi glared at him, but turned back to his brother-in-law as he sat down in one of the chairs on the other side of the desk. He had a large plastic binder beneath his arms, which he dropped onto the table.

            "Great," Taichi sighed.

            Yamaki flipped open the binder and began to remove a stack of papers, which he dropped onto the desk. He searched for a moment before handing Taichi a stack of photographs. "What exactly am I looking at?"

            "I'm getting there," the other man said, "We've had surveillance since discovering this world four months ago. What we discovered was that this Digital World, which I've designated, Neo Digital World…"

            "_You?"_ Taichi asked, "Why did you get to name it?"

            Yamaki stared at him. "Do you have a better name?"

            Taichi was silent for a moment, then shrugged. "No, I guess not."

            Yamaki sighed and continued, "As I was saying, Neo Digital World is comprised of nine different regions, which, as strange as it sounds, embodies a different element."

            Taichi raised an eyebrow. "Element?"

            "That's right, and the same ones that you're thinking of…"

            "The powers of the First Chosen?"

            He nodded. "That's right. As you can see in the pictures, there's a region for each element, I've named each one after a goddess of fate from Ancient Norse, Roman and Greek. Urd for Fire, Verdani for Forest, Skuld for Metal, Nona for Water, Decima for Earth, Morta for Wind, Clotho for Light, Lachesis for Darkness and Atrops for the last region, which I think is a combination of Fare and Chance…."

            Taichi blinked for a few times, scratching his head. "Um…from now on, I want to personally approve all names…."

            Yamaki sighed, "Fine, 'Fireland,' "Grassland,"….."

            "Jeeze, you're really cranky today, aren't you?"

            His brother-in-law glared at him, "I'm just trying to do my job, you know…"

            Taichi sighed and made a motion with his hand. "All right, all right…"

            Yamaki looked back at his stack of papers. "Our readings indicate that there are a large number of digimon on the planet as well, but if they have any knowledge of Earth, I have no idea."

            Taichi just nodded. "So, basically, we don't know anything."

            Yamaki gave a sheepish smile. "Pretty much…"

            The other middle-age man gave a slight chuckle. "Just like the first time…"

            His brother-in-law stared at him. "So, I assume you'll be leading the expedition team?"

            "What?"

            Yamaki gave a smile. "I know you're bored, you can't wait to jump out from behind that desk."

            He shrugged slowly. "Yeah, maybe you're right. What about you, you coming?"

            "Believe me, I'd love to, but someone'll need to be here to watch things…"

            "Can't you get someone?" he asked, "I was thinking of asking Hikari to join us…"

            "Really? Well, if Hikari says yes, then maybe I'll go…." He frowned, "Of course, if something happened to us, then what about Asami?" He glanced at his brother-in-law, "Or are they coming with us?"

            Taichi sighed deeply. "I don't know, what do you think?"

            Yamaki shrugged. "Personally, I hate the idea of Asami fighting, but…."

            "But she's a Chosen, and sooner or later she'll have to," Taichi finished, "I know, it's the same thing I've been thinking about for weeks now. I don't want Kasumi and Akira fighting, I don't want them risking their lives. I fighting for my life, and thousands of others lives, when I was 10, and even though I'd like to think otherwise, I'm sure it screwed me up somehow. I don't want them to have to deal with that same thing, I want them to be normal kids, but I know they're not. It's only a matter of time before they'll have to fight, and even though they're DATS agents, even though we train them…they won't be ready when someone like GranDracmon, or Juro shows up. And even though it's been fifteen years of relative peace, it's only a matter of time. There have been those occasional digimon menacing Earth, but…" He shook his head, "They're nothing like _we_ faced as kids….I've seen true evil, I've looked into their eyes…."

He stared at Yamaki, "What I'm going to tell you, no one…not even Sora or Hikari knows…"

Yamaki nodded, understanding that Taichi wanted it to be kept between them.

Taichi took a deep breath. "Some nights I still have nightmares about Myotismon…I can see him killing Hikari, right in front of me. It's not real, but…I just keep thinking that it _almost_ happened, and I wasn't even the one to save her, Wizardmon did. And I think that's part of the problem, if I had saved her, then I wouldn't be so scared about it. And what I'm afraid of, is that something's going to happen to Kasumi, or Akira or Sora, and I won't be able to save them. Someone else will, someone else will die for me….."

            Yamaki could only nod slowly.

            Taichi sighed, "But, I can't let my own fears get in the way…and the more experience they have, the less chance something…really bad, will happen. With the experience, they'll know what to do, right?"

            His brother-in-law was silent for a moment. "Yeah…"

            Taichi sighed once more, "I guess we'll have to bring the kids with us…"

            Yamaki nodded slowly. "I'm sure they'll be fine…at least, I hope…"

            "Yeah, me too…"

111

            Yamato's eyes twitched before he slowly opened them. He was confused for a moment-this was not his private barracks at the air force base, but with a pleasing realization, he remembered that he was in his apartment. He was back home. He had been tired after his plane trip, and wanted to rest when he came home.

            He climbed out of his bed, and walked towards the door. As he did, he passed by the other door, which led into Gabumon X and Plotmon's room. His partner was sleeping soundly as well…with Plotmon curled up on his lap. He gave a chuckle before walking into the hall.

            The floor creaked, and a second later, loud footsteps could be heard, stomping down the hall. "Daddy! Daddy!"

            He smiled as his 10-year-old daughter came charging towards him from the living room. He knelt and held his arms open. She knocked into his chest and full force and he nearly fell over. He regained his balance and wrapped his arms tightly around her. He attempted to lift her, but found that he could not. He felt a tinge of sadness in his heart as he realized she had really grown since he was home last.

            "You're gonna stay for a while, right?" Yasu asked, squeezing him even tighter, "You don't have to leave soon, right?"

            He grinned and stared at his daughter's face, "I'm going to be home for a few months."

            "Promise?" she asked, tears almost forming in her eyes.

            "I promise," he replied.

            Yasu squealed with delight and hugged him again. He rose to his feet and she hopped back into the living room. He walked into the kitchen and saw Noriko busy at the stove. He walked over and placed his hands around her waist. She grinned and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Hey, sexy."

            "You're the sexy one," he replied, then frowned, "Jeeze, nearly a year away, and that's the best I could do?"

            Noriko chuckled, "I'm sure you'll do better…later…"

            Yamato felt himself grin with anticipation, but managed to control it. He glanced around, "Where's Shiro?"

            "I don't know," she sighed, "He knew you were coming home…"

            Yamato shrugged. "Eh, tell the truth, I wasn't really in the mood before…"

            "Your nap?" she giggled, "Jeeze, you're sure turning into an old man…"

            He ignored her. "So, what's that wonderful smell?"

            "Gyoza and Okonomiyaki…"

            He grinned. "You could have been a cook, you know that?"

            She gave a laugh. "I've been watching Mimi's cooking show."

            "But that's in America…?"

            "You can watch anything over the Internet."

            The sounds of Yasu laughing echoed in from the living room. "Why don't you go spend some time with your daughter?" Noriko suggested, "See if you can wean her off of that stupid show she's been watching."

            He walked out of the kitchen and within a few minutes she heard him laughing along with their daughter. She smiled as she began to wash the cooking pans she had been using. She was simply happy that he was home.

            The phone rang. She dried her hands and lifted the phone to ear. "Hello?"

            "Hey, Noriko, it's Sora."

            "Oh, hi, how are you?"

            "Fine, how about you? Yamato's back, right?"

            "I'm ecstatic, to tell the truth."

            "Really? That doesn't sound like my best friend…"

            Noriko rolled her eyes, "Yeah, that was a riot, I'm still holding my sides…"

            Sora laughed slightly, then sighed, "Well, I've got something to tell you that you're probably not going to like…"

            "What?" she asked. Sora quickly explained, and Noriko nearly dropped the phone, "Oh come on! He just got back home! We were….." she sighed, "Yeah…yeah…we'll be there." She slammed the phone back onto the receiver. "Damn it!"

            In the living room, Yasu sighed. "Great, Mom's swearing again."

            Yamato muttered and rolled his eyes. "Some things never change…."

111

             A few hours later, Noriko, Yamato and their partners were standing before the DATS building. "I haven't been here in a while," Yamato said.

            "Neither have I," his wife replied, "It's been really quiet around here. You have no idea how many times I wished that some kind of digimon would attack, and you finally come back home…"

            He sighed. "Yeah, I know, but…we've got to do it, right?"

            "Yeah, I know…"

            He placed his arm around her shoulder and hugged her slightly. "Well, might as well see what they want."

            They passed through the doors and arrived in the reception area. A young man dressed in a security uniform was standing before the reception desk. He stopped them by holding up his palm. "Can I see you identification?"

            Both Yamato and Noriko handed him their DATS badges. He examined them for a moment, then nodded. "Conference room #5 is on the ninth floor, third room on the left."

            The couple nodded and followed the directions. When they passed through the door, they saw a standard conference room, with a large oval table. Seated around that table were: Jyou, his wife, Kiku, Hikari, Yamaki, Sora and Taichi, including all of their partners.

            "Yamato, welcome back!" they all cheered.

            He smiled and sat down in one of the seats. "Yeah, it's great to finally be back."

            Taichi mentioned to him. "Did you ever figure out that engine drive?"

            He blinked. "T…that's supposed to be top secret! How did…?"

            Taichi gave him an annoyed look, "I work for the Defense Minister, remember?"

            Yamato grumbled. "Yeah yeah…What's going on that we had to risk bringing our partners across town?" He mentioned to Gabumon X and Plotmon, who were climbing into their seats.

            Taichi glanced over at Yamaki, who was working on a piece of electrical equipment-a camera-type device, the lens of which was pointing at the conference table, while a trail of wires connected it to a large television monitor. The blond man pressed a few buttons, and the screen flickered for a moment, displaying an image of Mimi and Michael, along with Palmon X and Betamon X.

            "Hey Tokyo, what's?" Mimi grinned.

            "That's amazing," Jyou said, staring at the telecommunication device, "Cool…"

            Sora grinned. "Mimi, how are you?"

            "Tired," she sighed.

            "Oh, that's right, you're not just doing a cooking show anymore, you've got a talk show now?"

            She grinned, "Yeah, it's pretty cool, but so demanding."

            "How're Gabe and Lizzie?" Noriko asked.

            "They're doing great in school," Mimi grinned, "Gabe's getting high honors."

            "So's Shiro," Noriko grinned, "I'm so proud."

            Mimi glanced at Sora. "What about Kasumi?"

            The redheaded woman paled for a moment. "Um…maybe we should get started, right Taichi?"

             Her husband nodded. "Um, all right." He quickly told them about the new Digital World, everything that DATS knew, which was not all that much.

            "A new Digital World?" the digimon gasped.

            "It's true," Agumon X nodded.

            "Our home world is back?" Palmon X asked, dumbfounded, "That's….I can't even describe it."

            Gabumon X glanced over at Taichi and Yamaki, "Do we know if they are any digimon there?"

            "No, we don't," Yamaki said, shaking his head.

            "We're going to send an expeditionary team there," Taichi added.

            "Expeditionary team?" Yamato asked.

            He nodded. "Yeah…us."

            "Us?" Michael asked.

            "You're all DATS agents," Taichi reminded them, "And this needs to be done."

            "What about your kids?" Plotmon X asked.

            The room fell silent. "I'm only asking because their partners have never even seen the Digital World, they don't know about their heritage or anything like that."

            Taichi took a deep breath, "We actually discussed this, and we'd like the kids to come too…"

            "What?" Hikari gasped. She turned to her husband, "Mitsuo, are you serious? You want Asami to…"

            "I don't want Shiro or Yasu to be involved with this!" Noriko protested, "Besides, how much school would they miss?"

            Taichi held up his hand to silence the room. "Just remember, only those that are actual DATS agents have to come, but I'm not even going to order that, I want each of you to decide for yourselves, whether you think your kids should come or not."

            He took a deep breath, "I'm sure most of you remember Skull Greymon. I had just gotten the Crest of Courage, and I didn't know how to properly use it…."

            "I thought it was because of your arrogance?" Yamato spoke up.

            Taichi glared at him. "The point is, without the experience to handle that power, me and Agumon went out of control. There's going to come a day when a major enemy's going to appear, and our kids won't have any experience to deal with it. Or, one of them will evolve into something like Skull Greymon, because they won't have any way to handle that power, no knowledge. We need to train them better."

            He took another deep breath, "So, each of you needs to think about this. We'll probably be going next weekend. So take some time and think about this." He nodded, "That's all I got."

            The group was so lost in thought, that they did not even say goodbye, they just simply left.

111

            The kids were already asleep, so Yamato, Noriko, and their partners sat in the living room, discussing the choice they were given.

            "I think it would be a good idea for Psychemon and Labramon to go," Gabumon X said, "I want them to see the Digital World."

            "I know," Noriko said with a slight smile, "It's part of our heritage too. I want Shiro and Yasu to see it, but I'm so worried that they'll get hurt, or worse."

            Yamato nodded. "Yeah, _I_ don't even want to go, but…we have to."

            "Yeah, but we know what to expect!" Noriko protested.

            "And how did we end up knowing what to do?" he asked, "Because we went into this sort of thing when we were younger."

            "But…they're just kids…"

            "We were too," he said with a slight smile, "The only difference is that they'll have us to guide them, who was there to guide us?"

            She was silent for a long while. She glanced to her partner. "What do you think?"

            Plotmon fidgeted nervously. "Um…actually…I'm..uh…kinda with Gabumon on this…sorry…"

            She stared at her in shock. She turned to Gabumon X, then to Yamato. She sighed. "All right, I guess I'm outnumbered…." She stared at her husband, "But Yasu's not leaving my side, got it?"

            He grinned. "Sure, as long as _you_ don't leave _my _side."

            She giggled and closed her eyes as he lend towards her. Plotmon rolled her eyes. "Oh, why don't you two get a room!"

111

            In another section of the city, the Yagami's were just returning home. Hikari and Yamaki had come with them, as Asami was staying with her cousins. The four couples: two humans, two digimons, entered the apartment. The children were seated in the living room, watching television. Kasumi bolted to her feet when she heard the door close. "Oh, hey, what's up?"

            Sora glanced at the clock on the wall. "I thought we agreed that you were going to be in bed an hour ago?"

            "Couldn't sleep," she replied.

            "Which meant we couldn't either," Akira mumbled. Kasumi shot him a glance, but he ignored her. He was sitting on the floor with his back against the footboard of the couch. Asami was seated in the recliner, with her Leormon partner curled up in her lap. Hikari walked over and placed her hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Hi."

            "Hi, Mom," she sleepily grinned.

            Sora looked over at Taichi. "Should we tell them now?"

            "Tell us what?" Akira asked.

            Taichi mentioned to his daughter. "Turn off the t.v."

            "Oh, but it's my favorite show!"

            "Off!" he shouted.

            She grumbled and used the remote to turn off the television. The Yagami's sat on the couch, while the Yamaki's sat in the remaining chairs. "There's something we need to tell you," Yamaki said, "Something really important…."

111

            The next day was Saturday, and instead of school, the children and their partners decided to meet in the park to talk about the important discussion their parents had spoken about to them. They chose a spot next to a large tree, where they sat to eat their packed lunch.

            "This is so cool!" Kasumi grinned, "Freakin' awesome!"

            "You're excited?" Labramon asked, "I'm finally gonna get to see my home!"

            Yasu frowned. "But…I thought _our_ home was your home…"

            "It is," Yuki Agumon said, "But…the Digital World's like…where we come from."

            The other digimon nodded. "Oh, I've got an idea," Asami's Leromon added, "It's like that Mimi woman that lives in America. Her kids are part Japanese, right? So, it would be like them wanting to see Japan."

            "It's still cool," Akira said, echoing his older sister's comment, "I can't wait. It'll be just like camping, only better!"

            "You go camping?" Psychemon asked, "Jeeze, we never go camping."

            "My parents don't really like it," Shiro said.

            "We invited you," Kasumi said.

            He shrugged. "I…I don't really like bugs that much…"

            "Man, what a fucking baby," she sighed, "Even Asami comes with us, and she's a real princess!"

            Her cousin simply ignored her comment, as she usually did. Instead, she said, "I'm kind of excited as well."

            "Hopefully we're ready," Kenji Kido said.

            "Of course we're ready!" Kasumi snapped.

            "Some caution might be a good idea," said Kenji's Otamamon.

            "He's right," Shiro added, "We don't have idea what we'll be facing."

            The brown-haired girl snorted. "Jeeze, if you're that scared, don't worry, me and Yuki'll be there to protect you."

            Akira and Falcomon hid their heads. "So embarrassing," the red-headed boy mumbled.

            "Shut up!" she snapped.

111

            The next few days were chaotic for everyone as they prepared for their expedition into the Digital World. The parents had to prepare for time off from work, and also arrange for their children to have time off from school. For Taichi and Yamaki, it was not much of a problem, and Sora was a freelancer, so she could easily manage it. Yamato was 'off-duty' and Noriko was a housewife, but Hikari had to arrange for a substitute teacher, but luckily it was approaching the off season, so Mimi and Michael did not have much to worry about.

            Taichi and Sora went to pick up Mimi, Michael and their children in a DATS limo. Sora and Mimi chatted the entire ride back to the DATS building, where the rest of the team were waiting.

            "I know you probably don't remember them," Taichi said to the children, "It's been a loooong time since they were here last, but…this is Michael and Mimi, and their partners, Betamon X and Palmon X."

            The middle-aged blond man and the brown-haired woman nodded, as did their partners. Mimi smiled and mentioned to the two teenagers standing in front of her, "This is my son, Gabriel, his partner, Kotemon, and my daughter Elizabeth, and her partner, Alraumon."

            Gabriel had brown eyes and straight hair in the same color tone as his mothers. His sister, on the other hand, seemed to take after her father-two years younger then her brother, and she was almost as tall as him, with bright blue eyes and long curly blond hair.

            The other DATS members introduced their children, to which Michael sighed with a smile on his face as he stared at Kasumi, Kenji and Shiro, "Wow, the last time we saw you, you were…" He mentioned to an area close to his knee, "That tall."

            Sora mentioned to Kotemon. "So, how did he end up with…?"

            Mimi shrugged. "That one's kind of a mystery. We just kind of figured that not every partner is going to be the same as the parents."

            "Guess not…"

            Kasumi and the others were staring at Gabriel and Elizabeth. "What?" the blond girl asked.

            "You're from America?" Akira asked with a grin, "That's so cool!"

            Gabriel smiled. "Well, it's not that cool…"

            "Yes it is!" he gasped, "We don't know anyone from America!"

            "We know a lot of famous people too!" Elizabeth said, hoping that it would impress them.

            "Really?" Yasu grinned, her eyes shinning.

Kasumi huffed and crossed her arms. "I know plenty of people too…" she muttered, low enough so that only Yuki Agumon could hear.

            "No you don't," her partner replied. Kasumi flashed her an angry glare.

The Ishida girl's Labramon was sniffing Kotemon and Alraumon. "Wow, you guys smell really strong!"

            "We've been fighting a lot of digimon lately," Kotemon said, lightly swinging his bamboo sword, "We've had a lot of practice."

            "He almost evolved to the Fully Evolved level," Alraumon said with pride for her 'older brother.'

            Kasumi used her foot to nudge her partner. "And you can barely reach the Adult level," she whispered.

            Gabriel looked at the brown-haired girl. "So, you're Kasumi, right?"

            "Yup," she said, still crossing her arms, "Kasumi _Yagami_. I'm the daughter of the strongest Chosen ever! And my mother's one of the Daughters of the First!"

            He blinked in confusion. "Um…okay…I'm Gabriel, but you can call me Gabe." He held out his hand, but she only stared at it.

            Akira sighed. "He wants you to shake it, stupid."

            "Huh? Oh, right…" She gripped his hand and shook it awkwardly. "It's…ah…pleased to meet you, or something…"

            He looked dumbfounded. "Uh…sure…"

            Shiro pushed past her. "So, Gabriel…"

            He smiled slightly, "You can call me Gabe…." He turned to look at his sister, only to see that she was busy talking to Asami, while Akira and Yasu were staring at the American girl with wonderment.

            "Um…and you can call her Lizzie," he smiled, "So, I guess we'll be working together."

            Kasumi was about to say something, but Shiro pushed in front of her. "Yes, thanks. Um, so your partner really almost reached the Fully Evolved level?"

            Kotemon chuckled slightly. "Well, Alraumon might have exaggerated a bit…"

            The two teenage boys and their partners walked away, leaving Kasumi and Yuki Agumon by themselves. "So," the small dinosaur asked, "That went well."

            "Shut up."

            After the introductions were over, Yamaki called the meeting to order. "All right, now, as you're aware, there is a large number of us, and a lot of area in the Digital World. However, the best way to control such a large group is to make manageable teams. So, we've split the group into three teams. Since part of the main reason we're bringing the kids is so they can train, so we want to make sure they're part of this group, so we'd like to ask two of the adults to stay behind, just to make a more manageable team. I, myself, won't be going…"

            "You won't?" Hikari asked.

            "Someone needs to stay here, just in case something bad should happen," he said with a slight smile.

            "Maybe I should stay behind too," Jyou said, "If something should go wrong, I can do a better job treating them if I'm not _part_ of that something…"

            "I'll hang here too," Michael said.

            Mimi twirled to him. "Are you sure?"

            He nodded. "Yeah, me and Betamon know how much you and Palmon want to go."

            Betamon X chuckled, "Yeah, we'll learn how to run some of this equipment or something…"

            Palmon X stared at him, then shrugged. "If that's what you really want…"

            Yamaki used his pen to write on the papers from which he was reading. "Okay, then the teams are as follows: Team A-Taichi, Kasumi, Gabriel, Hikari, and Asami…"

Kasumi frowned as she stared at Gabe.

"Team B-Yamato, Shiro, Sora, and Akira, and Team C: Mimi, Noriko, Elizabeth and Yasu."

            He allowed the group to glance at their teammates before he continued, "Now, each team will be exploring three areas each, for this trip. We will have other expeditions, bust this is an overview, if you become involved in one area, don't worry about others, gather as much information as you can, don't feel like you have to rush through. So, Team A will explore: Urd, Verandi and Skuld-Fireland, Grassland, and Metal Land. Team B will have, Nona, Decima, and Morta, Ocean, Earthland, and the Mountains. Team C will explore, Clotho, Lachesis, and Atrops, Light Continent, Dark Continent and Fate/Chance island."

            Asami stared at her father, "But, Dad, those Greek names, or whatever they were, sounded so much better."

            Yamaki glared at Taichi, who coughed slightly.

            "Be that as it may," Yamaki said to his daughter, "The names don't really matter. You'll all be equip with an updated version of the D-terminals."

V-mon began to hand out the devices, which had a cover that flipped over, revealing a set of keys on the bottom, and a screen on the top. "These will allow you to communicate with one another and, most importantly, should give you an emergency gate to leave, if need be."

            Shiro was examining it, "It's a PDA?"

            "Yes, there's also software that is a necessity for any Chosen, including a Digivice locator and information on all known species of digimon, and well as bios and stats on all Chosen on file."

            "Really?" the Ishida son asked, examining the piece of computer equipment, "How much memory does this have?"

            "Enough," Yamaki said with a slight grin, "But it links up to the DATS mainframe."

            The other Chosen were not listening anymore, they were too interested in playing with their new toys, specifically the "Chosen Bios," section, calling up their own file.

            "132 pounds?!" Sora shrieked, "I'm not 132 pounds!"

            Taichi raised his eyes as he stared at his wife's slight stomach bulge. She glared at him, "Think about what you're going to say, your fate depends on how you answer."

            He cleared his throat, "There must be a mistake, you're as thin as you were when you were in your twenties."

            She smiled slyly. "Yeah, something must be wrong."

            "Yeah, something's wrong all right," Kasumi muttered, "It says my birthday is July 24, 2013, I was born in 2012!"

            "No you weren't," Akira sighed, "That would make you 14, not 15."

            She thought for a moment, then her face began to turn red. "Shut up."

            "I don't really like this color," Yasu whined, "Don't you have anything in yellow?" That was her favorite color.

            "Yellow?" Lizzie gasped, "I'd rather have it in pink."

            Shiro examined his D-terminal intensely. "Can you get any games on this?"

            Yamaki sighed, scratching his forehead. "Just get yourselves ready, you'll be leaving tomorrow morning."

111

            The next morning, the expedition group all assembled in the DATS main portal room, which was nothing more then a room deep within the building that contained a giant Digital Gate on the far wall, connected via a series of wires to a collection of computer equipment. Everyone was chattering lightly. "Did you get any sleep last night?" Shiro asked.

            Kasumi shook her head, "I was up the entire night."

            "Yeah, me too," Gabe added, "I never sleep on vacations…"

            "This isn't a vacation, you know," the brown haired girl interrupted.

            Gabe took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. "I know, I was going to say that I never sleep when I'm away from home."

            "You don't travel all that much?" Shiro asked.

            He shrugged. "Not really, Dad usually does. He produces shows that are filmed in California, so he travels there a lot. I went with him a few times."

            "That's really exciting," Asami smiled, "I never get to go anywhere."

            "You don't?" Lizzie's Alraumon asked, "Even as a DATS agent?"

            She shook her head. "No…at least not anywhere as exciting as you tow."

            Kasumi crossed her arms and grumbled.

            "All right,"Taichi said, standing before a computer terminal, where Megumi Onodera was seated, "I just want to give everyone some advice, this isn't the Digital World we used to know, its different and completely alien to us. We don't have any idea what's waiting for us there. For the adults, remember that you're training the kids as well, and the kids, remember to listen to the adults. If you have any trouble, just use your D-terminals." He took a deep breath, "All right, if everyone's ready, we'll send the teams through." He nodded at Yamaki.

            His brother-in-law took a deep breath, "All right, Team A, stand before the gate."

            Onodera was adjusting dials on her terminal. "Approaching energy parameters….okay, the gate is secure."

            Taichi joined Kasumi, Hikari, Asami, Gabe and their partners. The gate swirled before them in a rainbow of colors. They took a deep breath and stepped inside, vanishing a moment later.

            "Team B," Yamaki called.

            Yamato, Sora, Shiro and Akira each took a deep breath and stepped through the portal.

            Yamaki gave a slight shrug at the remaining Chosen. "All right guys, good luck."

            The last team-Mimi, Noriko, Lizzie and Yasu were last. As Yamaki watched them vanished, he released the breath he was holding. "All right, let's hope they'll be okay."

111

            Team A had arrived within the volcanic region of Urd. They decided that the first order of business should be to set up their base camp. After searching for over an hour, they finally found a spot they thought would suffice-next to a large jagged boulder that cast a shadow, the only place with any sort of shade in the entire region.

            Kasumi moaned as she wiped her forehead. "Damn it's hot.." She turned to her partner, "Hey, Yuki, give me a blast."

            The white dinosaur took a deep breath, then exhaled a blast of artic air. "Frozen Wind!" The icy air shot past the teenage girl. She grabbed her bare arms and stared to shiver. "T..t…t… too m…m…much…."

            Gabe was pulling items from inside a large backpack and setting them on a table. "Instead of just standing there, why don't you help us inventory the equipment?"

            "Or set up the tents?" Asami's Leormon asked, using his teeth to tighten the ropes on one of the tents. Asami was holding the other end.

            Hikari looked up from where she was examining the food items. "I think your father needs help with his map."

            Kasumi looked over to her father, who was studying a large map, which he had spread out on the ground. Agumon X was standing in the corner, trying the keep it as flat as possible. The brown-haired girl shrugged as walked over. Yuki Agumon trotted close behind. "Hey Dad, what's up?"

            Her father sighed. "This map your uncle gave me is worthless!"

            Kasumi stared at the sheet of paper, "Maybe it's upside down?"

            He sighed. "No, that's not it. I just think that the high-resolution satellite that he made me buy really isn't all that 'high-resolution.'" He lower his voice, "Like that was worth 60 million yen…."

            After they were finished inventorying and setting up their base, they began their mission by investigating the volcanic region around them. They had walked a path that led them winding through an area rip with volcanic mountains. There were opening fault lines in the ground, spewing forth steam and thick clouds of smog that, thankfully, dissipated into the air.

            "It smells here," Asami said.

            "Sulfur dioxide?" Gabe asked.

            "Maybe," Taichi said, glancing around, "If anyone feels lightheaded, grab your oxygen masks."

            Leormon suddenly began to sniff the air. "Yes, I know it smells," Asami said.

            "That's not it," the Nature Spirit said, examining the ground, "Something's coming up through the ground!"

            The group nervously scanned the land beneath their feet, waiting for an enemy digimon to leap up through the dirt. They were tense for a full five minutes, scanning the ground. Plotmon X suddenly gasped, "Look! The ground!"

            A section of the dirt-covered ground was, amazingly, started to grow, like a giant bubble. This dome grew to the size of a bowling ball before it burst, sending a wave of thick red substance oozing along the ground.

            "Lava!" Gabe gasped, "Wow…"

            Leormon nervously stepped forward to examine the red substance. "No!" Asami gasped, yanking her partner back into her arms, "That's really hot!"

            "Really?" he asked, "I didn't smell any heat…"

            She blinked in confusion. "Smell?"

            Hikari was confused as well. She glanced to her own partner. Plotmon X understand what Hikari wanted, and she began to examine the substance as well. "There isn't the smell of heat," she said, "But I don't want to stick my paw in there to find out."

            Yuki Agumon rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll do it." She pushed past the Mammal digimon and was about to dig her claws deep within the lava, but Agumon grabbed her.

            "Are you insane?!"

            Gabe snapped his fingers. "I've got an idea." He fished through his backpack until he pulled out a cd. He flung it into the lava, where it vanished in an explosion of flame.

            "There," he said, "It's hot lava, all right."

            Hikari grinned. "That was a very good idea."

            Kasumi snorted. "Yeah, he's so perfect," she said under her breath.

            Asami heard her. "Why don't you like him?" she whispered to her cousin.

            She hesitated for a moment. "I…um…"

            Leormon continued to smell the lava. "This isn't what I'm smelling…"

            Kotemon looked on, "Can you follow the smell, like a scent or something?"

            "Maybe…" he said. He began to walk away from the oozing lava, traveling the invisible trail that only he could follow.

            "Mom!" Asami called, "Uncle Taichi, Leormon has a scent!"

            "What?" Taichi asked, staring at his niece. He turned to the small lion digimon, who was traversing the volcanic region.

            "Hey, just be careful," Plotmon X warned.

            Leormon continued on his path, sniffing the ground every few feet. Eventually they left the volcanic region and entered what Gabe said was a cooled lava bed, forming a sea of black rock, allowing them to walk unharmed. They continued over this dome, arriving at a area comprised of jagged, pointed boulders, but, most mysteriously, in the only large mountain in this new area, was the front of what appeared to be a building, complete with doors and a decorative balcony.

            "What the hell is that?" Kasumi gasped.

            "And what's it doing in the middle of this place?" Yuki Agumon added.

            Leormon took another step closer, then began to cough. "This is definitely the place that smells so bad."

            "I wonder why?" Taichi asked.

            Hikari looked to her brother. "You want to check it out?"

            He nodded. "Yeah, let's go, but everyone, stay on your guard. We don't have any idea what's down there."

            They cautiously stepped through the main doors, revealing a large room covered with wood on all sides. There were a set of portraits on the wall, six on the left side and six on the other, twelve in all, yet, ironically, only six of those portraits were visible, the others worn away or faded. One was a man covered with orange flame, the next was a woman in silver armor, a man with glowing fists, another man wearing what appeared to be lion headdress, another woman carrying a shield, and the last was a giant man with a lower fish body.

            "I've never seen these guys before," Taichi said, "Are they even digimon?"

            "Probably," Agumon X answered, "But I've never seen them either."

            "Look at this writing," Plotmon X said, examining the portraits, "It's not normal Digital language, at least not any I've seen."

            Kasumi sighed. "I bet Shiro could've figured it out…" She stared at Gabe with narrowed eyes, "Unless _you_ can decoded it?"

            He glared at her. "No, I can't."

            Asami sighed at her cousin.

            "But," Gabe said, "I do have a theory, Mr. Yagami."

            "What?" he asked.

            "What if when the Digital World was…rebuilt from the last one, it created new gods, to replace the old ones?"

            "What old ones?" he asked.

            He began to become nervous while staring at Taichi. "The…um….Sovereigns, the Angels and even GranDracmon."

            Taichi gave a slight smile. "New Digital World, new Gods. Interesting."

            Yuki Agumon looked up to her partner, because she knew that the brown-haired girl would be annoyed. As she did, she noticed something on the far wall, like a thin, snake-like object trailing down the wall. The small dinosaur strained her neck to see the ceiling, which contained a upside down statue of a large tree. "What the fuck?!"

            The others instantly looked to the ceiling when they heard the dinosaur's cursing. "A tree?"

            Hikari gave an amused chuckle, "This new Digital World is just as strange as the first."

            "Why is there a tree here?" Kotemon asked, "This doesn't make any sense at all."

            Taichi mentioned to the wall opposite the door, where a large tunnel led deep into the mountain. "Well, let's keep going."

            The group stepped into the tunnel and instantly felt a chill run up their spines-they were not certain whether it was from the cold or from the unknown. They continued for a few more feet before they arrived at a large round area, with no visible exit. The room contained a few large rocks, but there was another large tree in the center-but this tree contained bright golden apples.

            "This just gets weirder and weirder," Kasumi muttered. She reached for an apple, but Taichi batted her hand away.

            "What are you doing, you idiot?" he asked, "You have no idea what that'll do!"

            She looked hurt, but tried not to show it.

            Taichi started to walk to the other side, Hikari followed him. "Weren't you a little tough on her?" she asked.

            "Those apples are probably poisonous or something," he said, "The last thing we need to do is take care of injuries."

            "I know, but you didn't need to yell at her like that."

            Taichi examined the wall. "This is a dangerous place, we don't have any idea what's going on, I don't want anything to happen to her."

            Hikari could hear the worry in his voice. "I know you're worried, Taichi, the look on your face is the same look you had whenever _I_ was in trouble, but she's trying her best."

            He sighed deeply. "All right…all right!"

            Hikari opened her mouth, but her eyes caught something on the wall, an octagon-shaped object attached directly to the wall. It had an image of an odd-symbol, what looked like five giant A's attached to each other by the top. "What's that?"

            Taichi blinked, staring at the object intensely. He reached out and gently touched it, and found that it moved slightly. He took a deep breath and pushed it harder, the entire object slid into the wall.

            Suddenly, a wave of glowing energy shot from the device and spread up Taichi's arm, covering his body in seconds. Hikari instinctively placed a hand on her brother's shoulder, and she was covered as well.

            The others heard their screams, and Agumon X and Plotmon X ran to their partner's sides, but before they even reached them, the energy shot from Taichi and Hikari and hit their partners. All four screamed for ten seconds before the light faded and they collapsed onto the ground, unconscious. The far rock wall slowly vanished, revealing another tunnel.

            "Dad!" Kasumi shouted.

            "Mom!" Asami screamed.

            The two girls rushed to their parents' side, while Gabe stared in awe. "That….was a trap. And it attacked their partners too!" He narrowed his eyes, "Like they were expecting a Chosen…"

            "They?" Kotemon asked.

            "Whoever built this."

            "Does that fucking matter now?" Kasumi screamed, "My father and aunt are unconscious!"

            He was about to scream something back, when Leormon shouted instead. "Everyone, be quiet!"

            They instantly silenced and stared at the small digimon, "Someone's coming!"

            "Someone?" Asami asked.

            "Yes! Down the tunnel."

            Kasumi stared at the unconscious adults, she glanced at the large boulders surrounding the tree with the golden apples. "Hurry, we'll hide!"

            The others nodded and helped carry Taichi, Hikari and their partners to behind the boulder. They were just in time as flashlights could be seen piercing through the dark tunnel. The teenagers held their breaths as they could see, surprisingly, two humans enter the room, a boy and girl. At their side were two digimon-one was a tall skeleton-like digimon carrying a red staff, and at the girl's side was a gray griffin-like creature.

            When the young man saw the missing wall, he blinked in surprise. "Well, look at this."

            The girl was equally as surprised. "What happened?"

            "It looks like someone broke that damn curse for us." He casually glanced at the floor, "Probably got decimated by that damn trap system."

            The girl frowned. "Well, whoever it was, I hope they at least didn't suffer too much."

            He gave her an odd glance, but just shrugged. "Well, guess we don't need this stuff," he mentioned to a pack around his waist, "Probably wouldn't have worked anyway, damn miracle cure."

            He took a deep breath, "All right, let's get that sheet."

            "Fleece," the girl corrected as they vanished down the second tunnel. Once she was certain they were not going to return, Kasumi leapt out from behind the boulder.

            "What are you doing?" Asami asked.

            "Did you hear that guy? That miracle cure thing? I bet if we got that, we could cure Dad and Aunt Hikari."

            "What?" Gabe asked, "You don't know that!"

            "But he said they wouldn't need it when they found that the wall was gone, so it had to be for that wall thing."

            "But…"

            She sighed, "Look, I'm going, you can stay here and be a coward for all I care."

            Gabe growled, "But someone needs to stay to watch your parents…"

            "I'll stay," Asami volunteered.

            Kasumi stared at her, "You sure?"

            Her cousin nodded. "Yeah."

            Gabe shrugged, then stared at Kasumi. "Well, I think you're out of your fucking mind, but since you're _determined_ to go, I guess I have no choice. Someone needs to keep you out of trouble."

            Kasumi was about to say something, but Asami stared at her, shaking her head slightly. "Fine," the brown-haired girl sighed, "Let's go."

            Asami watched as the others disappeared down the other tunnel. As she watched Kasumi disappear, she gave a silent prayer that this would not be the last time she saw her cousin alive.

To be continued……..

**Character Bios:**

**NAME:** Taichi Yagami

**GENDER:** Male

**AGE:** 40

**ETHNICITY:** Japanese

**OCCUPATION:** Politician, DATS commander

**PLACE OF BIRTH:** Tokyo Japan

**DATE OF BIRTH:** November 22, 1988

**KNOWN RELATIVES:** Sora-wife, Kasumi, daughter, Akira, son, (deceased),  Hikari-sister, Mitsuo, brother-in-law, Asami-niece Susumu-father, Yuuko-mother, Haruki "Yuushi" Makato-grandfather Kumiko-aunt (deceased), Megumi-cousin,

**GROUP AFFILIATION:** DATS

**SUB-GROUP:** X-Chosen

**EDUCATION:** Political Science

**HEIGHT:** 5'6"

**WEIGHT:** 163 lbs

**EYES:** Brown

**HAIR:** Brown

**POWER:** X-Antibody, Earth and Fire

**DIGIMON:** Agumon X-Greymon X-Metalgreymon X-Wargreymon X-Omegamon X

**WEAPON:** Katana of Fire

**BIO:** Taichi Yagami was only a kid when he was forced to become the leader of the small band of Chosen that were brought into the Digital World to save it from Apocalymon and the evil digimon that threatened it. Through it all, he learned how to overcome his arrogance and become a true leader. He lost touch with the others when the Second Black Death took the lives of Koushiro and Daisuke, but when the Demon Lords and Digitalatri invaded the Digital World, he was once again ready to help his friends. Now, married to Sora and with two children of his own, he is trying to lead the Chosen around the world through the DATS organization, while also spending time as a father.

1

**NAME:** Yamato Ishida

**GENDER:** Male

**AGE:** 40

**ETHNICITY:** Japanese/French

**OCCUPATION:** Royal Air Force, DATS sub-commander

**PLACE OF BIRTH:** Tokyo, Japan

**DATE OF BIRTH:** March 12, 1988

**KNOWN RELATIVES:** Hiroaki Ishida, father, Natsuko Takashi, mother, Michael Takashi, grandfather, Takeru, brother (deceased), Noriko-wife, Shiro-son, Yasu-daughter

**GROUP AFFILIATION:** DATS

**SUB-GROUP:** X-Chosen

**EDUCATION:** Military training

**HEIGHT:** 5' 5"

**WEIGHT:** 154 lbs

**EYES:** Blue

**HAIR:** Blond

**POWER:** X-Antibody, Light and Darkness

**DIGIMON:** Gabumon X-Garurumon X-Weregarurumon X-Metalgarurumon X-Omegamon X

**WEAPON:** Shotguns of Lucien

**BIO:** Yamato Ishida gave from a broken family, due to this, he developed severe anti-social and anger issues. During his time in the Digital World, he became a fierce rival with Taichi, and actually battled him. He was able to overcome those shortcomings and developed a close friendship with him. During their struggle against the Demon Lords and Digitalatri, he became close to Noriko Kawada, and they two of them were married. Now, with two kids of his own, he is determine to give them the stable home life that he never had

Author's note: Well, this chapter turned out to be much longer then I anticipated. Truthfully, I couldn't stop writing about the kids.

This fic might be moving kind of slow right now, but I promise you, the action will kick up, so I hope you continue reading.


	4. Dawn of the Heroes: Chapter 2

_My name is Yamato Ishida, and I am a Chosen…and _X_-Chosen if you want to get specific. When I was younger, I wanted to be a guitar rock star, and I did try that route for a few years. It was fine when I was on my own, just me and Gabumon, but then I met Noriko. Suddenly, I had to worry about her and her Plotmon. Still, money was tight, but it was still fine. Then Noriko told me she was pregnant. There was no way my 'occasional' music gigs could pay for a child. I needed another job, and since I really didn't have any skills, I joined the army, specifically the air defense. Surprisingly, I was pretty good at it, and I got promoted pretty easily. I was even put in charge of a top secret, rocket-engine. _

_With my tour of duty finally over, I was looking forward to spending the next two months relaxing with my family, but then Taichi told us we had to explore this new Digital World. We split up into three groups, and Taichi's group got into trouble all ready-they found this weird cave, and he and Hikari were injured badly. Hikari and Mitsuo's daughter, Asami decided to stay with them while Taichi and Sora's daughter, Kasumi and Mimi's son, Gabe went to look for help._

_Digimon Magog_

_Dawn of the Heroes_

_Chapter 2_

"Are you okay?"

            Sora turned to look at Yamato with a questioning expression. "You're limping," he said.

            The redhead blinked. "Am I?" She looked down at her two legs, "Which one?"

            "It was your prosthetic leg."

            She frowned. "Great. Well, I'd better take a look at it."

            Yamato nodded. "Sure." He turned to look at the rest of Team B. "All right guys, we're taking a break."

            Akira gave a cheer. "Yeah! He looked around the beach on which they were standing, and found a large bolder off to the side. He was about to climb up when he heard his mother cry to him. "Akira! Are you crazy?!"

            The redheaded boy frowned, "Aw, Mom…"

            Sora shook her head. "You're going to damage your prosthetic!"

            He frowned and slid to the ground. "I can't do anything…"

            She felt a pang in her heart. She wished that he could do the normal things that other little boys were able to do-he could not play sports because of his prosthetic leg, he could not climb trees or run around like little boys do. She wished she could take away that damn virus, be she could not-and it was her fault. She knew that most parents blamed themselves when anything bad happened to their children, but this was different, Akira inherited the Second Black Death from Sora. Kasumi was spared because she inherited the X-Antibody from Taichi. Her husband saved their daughter, but she damned their son, and she hated herself for it.

            "Mom? Mom!"

            She blinked and saw her son staring up at her. "Mom, are you all right?"

            "Y…yeah…"

            "You're crying."

            Sora wiped her eyes. "No, it's nothing." She forced herself to smile, "Um, I've got to check my leg, so don't sneak up on me, okay?"

            He shrugged. "Um okay."

            Sora limped to behind the large boulder, followed only by Piyomon. Once she was safely behind the large stone, she began to examine her prosthetic. To do this, she was force to dropped her jeans, which revealed her fake leg. She was able to see that her knee had slipped out of alignment for the socket. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Great, I thought it was something worse."

            While she was examining her eg, Shiro walked over to his father. "Where do you think we are?"

            Yamato shrugged, "No idea."

            Gabumon X smiled slightly. "We're on top of a mountain, if that helps."

            "And by the ocean," Psychemon added.

            Yamato and his son glanced over the rocky cliff and saw the ocean below them. "Damn, that's a long drop." He gave a smile, "Wait a second, I've got an idea. Piyomon…" He turned, but did not see the pink bird anywhere in sight. He figured that she was with Sora behind the boulder, so he turned to Akira's Falcomon. "How high can you fly?"

            The owl-like bird hesitated for a moment, then shrugged. "I don't know, a few feet, I guess."

            "Why did you want to know?" Akira asked.

            Yamato mentioned to the sky. "If you fly up as high as you can, you could see if there's anything around us, right?"

            Falcomon grinned. "Yeah, I guess so."

            "Yeah, of course you can!" the redheaded boy grinned, "Come on, show them what you can do!"

            Falcomon smiled, took a deep breath, and began to hover into the air. Sora and Piyomon returned from behind the boulder. "What's going on?" she asked.

            "Mom…Mom!" the 10-year-old cheered, "Falcomon's gonna fly up so we can see where we are!"

            She grinned and placed her hands on his shoulders. "That's great."

            Falcomon flew straight up as hard as he could. He twisted around so he could see in all directions. "Hey!" he shouted, "There's some buildings on the bottom!"

            "A village?" Piyomon asked.

            "I don't know!" he shouted back.

            Shiro glanced over the cliff, but only saw the roaring waves of the ocean. "I don't see anything."

            "Come over here!" Falcomon shouted. He was hovering in the air a few feet more to the left then they were standing. They group began to walk closer to the left side of the cliff, but the ground suddenly began to rumble. Shiro, Sora and their partners were walking in the lead, and when the ground collapsed into a giant hole,

            Yamato stopped short, seconds before he too would have fallen down the suddenly appearing crevasse.

            "Mom!" Akira shouted. He was about to dive into the hole, but Yamato yanked him back.

            "Shiro!" the blond man shouted, "Sora! Shiro! Are you guys okay?"

            They had, in fact, fallen a few feet into the mountain itself, into a large cavern, yet, because they fell down a sloped side, they were relatively unharmed. Shiro rose to his feet, brushing the dust and dirt off of his body. He looked around, and saw Sora struggling to get to her feet. "Mrs. Yagami, are you okay?"

            "Y…yes, can you just give me a hand?"

            The teenage boy lifted the middle-aged woman up. "Oh damn it," Sora frowned.

            "What's wrong?" Piyomon asked.

            Sora gently shook her left leg, and there was definitely weight jangling beneath her leg, "I didn't have it strapped in properly, and now it's damaged."

            "Are you guys okay down there?" Yamato's voice resounded through the downward tunnel.

            "Yeah, we're fine, Dad!" Shiro shouted back.

            "All right, just hang on, we'll think of a way to get you back up."

            Psychemon turned to Piyomon. "Can you fly us up?"

            The pink bird looked at the downward tunnel. "It's too small, and even if it wasn't, I don't think I'd be able to carry you." She frowned, "If I could evolve to Birdramon, but there's not enough room."

            "What about Falcomon?" Shiro asked.

            "He's not strong enough," the pink digimon answered.

            Psychemon began to sniff the air. "Wait, I smell something…"

            "What?" Shiro asked.

            Psychemon wandered around the cavern, letting his nose guide him. He came to a large crack in the rock wall. He took a step back and slashed with his claws. The rock wall crumbled, revealing a long tunnel, but this was, oddly enough, completely illuminated by electric lights hanging from the ceiling. Shiro hand left Sora seated on the floor so he could join his partner. When he saw the long tunnel, he shouted up through the hole. "Dad? Do you have a way to get us back up?"

            "Yeah!" came the response, "We found some trees up here, not a lot, but I think we can make rope out of the vines."

            "All right, don't bother bringing us up, I think _you_ need to come down here!"

            An hour later, Yamato's team was traversing through the illuminated tunnel. With her damanged leg, Sora was leaning against Yamato's shoulder. "Do we have any idea where we're going?" Piyomon asked.

            Gabumon X and Psychemon sniffed the air. "We're definitely going somewhere," Gabumon X said, "Because there's a collection of scents ahead of us."

            "What kind of scents?" Falcomon asked.

            "Heat and Fire."

            "Really?" Yamato asked, "Why would fire digimon be near the sea?"

            We don't know," Psychemon shook his head, "Sorry."

            Piyomon smiled slightly as she gently nudged Falcomon."Well, we might not be able to smell like you can, be we can see pretty far, right?"

            "Um…yeah, I guess…"

            "No, your eyes are better then you think." She mentioned to the end of the tunnel, "What can you see?"

            Falcomon narrowed his eyes as he stared at the pinpoint of light at the end of the tunnel. He strained his eyes, and he was surprised when he was able to see clearly at that great a distance. "Hey, I can! There's a group of buildings! It's the village!" Falcomon grinned and started running forward as fast as he could.

            "Falcomon!" Akira shouted, running after him, "Hey, where are you going? Wait up!"

            "Akira!" Sora shouted. She instinctively went to run after him, but nearly falling on her missing leg was enough to remind her of her limitations. Only by Yamato grabbing her was she able to keep from falling onto her face.

            "I'll watch him, Mrs. Yagami," Shiro volunteered, running after the younger boy.

            Sora smiled slightly. "He's a lot like you, you know."

            Yamato raised his eyebrow. "Really?"

            Sora nodded. "He thinks about other people, he worries about the younger kids, and the way that he worries about his sister is just like you and Takeru."

            "Or Taichi and Hikari," Yamato said, "Well, Akira kind of reminds me of you, you know. He worries about everyone too, and cares about them."

            She shrugged. "Maybe…" She sighed deeply, "And then my daughter takes after Taichi."

            Yamato laughed. "Yeah, one Taichi was enough…of course, Yasu's just like Noriko. I've been trying to get her to control her temper."

            She sighed. "These kids have given me gray hairs."

            "But…?"

            She smiled, 'I wouldn't trade them for anything."

            They finally exited the tunnel and entered the village which was constructed on the beach. There were tall buildings stretching into the sky. "Where is everyone?" Sora asked.

            "This village could be deserted, right?" Yamato asked.

            "No," Gabumon X replied, "There's definitely something here. We wouldn't have smelled them if we didn't."

            "Then where is everyone?"

            Akira's voice was heard, "Mom! Mr. Ishida, over here!"

            The group ran as fast as they could to the source of Akira's voice, and saw the redheaded boy standing in front of the largest building in the village. There did not appear to be any doors to get inside, but what was surprising was the large tree jutting from the roof.

            "What the hell?" Yamato muttered, "What is a tree doing…"

            Before he could finish, the ground began to quake all around them. The sand erupted as an army appeared from the ground, an army comprised of twelve candle-like digimon.

            "Candmon?" Gabumon X asked.

            One of the Candmon grinned, "And more!" He raised his hand into the air, and the ground behind him exploded, revealing a digimon covered in roaring flame, and another one wrapped in chains.

            "Meramon and Death Meramon?" Piyomon asked.

            The two large digimon clenched their fists and roared as loud as they could while the Candmon were surrounding the Chosen. "What's going on?" Piyomon asked.

            "You're gonna pay for what you did, that's what's going on!" Mearmon growled.

            "But why?" Akira asked, "We didn't do anything to you! If we just talk about this…"

            "No talk!" Death Meramon roared, "Just die!"

            "What should we do, Dad?" Shiro asked.

            Yamato stared at the anger in the Candmon's eyes, "I don't think they're gonna listen to us, no matter what we say."

            Shiro looked to his father. "We're gonna fight?"

            Yamato hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. "No, let's just surrender, maybe they'll…"

            The group of Candmon were moving tighter and tighter together. The Chosen had no choice but to move closer together. Akira tripped over Shiro's foot and fell into one of the Candmon. The others roared, throwing their arms into the air.

            "Oh no!" Sora gasped.

            "Oh shit!" Yamato gasped.

            One of the Candmon jerked his head forward, spitting out a loogie of fire. Falcomon charged towards her partner, "Akira!"

            The bird used his wing to bat the flame away, and it struck another Candmon. The group of digimon roared again and charged.

            "Falcomon evolve to Diatrymon!" A large bird with red wings, a long neck and sharp jaw. He took a deep breath and shouted, "Destruction Roar!" A loud sound wave knocked into the Candmon, throwing them back. Unfortunately, Meramon and Death Meramon remained perfectly still.

            "You'll have to do better then that!" Meramon laughed. He raised his palm and created a ball of fire in his hand, which he whipped forward. "Burning Fist!"

            "Piyomon evolve to Birdramon!"

            "Psychemon evolve to Gururumon!"

            "Gabumon X evolve to Garurumon X!"

            As the three digimon evolved to their Adult levels, the resulting energy was enough to knock Meramon's Burning Fist into the air. Garurumon X, being the strongest, charged at Death Mearmon, knocking him away from the others. Birdramon flew to attack Meramon along with Gururumon. Diatrymon was then left to fight the dozen Candmon.

            While Yamato and Sora watched with confidence as their partners battled, Akira was far more cautious. While Shiro and his Gururumon had fought other digimon before, being DATS agents, but this was Diatrymon's first major battle, and while the young boy was excited, be was also very worried.

            The Candmon jerked their heads back and started spitting out globs of flame, "Bonfire!"

            "Destruction Roar!" Diatrymon shouted, the sound waves from his attack dissipating the flames into thin air.

            Two Candmon appeared on both sides of the large bird. One threw a glob of wax at Diatrymon's back, which quickly spread across his lower body. He instinctively whipped his head around, but that left him open for another attack to his head. "Flame Bomber!"

            A large flame struck the back of his head, which exploded, showering him in a rain of flames.

            "Diatrymon!" Akira shouted, "Diatrymon!"

            His partner whipped his head back around, knocking the Candmon into the others. "Destruction Roar!" he shouted once again, this time knocking all of the fire digimon to the ground.

            Birdramon watched for the corner of her eye and smiled slightly at Diatrymon's technique. She would have congratulated him, but had to duck to avoid Meramon's fire ball attack. She stared at the fire digimon. "Just like déjà vu," she mumbled, remembering the first battle she ever had, "Only no Black Gear this time."

            "Excuse me?" Gururumon asked.

            "Nothing," the Wind Guardian said, "Just keep your eyes open, and watch out, he's faster then he looks."

            Meramon made a quick maneuver with his hands, creating a stream of fire between his palms which flowed like a stream from his fists. "Crimson Flame!"

            Gururumon leapt to the side as the stream of fire impacted against the ground, causing even the sand to singe. The Beast digimon took a deep breath and fired a blast of energy. "Chaos Fire!"

            The blast hit Meramon in the chest; the Flame Digimon simply smirked as the energy was absorbed into his body. "Not bad, but you'll have to try harder! Burning Fist!" He whipped the giant ball at tremendous speed, striking the wolf in the jaw. Gururumon was thrown backwards, and he twisted along on the ground.

            "Gururumon!" Shiro shouted. He would have instinctively run to his partner's side, but he was supporting Sora, so he was forced to stay in place. He breathed a sigh of relief as his partner rose to his feet. "Are you okay?!"

            "Just stay calm," Sora said, "We're not in any trouble. Birdramon can evolve again, and if all else fails, your father's digimon can reach even higher."

            Shiro nodded quickly, "Yeah…yeah…"

            Birdramon hovered in the air as she stared at Meramon. "I don't want to hurt you…"

            "Then you shouldn't have come here!" he shouted, flinging another Burning Fist. Birdramon shot higher into the air, gathering energy into his feathered limps.

            "Meteor Wing!"

            Meramon laughed throwing a stream of fire into the sky, annihilating the falling meteors. "You call that a fire attack? Try this, Magma Bomb!" He flung a barrage of magma-encrusted rocks at the hovering Wind Guardian.

            "Killer Bite!"

            Meramon twisted his head around in time to watch as Gururumon leapt at the Flame digimon, digging his jaws deep into his shoulder. Meramon roared in pain and flung the Beast digimon into the ground. He turned to look back at Birdramon, only to watch as the Wind Guardian shot down from the sky, bashing her head into the Flame digimon's nose. Meramon stumbled for a moment, then collapsed to the ground.

            Death Meramon smirked as he stared at Garurumon X. "Heavy Metal Fire!" he shouted, spewing out a stream of liquid metal from his mouth. The Beast digimon countered with his Fox Fire, screaming out a blast of icy flames that interacted with Death Meramon's attack, creating a blast of steam and Garurumon X took full advantage. He leapt through the steam, opening his mouth to reveal his sharp teeth.

            "Freeze Fang!"

            Death Meramon whipped his arm around to block the wolf's attack, but Garurumon X easily bit the massive forearm with ice-covered teeth. The introduction of extreme cold caused Death Meramon to roar. He threw Garurumon X into the ground, but with his other hand, he whipped his flame-covered chain around the wolf's neck.

            "Ha, not fast enough, are you?" Death Meramon chuckled and pulled as hard as he could. Garurumon X felt his neck tightening, and his windpipe being crushed. He should have easily been able to escape, but he was starting to lose consciousness….

            "Garurumon!" Yamato shouted, gripping his digivice, "Evolve again!"

            "Evolve again?" Death Meramon gasped.

            Garurumon X's body began to glow brightly, and the chain snapped into splinters. "Garurumon X evolve to Weregarurumon X!"

            Death Meramon stepped backwards as the Fully Evolved wolf-man rose to his feet. Before the Flame digimon could react, Weregarurumon X executed his Kaiser Nail attack, sending a wave of energy into his chest. He winced in pain, breathing heavily. He whipped his chain, which wrapped around the wolf's chest, binding his arms to his side. Weregarurumon X simply flexed his muscles and the chain shattered. He shot forward, slamming his fist into Death Meramon's jaw, managing to crack his metal jaw.

            Death Meramon growled. "I don't care what you do to me, I won't stop fighting until I make you pay! You're not getting away with it!"

            Yamato raised his eyebrow. "Away with what?"

            The Flame digimon ignored him, instead, narrowing his eyes at Weregarurumon X, "Die, you fucking demon!"

            "Demon?" the wolf digimon gasped. He was in too much shock to react before Death Meramon punched him in the jaw as hard as he could. The wolf digimon slid backwards, but the Flame digimon continued his assault.

            "Heavy Metal Fire!"

            Weregarurumon X crossed his arms to shield his face as the liquid metal crashed into his limbs. Death Meramon attack again, punching and jabbing. The wolf man blocked as best he could, but when the Flame digimon succeeded in punching his jaw a second time, he retaliated by sending another Kaiser Nail into the Flame digimon's chest. He then jumped up and executed a roundhouse kick into Death Meramon's head.

            The Flame digimon was clearly injured, as he was stumbling backwards. "I don't want to hurt you," Weregarurumon X said, "Please, I don't know what this is about, but…"

            "No, I can't lose!" Death Meramon cried, "I tried too hard! I trained so hard to evolve, I can't fail now!"

            The flames on his body started to grow in intensity, and completely enveloped him. Once the flames subsided, a new digimon was standing in his place, a green-skinned digimon carrying a large axe. "He evolved!" Yamato gasped.

            "Boltmon," Weregarurumon X said in awe.

            The new digimon grinned in excitement. "You're dead, do you hear me, you demon, you're dead!" He clenched his axe tightly and charged forward. "Tomahawk Steiner!"

            He swung his tomahawk at Weregarurumon X, but the wolf man simply jumped to the side. Boltmon attacked again, swinging his weapon at the wolf's body, attempting to separate his head from his shoulders. The giant digimon swung at Weregarurumon X's shoulder, and although he was able to dive to safety in time, the tomahawk was still able to take a good chunk of skin off of the wolf's arm.

            "All right," Weregarurumon X said, "That was too close. Kaiser Nail!"

            Boltmon held his axe out and twirled it as fast as he could, and the Kaiser Nail attack smacked into the weapon instead of the digimon. He swung the weapon again, and only by ducking in the proverbial nick of time saved Weregarurumon X from losing his head.

            "I can't keep this up forever!" he shouted to Yamato.

            The blond man sighed. "All right." He held out his palm, and a wave of light flowed from her shoulder and collected into his outstretched palm, exploding a moment later to reveal a white-colored shotgun. Yamato placed the Shotguns of Lucien and his digivice together, creating an explosion of light that caused Weregaurumon X to glow as well. The two beings were pulled together, in an explosion of that same light. Their bodies were combined together, merging and fusing into one.

            "Gabumon X warp evolve to Metalgarurumon X!"

            Boltmon stared with wide eyes at the Mega digimon standing before him. The other Flame digimon stopped their own battles to stares at the metal wolf as well. "It can't be!"

            "It is!" a Candmon gasped, "It's him! Metalgarurumon, of the mighty Royal Knight, Omegamon!"

            Boltmon was still staring in shock; he was not able to protect himself as Metalgarurumon X charged forward, punching the other Mega directly in the nose. "Wait!" he shouted, "Wait, I won't fight you anymore!"

            The metal wolf narrowed his eyes. "What?"

            "We bear you no ill," Meramon said, walking over to aid Boltmon.

            "Then why did you attack us?" Sora shouted.

            "We thought you were someone else," Boltmon explained.

            "Like who?" Akira snapped.

            One of the Candmon sighed, "Please, come with us and we'll explain everything." He began to walk towards the large building with the tree atop the roof. The digimon all returned to their Child levels and followed the small Flame digimon through the door.

            Inside was a large round room, covered with various artifacts. The group turned their heads to the sky in order to attempt to see the base of the tree. To their amazement, the tree was hollow, with long, thick roots embedded into the walls. In the center of the floor was a pile of tinder, which the lead Candmon lit with a flick of the flames on the top of his head. "Please, be seated.

            The group reluctantly sat around the flames. The lead Candmon grabbed a staff that was hanging on one of the walls before joining the Chosen. "I would first like to apologize for attacking you, we thought you were someone else."

            "You said that already," Akira stated, keeping his eye on Falcomon.

            The Candmon nodded. "Yes…yes…"

            "Who did you think we were?" Shiro asked.

            He stared at them. "Demons."

            "Demons?" Yamato gasped, "What do you mean?"

            The elder Candmon used his staff to mention to the antiques resting on shelves around the room. "As you can see, we hold numerous items from the ancient times of the Digital World…"

            "Ancient times?" Shiro's Psychemon blinked. He looked to Yamato and Gabumon X, "I thought this world was created recently."

            "It was," Shiro replied, "I read the report, the readings indicated that the data was newly-created."

            Akira turned to him. "Then how can those things be ancient?"

            The older boy thought for a moment. "Maybe….Maybe….maybe it was something like when this world was created, it had all this energy stored up, that accelerated time faster then our world, and once that energy was used up, it started to move at the same rate as ours."

            Sora gave a slight chuckle. "Wow, that was pretty good."

            The blond haired boy gave an embarrassed smile. "Heh…"

            The red-headed woman turned back to the Candmon, only to see that he was waiting patiently. "Oh, I'm so sorry, please continue."

            The Flame digimon nodded. "Yes, these Demons came to this village, and they demanded an artifact of ours."

            "What artifact?"

            He hesitated for a moment, then turned to the Candmon on his left. This second Flame digimon was silent as well, then shrugged slightly. The elder Candmon smiled as well as turned back to the group. "What they were searching for was an item called Megingjoro."

            "What?" Falcomon asked.

            "It is a belt that, when worn, gives the wearer incredible strength."

            "Really?" Gabumon X.

            Candmon nodded. "Yes, the Demons wanted it, but we refused to give it to them. Yet, they came, again and again. The last time they came, they annihilated our best defenders." He frowned, "They destroyed our crops, they killed so many of our people. We were no match, so we begin to hide in mountain tunnels, but we trained and trained hard, days and days, until we were able to get stronger. Meramon and Boltmon were the only ones able to evolve. We have not seen the Demons for days, but we know they will be returning today. That is why when you arrived, we jumped into action."

            "We understand," Yamato said, "But why did you think we humans were these Demons?"

            "Because, they look just like you."

            Yamato blinked. "Just…like me?"

            Candmon nodded. "Yes, all of you."

            "Oh," Shiro said, "You mean humans."

            The Flame digimon nodded again. "Yes, yes."

            "Chosens," Yamato frowned, "More evil Chosens, just great."

            Sora turned to the blond man. "What should we do?"

            He was silent for a moment, then looked to the Candmon. "Do you know when the Demons are returning?"

            "They will come today," he replied, "Of that I am certain."

            Yamato nodded. "I want to know more about them, but listen, this belt…do they know what it looks like?"

            "I…." the Candmon thought for a moment, "Perhaps not, they could not even pronounce it correctly."

            "I don't blame them," Akira said, "Megajuno…megagogo.."

The Candmon smiled, "Megingjoro, but, why do you ask?"

            Yamato smirked as he begin to undo his own belt, "Because, we're going to play a little trick…."

111

            Just as the Candmon had promised, later that day, their village was visited by the mysterious 'Demon' Chosen-a young man with dark brown hair, dressed in a pair of jeans, and a bronze shirt. His digimon partner that had long, lanky arms, two red scaly wings, and a mask over his face. The other human was a young woman, with curly brown hair, and she was dressed in a short denim skirt and a bright yellow tank top. Her partner was a human-shaped digimon wearing a three piece suit and carrying a large gun in his hand.

            The two Chosen walked brazenly through the center of the village before stopping at the large building with the tree attached to the roof. "Where do you think everyone is?" the female asked.

            "How should I know?" the male snapped.

            The female shifted her weight onto one foot and she crossed her arms. "All right, you walking cigarette lighters, you'd better come out now, or Astamon's gonna blast your pathetic village to rubble!"

            The village remained silent. The male human sighed deeply. "I'm gettin' real tired of this! You're gettin' on my last nerves! This is your last chance!"

            The elder Candmon marched out of the building with five more Candmon. "Yes, yes," he said, "We are coming."

            The lanky digimon at the male's side kicked one of the Candmon as hard as he could. "Not fast enough!"

            While the other Candmon were nursing their injured member, the elder Candmon glared at the two evil Chosen. The male just crossed his arms. "Well, you know why we're here, so, are you goin' give up the belt?"

            He hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Yes."

            The male raised his eyebrow. "Really?"

            The Flame digimon nodded again. "Yes, you have devastated our crops, you have killed my people, I have no choice…"

            "Glad you finally came to your senses," the male said, "Hand it over."

            The female looked to him. "Tsuragi, this has got to be a trap!"

            "Scared, Ami?" he smirked.

            "Scared?" she gasped, "Why the hell would I be scared? But fine, what the hell do I care if you end up fucking yourself?"

            Tsuragi just smirked and looked back to the elder Candmon. "Hand it over."

            The Flame digimon sighed deeply and handed to the human a gold belt adorned with various designs and engravings. Tsuragi stared at it for a moment, then kicked the elder Candmon, and he tumbled backwards. "It's about fucking time!" the male chuckled. He turned to the others, "Come on NeoDevimon, Ami, let's get out of here."

            The female raised an eyebrow. "Just like that?"

            "I'm feeling generous right now," he grinned, holding up the gold belt, "Especially after getting this."

            As the group wandered from the village, they were not aware that were being watched by Yamato's group, who were hiding behind one of the taller buildings. The other Chosen simply walked past, never even noticing their counterparts. "That was a really cool, Mr. Ishida," Akira grinned.

            The blond man chuckled and gently rubbed the younger boy's head. "I'm sure your father would have thought of it too." As he rubbed Akira's head, his pants began to fall. He quickly pulled them back up.

            "Damn, I should have thought about this some more…" He was forced to use the straps from one arm of his backpack as a make-shift belt.

            Gabumon X sniffed the air, "We'd better hurry, their scents are becoming faint."

            Yamato nodded, "Right, let's get moving…" He sighed, "And hope they're going back to their base."

111

            Team C of the Neo-Digital World exploration team were currently examining a region that was a relative flat-land, covered with grass and small plant-life, but tall trees did litter the area. The sun was shinning intensely, showering the area with bright illumination.

            Noriko stood at the edge of this savannah and smiled slightly. "This reminds me so much of Catherine."

            "That girl you didn't like, Mom?" her daughter asked, stepping forward.

            Noriko stared at her. "It wasn't that I didn't like her, Yasu," she clarified.

            "Yeah," her Plotmon grinned, "She hated her."

            The middle-aged woman gently kicked her partner. "Oh, sorry, my foot slipped."

            Yasu was about to ask her mother to explain, but Noriko quickly changed the subject. "Hey, Lizzie, what have you got there?"

            The American girl glanced away from the plant she was examining. "What?"

            Noriko quickly ran over. "What are you looking at?"

            "Just a normal plant, Mrs. Ishida," she said with a slight smile.

            Mimi's voice interrupted Noriko. "Hey guys, I think you should see this."

            Team C ran to the sound of the other middle-age woman's voice. Mimi and Palmon X were standing by a massive tree, which was definitely out of place in this wild grassland. What made it even more out of place was the fact that a large section was missing from the side, creating a large hole; the ground inside the tree was gone, revealing a long tunnel that stretched deep into the ground. "Well that's certainly weird," Noriko muttered.

            Palmon X turned to her partner. "You probably want to check it out, right?"

            Mimi hesitated for a moment. "Well, we are here to investigate this place, right?"

            Noriko raised an eyebrow. "But?"

            The other woman sighed, "But I don't want to get into any danger, because…" She mentioned to Lizzie, Yasu, and their partners.

            The other woman nodded. "Yeah, I know…"

            Yasu blinked. "What?"

            "They're worried about us," Lizzie said with a snarl, "Mom, come on, we're not babies, you know!"

            Mimi stared at her daughter, "I know you're not a baby, but you might not be ready yet."

            Before Lizzie could speak, Alraumon stepped in front of her. "But how can we get ready if we never have a chance?"

            "They have a point," Palmon X said.

            Mimi sighed deeply, then glanced at Noriko. "What do you think?"

            The other woman hesitated. "You already know how I feel, but…"

            Mimi nodded. "All right, let's go."

            The younger members of the group grinned. "Yeah!" Lizzie and Yasu cheered.

            Team C cautiously made their way through the mysterious tunnel-it was a step angle, almost forty-five degrees. The group walked for ten minutes at this angle before finally stepping onto straight floor. It was also pitch dark, and only by using powerful flashlights, were they able to piece the darkness.  
            "Jeeze, how long is this thing?" Lizzie's Alraumon muttered.

            "My feet are starting to hurt!" Yasu whined.

            Plotmon glanced around the bare cavern. "Seriously, how long are we planning on walking? This cave could go on for miles and lead nowhere."

            "Just a little bit longer," Mimi said, "I want to see if anything's here."

            The two younger females frowned, but held back their protests. The group walked in silence for another ten minutes before Mimi came to a stop. "Well, I guess nothing's here," she said, "Why don't we start back?"

            They were about to turn around, when the ears on Labramon perked. "What is it?" Yasu asked her partner.

            "I hear something," he replied.

            "You do?" Yasu asked, "What?"

            The digimon trotted along the ground, using his ears to lead the group further down the tunnel to an area where loud voices could clearly be heard, and, even more surprising, shadows were seen dancing on the wall. The group cautiously rounded the corner, and saw a large cave with a roaring fire in the center. There was a cage pushed up against the far wall; inhabited by a group of snail-like digimon. Standing before the prison was a towering digimon that resembled a bull man with a metal cannon on one arm.

            "Minotarumon," Mimi whispered, "What are the digimon in the cage?"

            "Karatsuki Numemon," Palmon X answered.

            Yasu tugged at Noriko's jeans. "Mom, are they being tortured or something?"

            "Shh!" her mother hissed, "We're going to find out, but we need to be quiet, okay?"

            The Minotarumon was prancing before the cage. The Karatsuki Numemon were clearly scared, as they were cuddling together. Team C could determine that the slimy digimon were female, from their longer eye lashes. "Oh stop it!" Minotarumon snapped, "If your village wants to keep you alive, they'll pay my ransom, so if you have faith in your family and friends, then you'll be fine."

            The  four Karatsuki Numemon huddled together tightly. The Minotarumon walked away, disappearing down another tunnel, and the slime digimon began to cry. "Hey Mom," Lizzie whispered, "Are we gonna save them?"

            "Yes, we are," Mimi replied. She looked at Lizzie and Yasu, "But you two stay here."

            They were about to protest, but she held up her hand, "Stay here, me and Noriko'll take care of this."

            The middle-aged women and their partners cautiously made their way through the cave to reach the cages. When the Karatsuki Numemon saw them, they nearly screamed aloud, but Plotmon managed to keep them calm." Be quiet! We're here to rescue you."

            "Rescue us?" one of the slime digimon asked.

            "That's right," Mimi smiled as she examined the lock that was keeping the cage door closed tightly, "We're the Chosen."

            They glanced at each other. "Chosen? What are Chosen?" one asked.

            "You mean, you're not Digimon?" another asked.

            Mimi stopped fiddling with the lock to stare at them. "Y…you don't know who we are?"

            "Mimi!" Noriko hissed, "We've got to hurry!"

            The other woman shook her head, bringing her back to reality. "Right." She struggled with the thick lock, but it was closed tight. "Damn."

            "Let me try," Plotmon said. She jumped into the air and used her rear legs to kick the lock at full force, "Petit Punch!"

            The lock did not shatter, but it did break, and fall to the ground, making a large clanging noise.

            "Oh shit!" Noriko hissed. She threw the door open, "Come on, hurry! Hurry!" The Karatsuki Numemon slithered towards the younger females as fast as they could.

            "What the hell is this?"

            Noriko and Mimi twisted around and saw the Minotarumon standing at the entrance to the tunnel he had previously walked into. "Damn it!" Noriko gasped, "Run, hurry!"

            "Run?" Lizzie gasped, "I thought we're supposed to fight…"

            "Don't argue, young lady!" her mother snapped, "Now move!"

            She reluctantly followed the others as they ran up the tunnel as fast as they could. The Karatsuki Numemon were surprisingly fast, slithering on their slimy bottoms. Lizzie was in the rear and when she heard Minotarumon growl, she whipped her head around and stared at the in-coming creature. She held up her D-terminal and the screen flashed to life. "Minotarumon: Virus, Beast Type…Fully Evolved?!" At the revelation of their enemy's strength, she began to become nervous, "Mom, he's right behind us!"

            "Keep moving!" Mimi shouted, "We're almost at the exit!"

            The Minotarumon glanced over the Chosen's shoulders and saw the light of the day shinning down through the entrance of the tunnel. The Beast Type, realizing, despite his high level, was not fast enough to catch his prey, pointing his gun arm at the cave wall; a metal rod slid out and began to pound the wall repeatedly and so quickly that it caused the entire tunnel to vibrate. A cave-in fell to the ground, inches in front of the Chosen, blocking their way to the exit. Mimi slid to a stop, staring at the newly-created pile of rocks. "Oh no!"

            The group spun around, the Minotarumon was slowly marching towards them, laughing manically. "Can't escape now!"

            Mimi was silent for a moment, then said, "All right, we're going to have to fight. Noriko, you and Plotmon try to dig us out, Lizzie, Yasu, you are your partners watch the Karatsuki Numemon. Me and Palmon'll by you some time, Noriko." She grabbed her digivice and smiled at her partner. "Ready?"

            Palmon X nodded. "Ready! Palmon X evolve to Togemon X!"

            Lizzie frowned, she was here to learn how to fight, why wouldn't her mother let her?

            Togemon X charged at the Minotarumon, swinging her fist at his head. The Beast Type was too bulky to move in time, and the Plant digimon's attack struck him directly in the jaw. Minotarumon stumbled backwards, then swung his gun around, and the hand metal slammed into Togemon X's head, causing even the X-digimon to become woozy. Togemon X countered by firing a barrage of spikes from her body. "Needle Spray!"

            Minotarumon protected his face by using his arm as a shield. He whipped his arm back at such a speed that some of the needles even came back out, striking Togemon X with her own attack. While the Plant digimon was still recovering, Minotarumon ran forward, swinging his arm around, "Demon Arm!"

            "Togemon, look out!" Mimi shouted.

            Her partner was surprisingly able to block even Minotarumon's powerful attack. It was not without a price, it appeared that her arm was broken.

            Plotmon had evolved to Black Tailmon and was pounding the fallen rocks with her Neko Punch attack, blasting them to dust, yet, for as many rocks as she destroyed, their seemed to be a million left. "I'm getting tired…"

            "Keep going!" Noriko pressed, "Togemon X can't hold on for much longer."

            Alraumon stared at Togemon X. "Why doesn't she just evolve?"

            "I don't know," Lizzie said, "Maybe she can't?" She sighed and reached for her digivice.

            "They said we couldn't," Yasu protested.

            "Your Mom needs help too!" the older girl exclaimed.

            Yasu glanced to where Noriko had now joined Black Tailmon in removing the rocks from the entrance. "All right," she said, reaching for her own digital device, "Labramon, you ready?"

            Her partner nodded eagerly, "Yeah."

            Lizzie turned to her own partner, "All right, Alraumon, ready?"

            He gave a slight wave. "You betcha!"

            "Labramon evolve to Dobermon!"

            "Alraumon evolve to Red Veggiemon!"

            Yasu and her partner ran to the collapsed rock wall. "Mom, Black Tailmon, watch out, we'll handle this!"

            "What?" Noriko gasped.

            Black Tailmon watched as Dobermon opened his mouth and began to growl. "No!" the cat shouted, "That's too…!"

            The canine digimon ignored her. "Grau Realm!" he exhaled a mighty blast of energy while he was growling, which smashed into the rock wall at such a force that while it did blast away the cave-in, it caused a back lash that struck the others. Togemon X was thrown to the ground, but Minotarumon was able to weather the blast. He stared down at the Plant digimon and raised his gun arm, ready to attack.

            "Hang on!" Red Veggiemon shouted, firing a stream of glowing chili peppers from his mouth, "Red Hot Machine Gun!"

            "No!" Mimi shouted, but it was too late, Red Veggiemon's attack struck Togemon X in the back just as she was jumping to her feet in order to execute a sneak attack on Minotarumon. The large plant digimon was hit off balance and rolled along the ground.

            "Oh shit!" Red Veggiemon gasped, "Togemon, are you okay?"

            Minotarumon laughed. "Well, if I knew you were going to take each other out, I wouldn't have gotten involved, but…"

            "Shut up, you jack ass!" Lizzie snapped.

            "I'll get to you soon," he chuckled, "Just wait your turn, right now, I've got to deal with your friend here." He began to walk towards Togemon X, who was lifting herself up from the ground.

            "No you don't!" Lizzie shouted, "Red Veggiemon, get him!"

            Her partner leapt into the air and fired another blast of his chili pepper bombs, which hit Minotarumon in the back. The Beast digimon slowly turned around, eyes red with rage. "Oh uh," the small plant digimon said.

            "Damn it," Togemon X gasped, jumping to her feet. She ran at Minotarumon, her body beginning to glow.

            "Togemon X evolve to Lillymon X!"

            The Beast digimon twisted back around and stared at the hovering flower digimon. "Fully Evolved, huh? Well, a pretty thing like you couldn't have gotten any stronger!"

            Lillymon X smirked, then slammed her hands together, forming a giant gun barrel. "Flower Cannon!" The force of her energy attack struck Minotarumon in the chest, throwing him into the ground. He flinched for a second, but remained still.

            "We've got to go!" Lillymon X shouted, "That's not gonna stop him for long!"

            "You heard her!" Mimi shouted, "Get moving!"

            The group quickly exited the cavern, but as soon as they stepped into the sunlight, the Minotarumon was already running towards them. Lillymon X fired another Flower Cannon, this time at ceiling right by the large tree, causing another cave in that trapped Minotarumon behind a wall of thick stone.

            "It'll take him a while to get out of there," Lillymon X said to the Karatsuki Numemon before she regressed back to Palmon X.

            "Thank you so much," one of the slime digimon bowed.

            Another one spoke, "Please, come back to our village, we must reward you for your bravery."

            Noriko glanced to the setting sun, "Well, it's getting late, and I don't feel like sleeping on the ground."

            Mimi bowed as well. "Thank you."

            The lead Karatsuki Numemon smiled. "Please follow me."

            "We'll be just a minute," Noriko said."

            One of the Karatsuki Numemon whispered to the other. "I think those littler ones are going to get in trouble."

            Mimi and Noriko stared at their daughters, while their partners glared at the children's partners. "We told you not to get involved with that!" Mimi yelled.

            "But Mom," Lizzie protested, "Togemon was in trouble…"

            "No, I wasn't," Palmon X said, "I could have always evolved to Lillymon X if there was a problem."

            "Then why did you wait so long to do it?" Alraumon asked.

            "Because I wasn't trying to hurt him!" she shouted, "But because he was about to attack you, I had to nearly kill him!"

            "As for you two," Noriko said to Yasu and Labramon, "Part of being a Chosen is knowing your partner's strengths and when to use them."

            "Dobermon's attack was too powerful to handle in that small space," Plotmon said, "My Neko Punch had more…what's the word…uh…finesse."

            Yasu looked to the ground. "We were just trying to help."

            "I know, honey," Noriko said, "But we had it completely under control, when the time is right, we'll train you better, but that wasn't the right time."

            Lizzie turned her head and mumbled. "It's never the right time, we're never gonna learn anything."

            Mimi whacked her hand across Lizzie's face. She stared up at her mother, shocked.

"Apologize to her right now."

            The blond teenager looked at Noriko. "Sorry, Mrs. Ishida."

            "I…it's okay."

            "Come on," Mimi said, "The Karatsuki Numemon are waiting."

111

**NAME:** Hikari Yamaki

**GENDER:** Female

**AGE:** 38

**ETHNICITY:** Japanese

**OCCUPATION:** Teacher/DATS Agent

**PLACE OF BIRTH:** Tokyo, Japan

**DATE OF BIRTH:** April 25, 1990

**KNOWN RELATIVES:** Mitsuo-husband, Asami-daughter, Taichi-brother, Sora-sister-in-law, Kasumi-niece, Akira-nephew, Susumu-father, Yuuko-mother, Haruki "Yuushi" Makato-grandfather, (deceased), Kumiko-aunt(deceased), Megumi-cousin,

**GROUP AFFILIATION:** DATS

**SUB-GROUP:** X-Chosen

**EDUCATION:** Education

**HEIGHT:** 5' 2"

**WEIGHT:** 129 lbs

**EYES:** Brown

**HAIR:** Brown

**POWER:** Crest of Light, X-Antibody, Wind

**DIGIMON:** Plotmon X-Tailmon X-Nefertimon X

**WEAPON:** None

**BIO:** Hikari is the famous Eighth Child, or infamous, depending on who is asked. During her time in the Digital World as a child, she displayed mysterious abilities and powers, which had diminished slightly by the time of her second adventure. As an adult, they had all but vanished, without any explanation. However, after meeting her cousin, she now believes that her powers were underdeveloped Fate powers, which she inherited by her grandfather. Now, she wonders if her daughter will display any of the mysterious power that seems present in her bloodline.

1

**NAME:** Jyou Kido

**GENDER:** Male

**AGE:** 41

**ETHNICITY:** Japanese

**OCCUPATION:** Physician

**PLACE OF BIRTH:** Tokyo, Japan

**DATE OF BIRTH:** January 2, 1987

**KNOWN RELATIVES:** Kiku-wife, Kenji-son

**GROUP AFFILIATION:** DATS

**SUB-GROUP:** X-Chosen

**EDUCATION:** Doctorate in medicine

**HEIGHT:** 5' 8"

**WEIGHT:** 163 lbs

**EYES:** Brown

**HAIR:** Bluish Brown

**POWER:** X-Antibody, Water

**DIGIMON:** Gomamon X, Tylomon X, Anomalocarimon X

**WEAPON:** None

**BIO:** Jyou was the oldest of the Chosen during his first adventure. Because of this, he felt that he should watch out for the others, which gave him the reputation of being paranoid. His desire to help others developed into a medical career, in which he excelled, becoming a specialist in Chosen and digimon anatomy. He is now teaching his son his medical expertise, so that he will not be the only Chosen doctor.


	5. Dawn of the Heroes: Chapter 3

_My name is Hikari Yamaki, and I am a Chosen-an X-Chosen to be specific. I was one of the chosen modified by the X-Antibody to protect me from the Second Black Death, but Takeru, my sweet Takeru, died from that disease, he was only 21. I was heartbroken and lost, everyday seemed like a nightmare. If it wasn't for my teaching, I might have broken down. I met Mitsuo when I was coming back from visiting Takeru's grave. He was there for me, he helped pull me back together, but I found out that he was a government agent for the Hypnos organization. He kept that from me, he lied to me. I should have left him, but I loved him too much, and gave him a second chance, and I've never regretted it. We have a wonderful marriage and a beautiful daughter. I wouldn't have changed it for anything._

_            My daughter and I joined the other Chosen in exploring the new Digital World. Yamato's group encountered a village of Candmon, who told them about 'evil' Chosen that were attacking them for a magical belt. Mimi's group saved some Karatsuki Numemon from a kidnapping Minotarumon, but Noriko and Mimi were protective of their daughters, who wanted to learn how to fight. My group was having more problems: Taichi and I were knocked unconscious by a strange energy wave, and now my niece and Mimi and Michael's son, Gabe, have to confront two people that might be able to save us._

_Digimon Magog_

_Dawn of the Heroes_

_Chapter 3_

            The Digital World was a mysterious place to begin with, but that world was destroyed by the evil Demon Lords. So, that area of the alien dimension that the Digital World resided within remained empty, at least for an undetermined number of years, for a few months ago, a new Digital World was discovered-and this world appeared to be far older then possible, yet, nothing was impossible with the Digital World.

            Team B, of the DATS exploratory mission, had found themselves walking within a jagged mountain range. They had been walking along a fairly level path, but the trail began to shift to a steep slope-slow at first, but it quickly rose to a near 45 degrees, forcing the group to climb rather then walk.

            Akira panted heavily. "Mom, can't we got back! I hate this!"

            Sora looked to her son, "No, we can't. Why even ask that kind of question? You know that we're on a mission, here."

            "I'm just so tired!" the preteen boy whined, "Can't we just rest for a minute."

            Sora was about to speak, but Shiro interrupted, "Come on," he said, "Would Kasumi talk like that?"

            Akira smiled suddenly, "She'd probably be swearing."

            "Akira!" Sora snapped, "Don't talk about your sister like that." She sighed, "Honestly, I wish you could be more like Shiro and his sister."

"My sister's not that great," Shiro said with a smile to Akira.

            Yamato glanced at his son, with a slight smile, but said nothing.

            Akira's Falcomon, meanwhile, took advantage of his flying capabilities to hover up the mountain trail. As he turned the last corner, he gave a gasp and fell to the ground. "What's wrong?" his partner asked.

            "Shh!" he hissed, then mentioned with his wings, "Come up here, and be quiet!"

            The rest of the team cautiously approached the end of the trail and peered around the large boulders. Stretching before them was a large plateau, resting comfortably within the mountains. Near the far end of this large flat area, was a building similar to the ones in the Candmon village. "Probably something else they stole from them," Sora sighed, "How long were they being threatened?"

            "We'll find out," Yamato said, "and we'll make sure they don't hurt those Candmon anymore."

            "What should we do?" Gabumon X asked.

            The blond man turned to Falcomon and Piyomon, "Can you see anything?"

            The bird digimon used their 'eagle-eyes,' to peer through the windows and saw that the building was empty. "No one's home," Falcomon said.

            Yamato nodded. "Then let's move in."

            "What?" Sora asked, "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

            "Actually, no, but this is the best way to see if we can find anything out about them."

            The redheaded woman frowned, "I guess so."

            He gave a slight smile, "Come on, Taichi would probably say the same thing."

            She sighed deeply, "Yeah, he probably would."

            Team B quickly walked across the plateau, and cautiously entered the building. The inside was almost bare, except for two cots pushed up against the wall, a small stove in the center, and kitchen utensils on the other side of the room. "Wow," Shiro's Psychemon said, "This is even cleaner then Yasu's room."

            "I don't know," Yamato said, "She's got a lot more stuff then this."

            Piyomon was examining the items in the corner, "Is there anything here that really helps us?"

            "I don't think so," Sora said, picking up a pink-colored bra from the pile of clothes, "Other then they don't do laundry." She growled slightly, "And that she's got a bigger bra size then me…"

            Yamato mentioned over his shoulder. "Let's get out of here."

            They walked through the door, but came to a stop when they saw standing in the center of the mesa two Chosen, along with their demonic partners. The human male had his arms crossed and was glaring at them. "So, you follow us and even break into our base?" He turned to the girl, "No manners at all, eh?"

            "Um, sorry about that," Shiro forced a smile, "We, uh…got lost?"

            He snorted. "Please, that's the best you can do? Oh, and in case you're wondering, yeah, I'm pretty pissed about this!" He threw the fake belt into the ground, "You're gonna pay for making a fool out of me!"

            Akira grinned. "Maybe if it wasn't so easy…."

            His mother smacked his shoulder slightly. "Akira!"

            The male narrowed his eyes at the redheaded boy, "You've got a big mouth, try keeping it shut!"

            "Don't talk to my son like that!" Sora snapped.

            He only smirked.

            Yamato sighed, "All right, this isn't how I planned it, but now that you're here, who are you?"

            The male gave a slight bow, "My name is Tsuragi, and my partner NeoDevimon. This is Ami, and her partner, Astamon."

            The girl smile, while her partner gave a bow. "Greetings, lords and ladies."

            Tsuragi chuckled and held up his arm to show a wrist-band with an image of an upside-down pentagram. Ami had one wrapped around her lower leg, "We're the Demon Generals."

            "Demon Generals?" Sora gasped.

            "That's impossible!" Yamato snapped, "We destroyed the Demons, I killed half of them myself!"

            "You exaggerate…"

            "The point is you can't be Demon Lords!"

            "We're a bit of a different breed," Ami clarified.

            "What did you need that belt for?" Sora demanded.

            "Megingjoro," Astamon said, "Is a belt that gives unnatural strength and power."

            "But what did you need it for?" Piyomon asked.

            Tsuragi chuckled, "Let's just say we need to get something, and that belt's just part of the…" he smirked, "Cost of admission." His smile faded, "And just so you're aware, while you were stumbling around getting up here, we went back to that Candmon village…."

            Sora felt her heart dip into her stomach, "You…you didn't…"

            Tsuragai held up another belt in his hand, this one thicker and covered in elegant gold designs, "We did. You should have talked them into giving me the real belt, 'cause now…they're all gone."

            "You killed them?" Akira gasped.

            "That's right," Ami answered, "And they didn't even put up much of a fight. Even that Death Meramon wasn't any match for Astamon."

            Sora was shaking with anger and she grabbed her digivice, "Piyomon!"

            Yamato gasped, "Sora, don't!"

            Piyomon evolved to her highest form, Garudamon. Sora was visible weakened from the influx of energy given to her partner, an unfortunate side-effect of the Second Black Death present within her body.

            Garudamon shot forward as fast as she could, her fists already clenched tightly. She stared at Astamon, pulling her arm back to attack…

            The Demon Man whipped his gun, pointing it directly at the Wind Guardian. "Maverick." A barrage of bullets erupted forth, striking Garudamon across her body. She was not expecting such an attack, and Sora's anger was fueling her own, so her rage had blinded her, throwing her off guard.

            "Garudamon!" Sora shouted, watching her partner fall to the ground.

            Astamon did not allow the injured bird to recover, as he kicked her in the side, flipping her over on the ground.

            "Damn it," Yamato hissed, grabbing his own digivice. Gabumon X ran forward, waiting to evolve, when Neodevimon's arm suddenly stretched out, scratching the Child digimon with a mighty swipe.

            "Stun Claw!"

            "Gabumon!" Yamato cried, watching as his partner fell to the ground, his eyes spinning around in his head.

            "He's just gonna sleep for a little bit," Neodevimon chuckled, "No need to freak out."

            Astamon, meanwhile, had been brutally attacking Garudamon, not allowing the bird man even the chance to fight back. After a full of minute of the demon's Maverick attack, the Fully Evolved digimon regressed to her Child form. The Demon Man smirked, "I thought you were supposed to be strong." He kicked the pink bird, sending her sailing in the air before she crashed in front of Sora.

            "Piyomon!" she gasped, clutching her partner.

            Akira stared at Sora clutching her injured partner. "Mom…"

            The redheaded woman glared at Ami and Astamon, "How could you?"

            "You humiliated us," the girl snapped back.

            "That's it?" Sora shouted, "Because you were trick, you nearly killed my partner!"

            Astamon flicked his arm into the air, creating a gust of wind that knocked Sora onto her back. "Keep quiet."

            "Mom!" Akira shouted. His mother was slowly climbing to her feet, but it was obvious that she was hurt. She winced in pain as she attempted to stand. The sight of his mother in pain caused a reaction in the preteen. He began to quake and his eyes glowed with rage. He clenched his fists and screamed. A wave of red energy began to pour from his being, circling around him like a roaring campfire.

            "Akira?" Shiro gasped.

            The young boy's Falcomon began to feel a wave of energy that he had never experienced before, a wave of such intensity that he instantly evolved to Diatrymon, even though he did not will himself to do so. Even his new form was coursing with the same red energy.

            Sora stared at her son, "Akira…"

            While the rest of Team B stared in shock, the two Demon Generals stared with amused expressions. "How cute," Tsuragi chuckled, "The brat thinks that by flipping out, he's gonna beat us."

            Diatrymon's mind was overcome with the anger emanating from his partner. He charged at Astamon, red energy covering his body. The Demon Man smirked, "Another one huh? Must run in the family…" He whipped his gun around and fired another Maverick attack, but the Ancient Bird used his metal wings as a shield, protecting his body.

            "What?" Astamon gasped.

            The Wind Guardian roared in a deep raspy voice, "Mega Dash Impact!" He rammed into the Demon Man, holding him onto the ground with his powerful legs. He pointed his beak inches above Astamon's face, "Destruction Roar!" The Demon Man was hit full force with a powerful sonic attack.

            Neodevimon stomped over, "Guilty Claw!" His arm shot forward, stretching across the plateau to grab Diatrymon, but the Wind Guardian leapt into the air, Neodevimon's attack completely missing.

            Once he was safely above the Fallen Angel, Diatrymon fired another Destruction Roar, striking Neodevimon at full force. The devil winced as the attack pounded him, but he chuckled, "Sorry, that's not gonna work! Stun Claw!" He arm once again whipped into the air, this time successfully striking the Ancient Bird with his paralyzing technique. Diatrymon fell to the ground, twitching slightly. Once his partner was defeated, Akira's energy rage dissipated and he fell to the ground.

            "Akira!" Sora shouted. She ran to her son, "Oh no, he's unconscious!" She started to shake him, "Akira….Akira!"

            Shiro turned to Psychemon. "I…I guess it's our turn…"

            Yamato looked over his team, yes, Psychemon may have been the only digimon not injured or stunned, but he was no match for _one_ Fully Evolved digimon, much less two. He had no choice, "Don't."

            Shiro glanced to his father, "What?"

            Yamato sighed, staring at the Demon Generals, "Fine, we surrender."

            Tsuragi grinned wickedly to Ami,  "Well…looks like we won…"

111

            Team C was in the region they called Clotho, enjoying the hospitality of the Karatsuki Numemon. They had saved three of the females of the group from a Minotarumon, and were now seated at a table in the leader's home, eating a large feast.

            "This is so nice of you," Mimi grinned at the Karatsuki Numemon, "Thank you."

            The elder Karatsuki Numemon bowed slightly, "There is no need to thank us, we have been at the mercy of that Minotarumon for many weeks now, it is us who should be thanking you," He mentioned to the table covered with food, "And we are."

            Yasu was watching Noriko's Plotmon and her Labramon munching away on the food. "They're both so cute, aren't they?" she said to her mother.

            Noriko smiled back and gently rubber her daughter's head, "Well, they're not half as beautiful as you."

            Labramon glared at them, "Hey, we can hear you, you know!"

            Plotmon smirked, "Don't worry, I think you're just as beautiful." The two digimon then began to roar with laughter.

            "They're making fun of us!" Yasu whined.

            The elder Karatsuki Numemon chuckled. "There is something I would like to ask you," he said to Mimi.

            "Sure, what's up?"

            "Um…forgive me if this sounds too rude, but, you are humans, correct?"

            She blinked. "Yeah, of course we're humans."

            He nodded. "It is just as I thought, please understand that humans are the stuff of legends."

            "Legends?" Palmon X asked, "No, that can't be right…"

            "But it is," he said, "There have been no humans in this world since ancient times. The only record we have of humans are from legends."

            "What kind of legends?" Mimi asked, raising an eyebrow.

            He sighed, "Well, the stories we hear tell us of a group of strange creatures called 'humans' who had mysterious powers and abilities, and each humans was partnered with a digimon, through whom their powers could be manifested. The legends tell that there were two groups of these humans-one good, one evil. The good humans eventually proved victorious, but once their mission was complete, they vanished as mysteriously as they arrived.

            Silence filled the table. "I guess when this world was reconfigured, all trace of us disappeared too," Noriko said.

            "And those weapons came to Earth anyway," Mimi added.

            Yasu suddenly dropped her utensils and shivered. "What's wrong?" her Labramon asked.

            "I…I just felt something…."

            "Felt something?" Noriko asked, "Like what?"

            "I…I don't know, like….like it just got really hot all of a sudden- I don't know how to explain it." She looked to the rest of the group, "Didn't you feel it?"

            Mimi turned to Noriko, but she held up her palm. She closed her eyes and breathed heavily, bringing herself to a relaxed state. Suddenly, through the darkness, she felt an explosion of fire. "It is!"

            "It's what?" Lizzie asked.

            "It's the Power of Fire!" Noriko said to Mimi, "Sora's in trouble!"

            Lizzie glanced to the others, "Mrs. Yagami's in trouble?"

            Noriko ignored her. "Mimi, we've got to go!"

            The other woman nodded. "You can lead us there, right?"

            She nodded. "I think so, yeah."

            "Then let's go."

111

A wooden mansion built within the center of the volcanic region of Urd, remained standing despite the lave flowing around it. Inside the mansion was decorative designs of mysterious deities, but a tunnel stretching into the earth was enticing to Team A of the DATS team. Unfortunately, a room within the tunnel contained a security system of some sort, which infected Taichi, Hikari, and their partners with strange energy, knocking them into unconsciousness.

            At least Asami hoped it was only unconsciousness and not something more serious. As she worryingly stared at her mother and uncle, lying unconscious on the rock floor, she wished she could do more then just watched over them.

            When she heard the sound of rocks clinkering, she held her breath and felt her heart slow to a stop. She stared at the entrance of the small room that led up to the surface, time slowing to a stop. Finally, after what seemed like eons, her Leormon trotted into view. Asami exhaled deeply. "You scared me."

            "I'm sorry," he replied, "But look what I found!"

            The brown-haired girl saw that his tail was wrapped around a large pot that Team A had brought with them. "You went back to the base?" the girl asked.

            "It was the only place where there was water," he explained. Asami rose to her feet and examined the contents of the pot, it contained at least seven bottles of water, along with the fist-aid kit.

            She smiled. "This is perfect, thank you."

            He shrugged. "What are you thanking me for?" he asked, mentioning to the unconscious adults and digimon, "They're my family too, you know."

            Asami lightly rubbed his head, then begin to examine the contents of the first-aid kit. It contained average items: Tylenol, band-aids, medicine. She turned to the pills, "I don't think there's anything here that I can use."

            She took a deep breath, "What am I going to do? I wish Dr. Kido or Kenji were here, they'd know what to do!" She begin to breath quickly, "What am I going to do? Kasumi, Kasumi!" she shouted to the other tunnel.

            "Calm down!" Leormon shouted, "Take a deep breath."

            His partner nodded, slowing her breathing down to a normal level. "Okay, okay." She took another deep breath. "I can't give them any pills, because they can't swallow them, so I can't give them any medicine…."

            Leormon was afraid that she was going to have another panic attack, so he spoke up, "Maybe you can just make them comfortable…?"

            She nodded quickly, "Yes, that's a good idea." She grabbed one of the bottles of water and ran over to the unconscious Chosen and digimon, then stopped. "I need a towel or something…"

            Her partner frowned. "Sorry, I'll go back to the base." He turned to run back up the tunnel, but Asami called out to him.

            "No. that's all right." She glanced at her clothes, then grabbed the bottom of her pink skirt and ripped along the edge, taking an inch of fabric into her hands. She further ripped the fabric into four sections, before pouring on them the cool water, allowing it to soak. She placed the rags over the forehead of her mother, Taichi, Agumon X and Plotmon X.

            "There," Leormon said, "That's better, right?"

            She shook her head, "Not really." She glanced to the other tunnel, which stretched deeper into the ground. "Kasumi, please hurry."

111

            Deeper within the tunnel, Kasumi Yagami and her Yuki Agumon partner were walking quickly through the winding tunnel. They quickly jumped over stones and rocks, easily skidding around corners. They fallen into the ground more then once-Yuki Agumon was fairly protected from cuts with her leathery reptile skin, but Kasumi had fallen more then once. So far, she had been lucky, but when she attempted to jump over a rock half as tall as her, she misjudged and her foot caught, throwing her into the ground. The pony-tailed girl leapt back up and brushed herself off. "I'm okay."

            Yuki Agumon glanced over her partner, "Your jeans are torn."

            "What?" Kasumi asked. She looked down and saw that a fairly large hole had been created in her pants, revealing the knee on her right leg. "Oh damn it! Mom's gonna kill me!"

            Gabe and his Kotemon ran to keep up with them. "You know," the teenage boy said, "If you'd just slow down, you wouldn't have hurt yourself."

            Kasumi glared at him. "What about my dad and my aunt, huh? If we don't catch those guys, they're screwed!" She was referring to the two mysterious Chosen that had passed by them in the tunnel.

            "We don't even know that," Kotemon replied.

            "What about what they said?" Yuki Agumon protested, "They had some kind of cure for that energy wave that knocked out Taichi and Hikari."

            "We don't know that…" Gabe said, echoing his partner's statement.

            The pony-tailed girl sighed. "_You_ don't know that!"

            The teenage boy growled, struggling to keep it his temper under control. "That didn't even make any sense!"

            "Yes it does!" she snapped back, "_I_ know what I'm doing, all right?"

            "No, it's not all right," he said, "It's not going to do Mr. Yagami and Mrs. Yamaki any good if we end up getting killed."

            She was about to snapped back, but Gabe interrupted her, "Just think about how your mother's gonna feel if I have to tell her that her daughter died because she was too full of herself to at least slow down and take things carefully!"

            She clenched her fists tightly, but spun around. "Fine, we'll slow down, but we're not leaving, understand?"

            Gabe breathed with relief, "All right, that's better, this way we'll know what we're up against."

            "Stop talking to me like I'm a fucking baby, all right?" she snapped, "Now come on, let's go."

            Kasumi and Yuki Agumon began to walk forward. Kotemon turned to his partner, "Who put her in charge anyway?"

            "Not now," he replied, "I've got her calm enough to think, don't get her started again."

            The group continued walking through the tunnel, much slower this time. Kasumi was clearly annoyed from being reprimanded by Gabe, who the hell did he think he was anyway? _She_ was the daughter of Taichi and Sora Yagami, he needed to learn exactly where he belonged!

            She was about to turn and tell him off, when voices suddenly began to echo through the tunnel. "What the?"

            Gabe put a finger to his mouth; this time, Kasumi agreed, so she did not protest. They cautiously peered around the corner of the tunnel and saw another room, this one even larger then the room with the tree that contained the golden apples-it was, in fact a massive cavern, with large stalactites and stalagmites. In the center was a floor was another tree, this one much large, and nearly void of leaves. Hanging within the dead branches was a strange, shimmering garment. Standing before the tree, was the pair of Chosen that had passed Team A within the tunnel. The humans were a teenage boy and girl, the boy had a crew cut of blond hair, while the girl's blond hair was tied into a long braid. The boy was dressed in a pair of gray slacks, a white t-shirt and an open gray jacket. The girl wore a gray fuku and a white blouse. They were both wearing bands-the girl used it to hold back her blond hair, while the boy had it around his shoulder-that displayed a upside down pentagram. The boy's partner was a tall, skeleton-like digimon, while the girl's partner was a gray, griffin-like creature. Team A maneuvered to the ledge overlooking the bottom floor, lowered themselves to their stomach and peered over the edge.

            The boy stared up at the tree and grinned. "Well, who wants to climb up there and get it?"

            The girl crossed her arms, "_You're_ the one that wanted this mission, we could've passed it off to one of the others-it has been on the list for weeks."

            The boy snorted, "The master was getting impatient, and you know how he gets when he's like that."

            The girl nodded. "Yeah, I know."

            "Besides," he smirked, "I'm not gonna lose to Tsuragi. He's looking for that damn belt, and I'm not letting him get a leg up over me!"

            The girl smirked. "Glad to hear it, Twin Brother."

            The boy returned the smirk, then turned back to the tree. "All right, Skull Satamon, give me a lift."

            His skeleton partner was about to lift the boy by his legs, when a loud crash was heard behind them. They spun around and saw a pony-tailed girl lying face-first on the ground. She jumped to her feet and dusted herself off.

            "Are you okay?" a white-colored lizard shouted down from the upper level.

            "Yeah, I'm fine!" she shouted back.

            A teenage boy on the upper level sighed deeply. "I told you were too close to the ledge!"

            "Oh shut the fuck up!" she shouted back.

            The twin brother and sister, along with their digimon partners, simply stared at the girl and her companions. The girl suddenly remembered the twins and spun to face them. Her teammates on the upper ledge gracefully slid down the rock wall to join her. The twin boy stared at them, "Wait a second….I know you, Gabe Barton and his Kotemon. We've got orders to terminate you on sight, for some reason, you've got the Master worried."

            Gabe blinked. "Master?"

            ""Hey!" Kasumi shouted, trying to get their attention.

            The boy turned to her, "Who the hell are you?"

            She twitched, "What? I'm Kasumi Yagami!"

            "Sorry, doesn't ring a bell."

            The girl turned to him, "She's Taichi Yagami's daughter."

            He snapped his fingers. "Oh right." He grinned at her, "Sorry, I don't usually remember lower level Chosen."

            "Lower level?" she screamed. She charged forward, her fists flying, but Yuki Agumon and Kotemon managed to hold her back.

            "Calm down," Kotemon said.

            "Yeah," Yuki Agumon added, "Just take a deep breath."

            Gabe ignored them and continued speaking to the twins. "What do you mean, orders to kill me?"

            "We've been watching you for a long time," the boy replied, "I can't remember everything, so you'll have to forgive me if I don't start reciting your file, but, yes, I do know you, and you must know this, I'm not going to let you stop me. I'm not sure how you found us, or even knew where this place was, but that doesn't matter, we have a mission to finish, and nothing's going to stand in our way!"

            He mentioned to his partner, "Go for it."

            The girl turned to her own partner as well, "You know what to do."

            Her griffin partner stomped forward, a vacant expression in his eyes. "All right!" Kasumi shouted, grabbing her digivice, "Let's do it!"

            "No!" Gabe protested, staring at her. He turned back to the twins, "We don't have to, we don't…"

            "They're gonna kill us if we don't!" Kasumi shouted back. She pointed her digivice at Yuki Agumon. "_Come on,_" she thought, "_Please, just this once, get it right the first time!"_

            The white digimon took a deep breath and began to gather the necessary data needed to evolve. Her body began to glow, "Yuki Agumon evolve to…"

            The bright light abruptly ceased, and all eyes were staring at the lizard digimon. "Sometimes I just have to get going, all right?!" She took another deep breath "Yuki Agumon evolve to….Allomon!"

            The small lizard exploded with light, growing to a towering dinosaur, who growled loudly.

            Kasumi breathed a silent sigh of relief, then glanced over at Gabe through the corners of her eyes. The brown-haired teenager reached for his own digivice. "All right, Kotemon, I guess we've got no choice."

            The small digimon nodded, "Kotemon evolve to Gladimon!" Standing the place of the small digimon was a larger digimon, one dressed in a suit of armor and carrying a set of twin daggers.

            _"Damn it!"_ Kasumi thought, _"He can evolve his partner so easily!"_

            The twin boy chuckled. "Impressive, but unless you can go higher, we will defeat you." He glanced to his partner, "All right, Skull Satamon."

            The girl nodded to her twin brother's statement. "Skull Barukimon, send them to their graves."

            The brother held out his hand, "No, we can handle this."

            She nodded, "If that is what you wish."

            "It is. Skull Satamon, if you please."

            "Gladly," the skeleton digimon replied, marching forward. Gladimon whipped out his swords, and after executing a maneuver, held them perfectly at his side. Allomon saw this and growled.

            _"What a show off!_" she thought.

            Skull Satamon continued to walk forward, Gladimon and Allomon narrowed their eyes, watching the devil closely. Before they were even able to blink, Skull Satamon struck, dropping down and executing a roundhouse that knocked into Allomon's legs, throwing her off balance. Gladimon rushed to her aide, but Skull Satamon whipped around, smacking his staff into the knight digimon's head, throwing him backwards. Due to his round body, his rolled along the ground before jumping back to his feet. The skeleton digimon charged at the knight digimon, swinging down his staff. Gladimon whipped his swords around and blocked.

            Skull Satamon pressed down his staff as hard as he could, attempting to break through Gladimon's swords. The knight digimon countered with his own strength, and the two were locked in a power struggle, despite his Adult-level strength, was surprisingly able to hold back the Fully Evolved Skull Satamon.

            "I'm coming!" Allomon shouted, stomping over. She opened her and expunged a blast of heat, "Dino Burst!"

            Skull Satamon glanced out from the corner of his eye and saw the flame attack heading for him. He leapt into the air, executing a perfect back-flip, using his staff against Gladimon's swords as a pivot point. Once he landed, his back was to Allomon's fire blast, but he turned around at the last moment, using his staff like a bat to smack the fireball so hard that it dissipated into nothing.

            "He's stronger then I thought," Gabe whispered to Kasumi.

            The pony-tailed girl smirked, "Scared?"

            Her glared at her. He was beginning to get tired of her arrogant attitude. "Gladimon, I know he's stronger then you, but don't give up, you can still do it."

            The boy laughed, "I see we're suffering from delirium, heh…"

            Kasumi turned to him, but her eyes focused on the container hanging on his belt. "_That's what he said would cure Dad and Aunt Hikari. I've got to get it!"_

            She watched the boy carefully, he was focused on the battle between the digimon-and his twin sister had her back to them! Kasumi took a deep breath and slowly walked forward.

            Kasumi's partner charged at Skull Satamon, but the devil easily leapt aside, and Allomon's jaws snapped at empty air. The dinosaur twirled around and charged once again. The devil digimon once again leapt to safety, dodging Allomon's jaws and landing behind her. The dinosaur growled with rage and whipped her tail, but, once again, Skull Satamon simply leapt away from the source of danger.

            "He's so fast," Gabe said, "Allomon can't hold out like this on her own. Gladimon, get ready to jump in."

            His partner nodded, readying his swords. He watched as Allomon lunged for Skull Satamon, and the devil leapt into the air once again. The Warrior digimon ran forward, spinning around like a top as fast as he could. "Sword Dancer!"

            The devil tried to shift his weight, but he could not while in free-fall. As soon as he landed, Gladimon's twirling swords dug deep into Skull Satamon's back. The devil managed to break away and use his staff to block the twirling blades. He twisted his weapon as hard as he could, and Gladimon was caught and thrown into the air. The devil jumped up and kicked the Warrior digimon in the face, slamming him into the ground.

            "Excellent, Skull Satamon," the boy said, crossing his arms as he watched the battle. He was not aware that Kasumi was slowly walking towards his left side. She cautiously extended her arm, trying to grab the gourd hanging from his side. Her fingers were able to touch it before he kicked her aside.

            "What are you doing?" he asked with an amused expression on his face. He glanced down to the gourd, then over at Kasumi. He began to chuckle, "So, the seal in the room above wasn't destroyed by a fluke, someone in your team set it off, and now you need our cure to save them. Although I'm surprised how DATS agents, whith your reputation, wouldn't have known about that security system…"

            He trailed off as he noticed the expressions on their faces, "Oh..heh…I get it. You didn't come here to find us, you just happened upon this by accident, didn't you?" He started to laugh, "You don't even know who we are, do you?" Sorry, well, why don't we introduce ourselves then? My name is Shinji and my twin sister, Yuuji. I believe you already are familiar with Skull Satamon and Skull Baruchimon."

            "Yeah yeah," Kasumi muttered, "Why don't you just give me that cure thing?"

            Shinji reached for the gourd. "Oh, you mean this?"

            "What is that, anyway?" Gabe asked, studying him carefully.

            "Just a potion that was concocted by an alchemist proficient in digital matters. It should counter the effects of the energy waves that infected your other teammates,"

            The brown-hared teenage boy narrowed his eyes, "Who are you anyway?"

            Yuuji smirked. "We're Demons."

            "Demons?" Kasumi gasped, "But…that's impossible! Our parents killed all the Demons in the Digital World!"

            "Sorry," the girl chuckled, "The reports of our demise have been greatly exaggerated. We're the Demon Generals."

            "Demon Generals?" Gabe asked, raising an eyebrow, "Well, what are you doing down here? And what is this place?"

            Shinji nodded slightly. "This place is ancient, even for this 'Neo-Digital World," and we're doing here for…that…!" He pointed over his shoulder to the sheet hanging from the tree branches.

            "What for?"

            "Do you think I'm careless enough to tell you?" Shinji chuckled.

            "Who the fuck cares?" Kasumi snapped. She pointed her finger at Shinji, "Give me that cure right now!"

            The Demon General tossed the gourd in his hand. "Well, tell you what, come and take it."

            "What?" Gabe asked.

            "Fine!" Kasumi snapped, "Allomon, tear him apart!"

            "You got it!" the dinosaur roared. She stomped forward, her teeth starting to drool. Shinji only smirked. Allomon was about to lunge to strike, but Skull Satamon jumped in front of his partner and easily withstood the attack.

            "Skull Hammer!" he shouted, whacking the dinosaur with enough strength to create a force wave that propelled even the massive dinosaur backwards.

            Skull Satamon smirked, then his eyes darted to the right as Gladimon charged him. The Warrior digimon raised his swords, but the devil digimon once again blocked with his staff. He kicked the knight digimon, sending him tumbling backwards on his rounded body.

            Kasumi frowned. "Jeeze, he'd make a perfect bowling ball."

            Gabe turned to her, "He's doing better then your partner!"

            The pony-tailed girl turned back to the battle, and saw that Skull Satamon had pinned Allomon to the side of the cavern, holding in place with the tip of his staff pressed firmly against her neck. "Oh man!"

            Gladimon once again charged at the devil digimon, swinging his swords. Skull Satamon quickly moved his staff to block the Warrior digimon's left sword, but Gladimon swung around with his right sword aiming for Skull Satamon's neck. The devil digimon shifted away at the last second, and Gladimon's sword took a chunk out of his shoulder. Skull Satamon growled and jumped backwards.

            Gabe smirked. "Looks like Gladimon had to save your partner again."

            Kasumi glared at him, then turned back to Skull Satamon, who had a hand over his injured shoulder. How was Gladimon able to do that? _She_ was supposed to be the hero, _she_ was the daughter of Taichi and Sora Yagami, he was just the son of Michael and Mimi, people she never even saw before, how could he be so strong, why did her partner have such a hard time evolving, why did everyone like him so much? She was supposed to be important, not him!

            Yuuji stared at Skull Satamon. "All right, Skull Barukimon, get ready to jump in."

            "No!" Shinji shouted, "This fight is over."

            He threw the gourd at Kasumi, and she caught it within her palms. She stared at him, "What's the catch?"

            He shook his head. "No catch, even _your_ partner fought well. Go, and hurry, those energy waves could possible be fatal."

            The pony-tailed girl turned, "All right, let's go."

            Gabe was hesitant, but he knew that if his mother was here, she would want him to worry about Taichi and Hikari first. "All right."

            The two Demon twins watched the DATS agents use the winding ramp to walk back to the upper ledge before disappearing back into the tunnel. "Why did you do that for?" Yuuji asked.

            Shinji mentioned to the cloth hanging in the tree branches. "Because, they weren't strong enough, and yes, even that Gladimon was powerful, but Skull Satamon could have easily defeated them." He smirked, "But if we want to test this Fleece out, we're going to need stronger opponents, so hopefully their injured members have stronger digimon."

            "And what if they don't?" Skull Barchikumon asked.

            He shrugged. "Then we kill them all."

111

            Asami tensed as she heard the sound of footstep coming from the tunnel leading deeper into the ground. She and Leormon crouched behind the large rock, cautiously peering at the entrance. The teenage girl held her breath, as her body slowly began to shake.

            "Asami! Asami!"

            The braided-haired girl grinned as she jumped to her feet. "Kasumi," she breathed a sigh of relief. Once her cousin stepped through the entrance, she grinned. "Oh, I'm so glad you're safe." She was about to embrace her cousin, but Kasumi pushed right past her.

            "Yeah yeah, time for that later." Kasumi dropped to her knees besides her unconscious father, the mysterious gourd already open. She gently placed it against his lips and poured the liquid into his mouth. "Come on Dad, you gotta drink this."

            Once her father had swallowed the cure, she did the same for Agumon X, Hikari and Plotmon X. Gabe nervously looked over his shoulder. "Come on, hurry!"

            "What else do you want me to do?" Kasumi snapped, "What are you so freaked out about?"

            "He just _let_ us go!" Gabe snapped, "You're not worried about that at all?"

            The pony-tailed girl smirked. "He said we were stronger then he thought. I just figured he knew he was going to lose."

            He glared at her. "You're kidding, right?"

            "What are you talking about?"

            "Skull Satamon is Fully Evolved, you retard!" he snapped, "And so is Skull Barukimon! We should've been killed! We've got to get out of here as fast as we can!"

            "What's all the noise for?"

            Leormon blinked. "Plotmon? You're…"

            Asami grinned. "Mom, you're…you're awake!"

            Hikari and her partner slowly sat up. The middle-aged woman was rubbing the back of her head. "What happened?"

            "You were attacked by a weird energy wave," Asami explained, helping her mother to her feet, "Kasumi and Gabe had to get a cure to save you."

            "Get a cure?" she asked, blinking a few times, "What?"

            "We'll explain later, Mrs. Yamaki," Gabe said, "Right now, we've really got to get out of here."

            "Hey!" Kasumi snapped, "My father's still unconscious!"

            "Taichi's unconscious?" Hikari asked. She ran to her brother's side and checked his pulse, then she did the same for Agumon X.

            "They're okay, right?" Kasumi asked.

            Her aunt nodded. "Yes."

            The teenage girl frowned. "I don't understand, I gave them the same thing that I gave you."

            Her aunt smiled slightly, "Well…your father's a lot bigger then me, so it might take a bit longer for that medicine to work." Her smiled faded slightly, "Where did you get that from, anyway?"

            "We'll explain later!" Gabe gasped, almost running in place, "We've got to leave, right now!"

            Hikari did not understand, but could tell from the teenager's exasperations, that the reason why could be discussed later. "All right, Gabe, help me carry Taichi."

            The teenage boy nodded, "Right." He and Hikari lifted the unconscious Taichi onto their backs, while their digimon did the same to Agumon X. They carried them through the winding tunnel before arriving at the surface. Rather then resting for a moment, Gabe insisted they keep walking until they arrived at their base camp. After gently placing Taichi and Agumon X and the ground, Hikari turned to the teenagers.

            "All right, where did you get that cure from?"

            "That would be us!"

            The DATS team turned and saw the two Demonic twins and their partners slowly approaching the camp. Shinji had within his hands a sheet that shimmered with gold light. "Who are you?" Hikari asked.

            "That's where we got the cure from," Kasumi explained.

            Yuuji stared at the two females. "Asami Yamaki and Leormon, and Hikari Yamaki and Plotmon X. The ones on the floor are Taichi Yagami and Agumon X."

            Skull Satamon raised his eyebrows. "X-digimon, huh? Well, it looks like we've got the test we wanted…"

            His partner nodded. "I think so." He threw the sheet to his partner, who wrapped it around his shoulders.

            Skull Satamon pointed his staff at the DATS team, "All right, who's first?"

            "Why do you want to fight us?" Hikari asked.

            Shinji mentioned to the cloth on Skull Satamon's shoulders, "You see, this item, this Golden Fleece, is one of those…for lack of a better term, 'magical items,' that are scattered around this Digital World."

            "What do you mean?" Plotmon X asked, "I thought this world just got created."

            "Maybe…maybe not, that's not up to me to say, all I know is, items like this are here, and they're full of power, power that we need. So, if you don't mind, let's just get this started okay?"

            Kasumi grinned, "You got it! Allomon…"

            "No," Hikari said.

            "What?" the pony-tailed girl gasped.

            ""Skull Satamon is Fully Evolved," her aunt explained, "Trust me, your digimon aren't strong enough, Plotmon and I are the only ones that have a chance."

            "But," she protested.

            Hikari reached for her digivice, "Just watch your father and let Plotmon and I handle this." She stared at Shinji, "We don't even know you, we don't have to fight, please."

            Yuuji chuckled. "You should be scared, Shinji's going to kick your ass."

            "Hey!" Plotmon X snapped, "Just 'cause we don't want to fight, doesn't mean we're going to lose! Not only are we X-enhanced, but we've been doing this since before you've been born!"

            Shinji chuckled, "Are you certain you're sure about our ages?"

            Hikari blinked, "But…you're wearing high school uniforms!"

            "We could be older," the boy smirked.

            "Or younger," Yuuji added.

            Hikari blinked. "What are you trying to say?"

            "Never mind," Shinji responded, "You'd better evolve, or you're going to get killed."

            She sighed and reached for her digivice, "All right, Plotmon, we've got no choice."

            Her partner nodded. "Yeah." She took a deep breath and evolved to her highest level, Nefertimon X. The two digimon stared at one another before Nefertimon X fired two beams from her headdress. "Curse of Queen!"

            Skull Satamon smirked and threw the golden fleece around and the energy beams struck the cloth, vanishing instantly. "What the?" Nefertimon X gasped.

            The devil digimon whipped his staff around and fired a beam that was similar to the Curse of Queen! Nefertimon X was too surprised to move out of the way, and so she was struck in the face. She skidded backwards in the air, but was able to keep from failing. "Oh shit," she muttered.

            "Come on," Skull Satamon grinned, swinging his staff, "Let's see how strong you are."

            Nefertimon X stared at him, "I'm not going to fight, I have nothing to prove to you."

            "If you don't want to prove anything, how about keeping your life?" he laughed, shooting forward. He used his staff to whack into the side of Nefertimon X's head. The angel digimon whipped her tail around with enough force to knock back the devil digimon.

            "Curse of Queen!" she shouted again. Skull Satamon once again blocked with his mysterious Golden Fleece and sent the angel's own attack back at her. She winced as her Curse of Queen struck her in the face.

            "Nefertimon!" Hikari cried.

            "I'm fine!" the angel snapped, "I'm not gonna loose to a copy cat!"

            The devil chuckled, "I thought you didn't have anything to prove?"

            Nefertimon X narrowed her eyes, glaring at him. "All right, if I can't beat you with my energy attack, let's see you handle this!"

She flew at him with her full strength, ready to bash her head into his chest as hard as she could. Yet, Skull Satamon simply braced himself for her attack and shoved his shoulder into her head, knocking her into the ground. Before the angel could rise, the devil had his staff pressed firmly against her neck, "One move and you're dead!"

Hikari stared at the scene, a sickening feeling in her stomach. She turned to the others, "Go, run away!"

            "What?" Kasumi gasped, "We're not leaving!"

            "Mom," Asami panicked, her voice quivering, "We can't…"

            "I apologize for interrupting," Yuuji called, "But if anyone tries to leave, Skull Barukimon will stop you."

            Her partner chuckled, "And trust me, you won't escape."

            Yuuji nodded, "So, just sit back and enjoy the show."

            Gabe stared at Hikari, then to Kasumi and Asami. "We're going to have to save her."

            The pony-tailed girl stared at her. "Duh, but how?" She crossed her arms, "Any plans?"

            He glared at her, "Yes, we just need to free Nefertimon X," he whispered, "so one of us has to distract him, while the other two attack. If we catch him off guard…"

            Asami glanced over to her partner, "We can distract him."

            "You sure?" Gladimon asked.

            The brown-haired girl nodded. "Yes, we're not as strong as you, so…"

            "I'm sure you are," Gabe protested.

            "She's right," Kasami stated, "She can't even beat my brother."

            The teenage boy glared at her, "Those two said the same thing about you."

            "I'm still stronger then her!" she snapped.

            Gabe stared at Asami, "_And this is your cousin?"_

            "She's right," Asami sighed, looking to the ground, "We're not strong, so we'll distract him, and you can save my mother's partner."

            Gabe smiled slightly, "Okay, we won't let you down." He turned to his partner, "Ready?"

            Gladimon bowed, "Of course."

            Kasami looked to her own partner, "Don't let me down."

            "Have I ever?" Allomon chuckled.

            "Do I need to count?"

            Asami looked to her own partner, "You should probably evolve."

            Leormon nodded. "I was just thinking the same thing." He took a deep breath as he felt the energy flow from Asami's digivice, "Leormon evolve to Raiamon!"

            The others took notice of the evolution, but when Skull Satamon turned to look, all he saw was a sharp claw slicing across his face. Hikari and Nefertimon X were just as surprised. "Raiamon?" the both asked, staring in awe at the Adult digimon, who was running away as fast as he could. Their eyes turned to Asami, who was standing nervously off to the side, clutching her digivice.

            Raiamon stared at Skull Satamon, "Well, are you just going to let me escape?"

            The devil stared down at Nefertimon X, his staff still pressed firmly against her neck, then back, "If you were trying to hurt me, you failed miserably!"

            "I'll do whatever's necessary to save her!"

            Skull Satamon begin to roar with laughter. "How cute, so she finally fights, huh?"

            Shinji turned to Asami, "This is the first time you've even fought, huh?"

            Hikari spun away from her daughter to her opponent. "What?"

            Shinji chuckled, "We know all about you." He pointed at his twin sister.

            Yuuji began to recite information, as if reading from an invisible fact-sheet. "Hikari Yamaki, age 38, Partner, Plotmon X. Confirmed kills: 159, including Myotismon and the Demon Lord Shiokuro.. Asami Yamaki, age 13, Partner: Leormon, Confirmed kills: 0, confirmed battles, 2."

            She looked to Kasumi and Gabe. "Kasumi Yagami, age 15, partner, Yuki Agumon, confirmed kills: 13. Gabe Barton, age 15, partner, Kotemon, confirmed kills 29."

            "29?" Kasumi gasped, glaring at him, "Gets busy in your neck of the woods?"

            "We've had a few…problems," he glared, "But now isn't the time."

            Yuuji glanced back to her twin brother, and all eyes were focused on Asami and Raiamon. Gabe gasped, "They're distracted, now's our chance!"

            Gladimon charged forward and was at the devil's side in record time. He swung his sword at Skull Satamon's side, but the devil shifted his weight and the warrior digimon's attack swung at empty air. He flipped backwards and landed gracefully on the ground.

            "Dino Burst!"

            "Allomon, no!" Gladimon shouted, but his warning was not heard, as the dinosaur's attack was absorbed by the Golden Fleece and Skull Satamon redirected the attack back into the two digimon with his right hand, his left hand never moving from the staff that was pressed tightly against Nefertimon X's neck.

            "Oh damn it!" Kasumi shouted, "Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

            "You're not that smart, are you?" Shinji asked, "You know that fleece would absorb the attack, you saw it, why even try like that?"

            Hikari turned to her niece, but before she could speak, Raiamon charged at Skull Satamon with surprising determination, but the devil was aware of him and easily flung him aside, keeping his staff firmly pressed against Nefertimon X's neck. "Face it, you can't beat me. You're nothing but a pathetic failure!"

            "Sword Dancer!"

            Skull Satamon turned just in time to watch Gladimon's attack strike him in the face, managing to knock the devil off of the angel. "You did it!" Gabe shouted.

            Hikari was smiling at the teenagers. Taichi would be proud to know how bravely they all worked together, but now it was time to end this. "Nefertimon X, it's up to us!"

            Her partner stared at Skull Satamon, "You got it!"

            "Don't bother," the devil grinned, "Just because you're free, doesn't mean anything!"

            "Yes it does!" Nefertimon X shouted, "This battle's over!"

            "Ha! My fleece'll just absorb anything you throw at me!"

            "Not really, I think I've figured out your weakness."

            "Really, and what's that?"

            Nefertimon X fired a barrage of stone tables from the jewels on her limbs, smacking into the devil, throwing him into the side of one of the volcanic mountains. "Just as I thought," she grinned, "You can only absorb energy attacks, but not physical!"

            Skull Satamon rose to his feet. "I'm going to kill you!"

            "No!"

            The devil turned to his partner, "What?"       

Shinji shrugged. "I think we've had a good demonstration of it's power."

            "We're done?" Yuuji asked.

            Her twin brother nodded. "I think so. Skull Satamon, we're leaving."

            The devil bowed slightly at Nefertimon X, then descended back to the ground. "Hey!" the angel shouted, "Who said you could leave?"

            Shinji glared at Hikari, "We're giving you a chance to leave, you'd be advised to take it."

            The middle-aged woman called to her team, "Come on, we've got to go."

            "We're really leaving?" Asami asked.

            Her mother mentioned to the unconscious Taichi and Agumon X. "We've got to get them to Jyou, he'll know what to do."

            Gabe once more lifted Taichi onto his back and Team A of the DATS exploration ran to their base as fast as they could. Yuuji turned to her twin brother, "You're really letting them leave this time?"

            He nodded. "We got what we needed, besides, I'm sure we'll have a chance to kill them later."

            As the DATS team was leaving, Kasumi was glaring at the back of Gabe's head, as she was walking in the rear. She was angry, he saved them! She was Taichi's daughter, she was supposed to be the hero!

111

            Noriko used the mysterious connection between her Darkness power to locate Sora's Fire power a few hours later. Team C hoped that they were not to late to help their friends. But Noriko's thoughts drifted from her husband to her daughter.

            _"She felt that burst of fire power before I did,"_ she thought, staring at the back of her daughter as they walked up the rocky mountain path, "_And it was the strongest 'burst' I ever felt, that was the only way I knew they were in trouble, but…why didn't I feel it? And Yasu never showed any sort of power before, if she has my Darkness power, why didn't she show it before?"_ She frowned, "_Which makes me wonder…was it Sora that had that burst of Fire power, or one of her kids? Akira was with her, so if it was him, we're still on the right track, but if it was Kasumi…I just hope we'll figure it out in time to save them."_

            As they arrived at the same rocky plateau where Team B had been captured, Mimi ordered to slow to a stop. The brown-haired woman cautiously peeked around the corner and examined the flat area stretching before her. She gasped and pulled her head back.

            "What is it?" Palmon X asked.

            "Yamato and the others," she whispered, "They're trapped!"

            "Yamato's trapped?" Noriko gasped. She pushed past Mimi and glanced around the corner. Team B were floating within spheres of gray light, and they appeared to be completely immobile, trapped. Standing before them were Tsuragi and Ami.

            "Well, they weren't as tough as I thought they'd be," Tsuragi chuckled.

            Ami rolled her eyes, "That's only because they surrendered." She mentioned to Yamato, "Another few minutes, and I'm sure that he would have broken through Neodevimon's stun attack, and then we would have been screwed."

            "Don't bet on it!" he snapped.

            She sighed, "Whatever." She mentioned to the sky, "Once those clouds clear, I'll be able to get a better signal to the Master…"

            "Don't bother."

            She blinked, certain she heard wrong, "What? Don't call the Master? Are you insane?"

            "No," he said, eyes narrowing on the captured Chosen, "I'll kill them myself."

            "Okay, you are really fucking insane! The Master ordered that any DATS members captured were to be turned over to him, if you kill them, that's disobeying a direct order!"

            "I'll worry about that when the time comes," he snickered, "But first, I'd rather let them stew inside of there for a little while longer, I'll prolong their suffering, that's the payment for making a fool out of me!"

            He began to walk towards the cabin-building. As she followed him, Ami just sighed, rolling her eyes. "Yeah yeah…"

            Once the two Demon Generals were inside of the building, Mimi turned to the others in her group. "All right, Lizzie, Yasu, you guys stay here."

            "Oh come on!" her daughter whined.

            "Don't start!" Mimi warned, "This is extremely dangerous, if those two were able to trapped Mr. Ishida, we'll be no match for them at all, all right? We're going to free them, and then we're leaving, all right?"

            Lizzie nodded. "Fine."

            Mimi turned to Noriko, took a deep breath and nodded. "All right, let's go."

            The two women and their digimon partners slowly made their way across the plateau, approaching the gray balls hovering next to the building. Noriko stared at Yamato, waiting for some sort of sigh of recognition, but found none. She felt her stomach tighten, were they dead? No, that male wanted to kill them, so they could not be dead yet, but why was Yamato still staring blankly at her.

            "I think he just can't," Plotmon said, judging her partner's worry, "If we free him, he should be fine."

            "I hope so," Noriko frowned.

            "Hey, look at this," Mimi whispered, mentioning to a black box lying on the ground in front of the gray spheres. The box looked sort of like a projector, with the lens pointing at the trapped Chosen, "I bet this is what's holding them. We just need to shut it off." She examined the device, there did not appear to be any switches or buttons of any kind, "Just as soon as I figure it out."

            Noriko growled. "Great. Shiro could figure it out in no time." She glanced over to the gray sphere where her son was being held, "Shiro…"

            Mimi furrowed her brow, "There's not switches or anything, there's not even any place for a battery pack!"

            "It's inside, like a watch battery."

            The two middle-aged women and their partners felt a chill up their spine as they turned around, seeing the two 'evil' Chosen and their demonic partners. Tsuragi chuckled, "Mimi Barton and Noriko Ishida, well, we weren't expecting you…" He stared at Noriko with a slight smile, "But, I guess the brat's display of power must have drawn you here, huh?"

            "The brat?" Noriko questioned, her eyes drifting to the sphere that held Akira.

            Ami raised an eyebrow, "You didn't know, did you? You didn't know that Akira Yagami had the same power as his mother, did you?"

            "How do you know about that?" Noriko demanded.

            Tsuragi sighed, "We know more about you then you think, just trust us, okay?"

            "Who are you?" Mimi asked.

            "Demon Generals," Ami responded.

            "Demon Generals?" Mimi gasped, "How…how did you get here?"

            "I've got to explain to you how babies are made? Jeeze, you have two kids, and you don't even know?"

            Mimi glared at her. Ami smirked, "But, then again, we weren't exactly born normal like that."

            "You stupid bitch!" Tsuragi snapped, "Keep your mouth shut!"

            Noriko clenched her fists, "I don't really care what the hell you are! I want my husband and my son back!"

            "Sorry," Tsuragi crossed his arms, "but we had a…altercation before, and they're gonna pay for that!"

            "I don't care," Noriko responded, "Free them right now!"

            "Sorry, ain't gonna happen."

            "Fine!" she snapped, grabbing her digivice, "Plotmon!"

            Her partner jumped into the air, evolving to her Fully Evolved form. "Plotmon evolve to Ladydevimon!"

            Noriko winced, stumbling for a second. "Ah, yes," Tsuragi chuckled, "The limitations of your power…the power of Darkness, but you can't use it fully because of the Second Black Death."

            "Shut the fuck up!" she snapped.

            Mimi looked to her own partner, "You'd better evolve too."           

            Palmon X nodded, evolving to her highest form as well. Lillymon X hovered next to Ladydevimon. Tsuragi and Ami's digimon partners stomped past them. Astamon brushed his suit, "I'll take the flower fairy."

            "Fine with me," Neodevimon chuckled, staring at Ladydevimon, "We're gonna have fun together."

            Ladydevimon just narrowed her eyes, "Don't bet on it. Black Wing!" Her hand twisted and changed into a sharp spear, which she swung forward, but Neodevimon whipped up his forearm, and while the blade did cut into the flesh, the synthetic Fallen Angel only smirked.

            "If you're as half as dangerous as you are hot, then you should have no trouble in stopping me."

            The female Fallen Angel shivered. She yanked back on her spear arm, trying to free it from the synthetic digimon's arm. Neodevimon swung his other fist around, punching the female fallen angel in the side of the face with enough force to send her sailing through the air. NeoDevimon shot after her, raising both his hands above his head, slamming them into her stomach, sending her crashing into the ground. She attempted to jump to her feet, but Neodevimon was on top of her in a moment, throwing his foot into her chest before propelling back into the air.

            "How can he be so fast?" she muttered to herself, "And strong? I've never heard of him before, how can he be stronger then I am?"

            Lillymon X, meanwhile, was having a difficult enough time battling Astamon. The flower child was agile enough, but with every punch and jab that she executed, the Demon Man easily leapt aside.  He pointed his gun at her and fired a quick round of bullets, which Lillymon X managed to avoid just barely.

            "Damn," she hissed.

            She flew towards the Astamon, her fists ready to strike. The Demon Man readied his shotgun, which he was holding at his side. The flower child pulled her fist back, but when she saw the demon raise his arm, she darted to the side, avoiding the barrage of bullets.

            "What?" Astamon gasped, spinning to follow her. He was just in time to see her execute her Flower Cannon, and he took the full force of her Flower Cannon directly in the face.

            "Oh yeah!" Mimi cheered.

            Ami smirked, "You'll have to do better than that!"

            "What?"

            "Go ahead, take a look."

            Mimi turned back to the battle. The injured Astamon only smirked and held up his fist, "Hellfire." An explosion of flame enveloped Lillymon X, completely covering her. She screamed in intense pain before falling to the ground. Be

            Behind the rock boulder, Lizzie turned to the others. "Okay, they're in serious trouble!"

            "Really?" Yasu asked.

            "I know my Mom," the older girl explained, "And she's pretty strong, so if Lillymon X is losing this much…it's not an act."

            "You were wrong before," the younger girl pointed out.

            Lizzie winced at the memory of her mother slapping her across the face, "I know, but this time, I'm sure."

            Yasu nodded, "Okay, what are we gonna do?"

            "If our Mom's are losing, then we won't stand a chance." She looked to Alraumon," Sorry."

            "No prob," she smiled, "I know."

            "Anyway, I hear your Dad's pretty strong…"

            Yasu nodded, grinning, "Yeah, he's the best!"

            "So, here's what I'm thinking, we free your Dad and the others, that should do it. So I'm going to distract them, can you try to break that box thing?"

            The brown-haired girl examined the black box that was powering the spheres that held her family. "Okay."

            Lizzie grinned. "Atta girl." She looked to Alraumon, holding her digivice, "Ready?"

            "Oh yeah! Alraumon evolve to Red Veggiemon!"

            The Vegetation digimon bounced around the boulder and saw that Astamon was keeping Lillymon X pressed against the floor with his legs while pointing his shotgun at her face. Neodevimon was holding Ladydevimon by the neck with only one of his claws. Lizzie was correct, neither of them were holding back any power, they were seriously in trouble. The small digimon took a deep breath, and brazenly bounced onto the battlefield. "Hey, why beat up on the two females, you two gay or something?"

            Lizzie sighed, shaking her head, "I didn't say piss them off," she mumbled.

            Lillymon X, Ladydevimon and Noriko all called out Red Veggiemon's name, but it was Mimi who gasped the loudest, "Red Veggiemon! Red Veggiemon?" She looked over the small digimon and saw her daughter standing close to the rock boulder, "Lizzie, what the hell are you doing?"

            "I'm saving you, that's what!" she snapped, "Red Veggiemon, attack!"

            The vegetation digimon charged at Astamon, yelling as he did. "Red Thorn!" His arm shot forward like an elastic bad, striking the Demon Man directly in the face. It did nothing, of course, but to make him laugh. "Are you serious?"

            Red Veggiemon narrowed his eyes. "I'm completely serious, now let's go!"

            "Lizzie!" Mimi screamed, "Stop this right now!"

            Her daughter ignored her, "Red Veggiemon, go!"

            The vegetation digimon charged forward, "Take this, Red Hot Machine Gun!" He began to fire chili peppers from his mouth like a semi-automatic.

            Astamon chuckled, "You've got to be kidding me!" While one arm was holding his gun against Lillymon X's neck, he swung his other arm forward, snapping his fingers as he did. The air suddenly exploded, sending a snake trail of bursts of flame. Red Veggigmon gasped and began to roll along the ground, dodging the trail of fireballs that chased him.

            "Come on," Neodevimon chuckled, "You can't kill one measly radish!"

            "I'm a weed!" Red Veggiemon shouted, staring at him.  That moment was all Astamon needed. He fired one simple Hellfire which ripped across the Vegetation digimon's body.

            "Red Veggiemon!" Lizzie shouted.

            Her digimon weakly managed to rise to a standing position. Astamon and Neodevimon were both staring at him now. "You still get up, huh?" Neodevimon chuckled, "Well, after this next attack, you won't be getting up every again!"

            "I don't think so," he smirked, "Labramon, now!"

            "Labramon?" they both gasped. They turned to the boulder, but only saw the canine digimon charging towards the gray spheres. "Retrieve Bark!"  A blast of high frequency sound erupted from his mouth, but all of the force was directed into the black power box, which shattered.

            "Yeah!" Lizzie cheered.

            Astamon, Neodevimon and their partners watched in horror as the gray spheres instantly vanished, freeing the imprisoned Team B.  "Yamato!" Noriko shouted, "Shiro, you're okay!"

            Her husband nodded, "I'm fine…" He glared at Tsuragi, "And I'm pretty pissed off!"

            Ami turned to Tsuragi, "Use the belt! Before he evolves to Metalgarurumon X!"

            The human male glared, "What good is lifting a thousand pounds gonna be against something that can tear us to shreds! It's strength, not power!"

            Yamato narrowed his eyes, "If that's the case, you'd better leave, 'cause maybe you were able to beat a few of us, but with six regular digimon and two _X_ digimon, one of which is a Mega, well, let's just say you're screwed. Get the fuck out of here right now!"

            Ami turned to the others, "I think we'd better go."

            Tsuragi narrowed his eyes before turning and jumping into Neodevimon's arms as he and Astamon, along with Ami, vanished into the sky.

            Noriko grumbled, kicking a small stone, "Demons, demons, _demons!_ I thought we were finished with this shit! Damn it, nothing's changed-Neo Digital World is just as screwed up as the old Digital World!" She exhaled deeply, and turned to Yamato, "Are you really feeling okay?"

            He smiled and nodded, "Yeah, and just so you know, I did hear everything you said."

            She grinned, hugging him tightly. Behind them, their children rolled their eyes. Lizzie, meanwhile, was nursing her injured partner. "How is he?"

            She looked up to see her mother and Palmon X standing over her. "I think he'll be okay," she said with a slight smile. She rose to her feet, "Mom, I know that you told me to…"

            Mimi smiled slightly, "I was really impressed before."

            "You were?"

            She nodded, "It was your plan to free Yamato and the others, right? You knew that you weren't strong enough, and you and Red Veggiemon put yourselves on the line so that Yasu and Labramon could free those that were strong enough. I am proud of you." She grabbed her daughter and hugged her tightly.

            "Mom…" Lizzie protested, but did not push our of her embrace.

            As the two teams began to leave the plateau, Noriko and Sora moved to the rear so they could talk without being overheard. "I'm telling you," Noriko said, "Yasu felt your power, not me."

            Sora shook her head, "It wasn't me, I mean, I did evolve Piyomon to Garudamon, but…" She sighed, "Akira…it was him. It was…scary…it reminded me of Skullgreymon."

            "I wasn't there for that," Noriko said, "But the way you all talk about it…."

            "It was the day we realized that our problems…our own negative actions could hurt others. We have all this power, and it's so easy to lose ourselves to it." She sighed again, "Akira…."

_The Dawn of the Heroes hath ended, the Tides of Fate now Begin to Turn_

**NAME:** Michael Barton

**GENDER:** Male

**AGE:** 39

**ETHNICITY:** American

**OCCUPATION:** Producer

**PLACE OF BIRTH:** Hollywood, California, United States of America

**DATE OF BIRTH:** February 1, 1989

**KNOWN RELATIVES:** Mark-father, Amanda-mother, Mimi-wife, Gabriel-son, Elizabeth-daughter

**GROUP AFFILIATION:** DATS

**SUB-GROUP:** X-Chosen

**EDUCATION:** Masters in Economics

**HEIGHT:** 5' 7"

**WEIGHT:** 153 lbs

**EYES:** Blue

**HAIR:** Blond

**POWER:** X-Antibody, Metal

**DIGIMON:** Beatmon X-Seadramon X-Megaseadramon X

**WEAPON:** None

**BIO:** Michael is hard to classify, as he came after the original Chosen, but before the 'International Chosen," He met Mimi after she moved to New York, and the two became fast friends, growing to a romantic relationship. Despite not having as much experience as the others, he has proven himself time and again as an invaluable member of the Chosen team, and he was appointment as the leader of the American branch of the DATS organization.

1

**NAME:** Mimi Barton

**GENDER:** Female

**AGE:** 39

**ETHNICITY:** Japanese

**OCCUPATION:** Television show host/cook

**PLACE OF BIRTH:** Tokyo, Japan

**DATE OF BIRTH:** September 25, 1989

**KNOWN RELATIVES:** Keisuke-father, Satoe-mother, Michael-husband, Gabriel-son, Elizabeth-daughter

**GROUP AFFILIATION:** DATS

**SUB-GROUP:** X-Chosen

**EDUCATION:** Culinary degree

**HEIGHT:** 5' 4"

**WEIGHT:** 126 lbs

**EYES:** Brown

**HAIR:** Brown

**POWER:** X-Antibody, Forest

**DIGIMON:** Palmon X-Togemon X-Lillymon X

**WEAPON:** None

**BIO:** One of the original Chosen children, Mimi began her adventure as a spoiled child, but eventually outgrew that, becoming a caring person who thought of others before herself. She and Michael created the New York team of the original Chosen, but once most of her team was killed by the Second Black Death, and the rest joined Digitalatri, the team fell apart. This failure has weighed heavily on her heart, and she strives to make certain her new team does not meet the same fate.

1

Author's note: Well, once again, a chapter turned out to be much longer then I anticipated.

            On a more serious note, I'm thinking of perhaps abandoning this story. This is due to the number of hits that this fic has received. While normally chapters get over a hundred hits, the last chapter barely went over 50, this, coupled with the low number of reviews, makes me consider ending this. My schedule is about to become very chaotic, and I don't want to worry about a story that no one is reading.

            However, this story is planned out to the end, so there should not be any 'writer's block," so time between updates will depend simply on me writing the chapter.

            Just let me know whether you're really interested or not.

            Hopefully see ya next time.


	6. The Demon's Quest: Chapter 1

Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter, it did bring me out of my…'slump.' With two jobs and online degrees, things are not so calm right now, but thank you for your continued loyalty. And, as I reread the Author's note for last chapter, I realized something…

Jeeze, I sure sounded like a little whiner, didn't I? I apologize for that unprofessional rant, and I truly hope I did not offend anyone. Again, thank you.

_            My name is Mimi Barton, and I'm one of the Chosen, even though I guess we're really DATS agents now. It's not really that bad a thing though, I mean, because of Taichi and Mitsuo we're pretty much protected by the Japanese government…even though my family and I live in America. I'm not sure how that exactly works, Michael could explain it better. We're more like…agents with free access in another country._

_            Anyway, we were all brought into the new Digital World to do an exploration mission. Team A had their own problems with two Demon twins, Shinji and Yuuji, who got some kind of Golden Fleece that gave them the ability to absorb energy attacks. I was on Team C, and we had problems of our own, we had to rescue Team B from Tsuragi and Ami, more Demons. We finally communicated with Team A, and Taichi doesn't want to stop the mission just yet. Perfect…_

_Digimon Magog_

_The Demons Quest:_

_Chapter 1_

            Tsuragi marched into the dark room, an arrogant grin on his face. He had the strength-increasing belt, Megingjoro, hanging from the index finger on his right hand. "See the spoils of victory, heh…"

            Shinji and Yuuji were standing in the center of the circular room, and the teenage boy rolled his eyes. "Still as humble as always, I see."

            "And where's your prize, huh?" Tsuragi chuckled, "You had an artifact to get too, didn't you?" He looked over the other male, "But I don't see anything. Oh, you failed, huh?"

            Shinji only mentioned over his shoulder. Tsuragi saw Shinji's partner, Skull Satamon, was wearing a gold cloth over his shoulders. His eyes opened in surprise, "You got the…"

            "That's right," he smirked, "The Golden Fleece, and, if I am able to recall correctly, that is something even _you_ feared to get."

            Tsuragi grabbed a blade of some sort from a holster and his waist and pressed it against Shinji's neck in a quick motion.  He narrowed his eyes, "I _fear_ nothing, remember that!"

            Shinji's Skull Satamon grabbed his staff and ran forward, but Tsuragi's Neodevimon ran behind his own partner. The skeleton digimon stopped cautiously as he stared at the growling devil digimon. Off to the side, Yuuji sighed deeply. "Why must males always act this way?"

            Ami grumbled and crossed her arms, "I don't know about all guys, but if these two are any example, it's a wonder the male gender hasn't killed itself yet." She uncrossed her arms and held up her right arm in annoyance, "Why don't you guys stop fucking around, we don't have the time!"

            "Fuck off!" Tsuragi snapped.

            She narrowed her eyes, "Wanna repeat that?"

            Yuuji was staring at Shinji, "Twin brother, there is more important matters to discus."

            "She is correct," her twin brother managed to say as best he could with Tsuragi's knife pressed against his neck.

            The other Demon General sighed deeply, then removed his weapon. "Fine."

            As the males walked away from one another, Yuuji sighed in relief, "The Master wishes to speak with us."

            The others moved to the outer edges of the room, standing in front of the elegantly designed columns that were supporting the brick ceiling. The center of the round room contained a large black circle that radiated outwards. All four Demon Generals and their demonic partners waited patiently as that same circle suddenly erupted with a geyser of dark energy. Two figures slowly appeared inside that shower of energy, a young man with curly brown hair. At his side was a small, beast like digimon, hunched over on his hind legs, sharp teeth in his mouth. When the human glanced at them, each of the Demon Generals dropped to their knees.

            The young man chuckled, "So, you had your first encounter with the Chosen, I take it?"  
            "Yes, Master," Shinji answered, "My sister and I encountered Taichi Yagami, Hikari Yamaki, Gabe Barton, Asami Yamaki, and Kasumi Yagami."

            Tsuragi chuckled, "We'll, we had a more productive time. We faced Yamato, Noriko, Shiro and Yasu Ishida,  Mimi and Lizzie Barton, and Sora and Akira Yagami."

            "And what were your findings?" their Master asked.

            Shinji was about to speak, but Tsuragi interrupted, "Yagami's boy has got a temper, and there's something going on with the Ishida bitch."

            "And the others?"

            Ami smirked, "Mimi and her daughter aren't anything special, and we already know about Yamato, Noriko and Sora."

            Their Master turned to Shinji, "What are your findings?"

            He shook his head, "Not well, Gabe Barton shows the most potential, yet, because of his parentage, we know that he can't be one of our targets. Taichi Yagami spent the entire encounter unconscious due to the Golden Fleece's defense, but Hikari Yamaki is truly one of the stronger X-Chosen. However, my intuition tells me of her daughter, Asami. She was able to evolve her partner and attack before we realized what was occurring. But I am not certain."

            The Demon Master nodded. "And what of Kasumi Yagami?"

            Shinji smirked, "Let's face it, she may have some talent, but very little power. She can barely evolve her partner to the Adult level, my guess would be that an evolution to Fully Evolved would be impossible. If she continues on her current path, she will only get weaker and weaker." He gave a slight smile, "It is a wonder she has not killed herself yet."

            "What of the others?"

            Tsuragi crossed his arms. "I know that Yasu Ishida has some sort of power-through what they were talking about, it seems she felt Akira's temper tantrum. And it stands to reason that her brother probably has something as well."

            The Demon Master nodded. "Very well. I want this discovered immediately.  Test Asami Yamaki, Akira Yagami and Shiro and Yasu Ishida. Discover their abilities."

            "What about the items?" Tsuragi asked.

            The Demon Master chuckled, "Eager, aren't we? Bring them to be tested, then search for those items, understand?"

            "Yes Master!" they shouted as the dark geyser vanished.

111

            Asami grinned, closing her eyes as she felt the breeze blowing against her face. "Wow…"

            Hikari smiled at her daughter. "It's been a while since we've been to the ocean, huh?"

            Her brother turned to her, "Maybe we'll plan a vacation together. It's going to be summer soon."

            "That's great!" Kasumi cheered, "Can we go next week?"

            Taichi gave his daughter a look, "What do you think?"

            She grumbled and turned back to the roaring water stretching before them. The region of Decima, the 'Ocean-land." "Are we going to set up camp here?" Gabe asked.

            Taichi whipped the sweat from his forehead. "Damn its hot." He turned to the others, "Tell you what, get the camp up and running, and we'll take a swim."

            "Really?" the kids gasped.

            He nodded. "You all have your suits, right?"

            They nodded eagerly. "Then get to it."

            The teenagers, along with their partners, began to unpack their supplies. With surprising speed, they not only set up their personal tents and Taichi and Hikari's tent, but also the tent that would shield their research and communications equipment. The two adults were going to help them, but the idea of swimming was so motivating, that even Kasumi and Gabe were working together. Once the camp was up and running they dove into their tents to change.

            Kasumi pulled off her sneakers without uniting the lances, and ripped her socks from her feet. She unbuckled her belt and pulled her jeans from her body. She tore her denim jacket and her yellow t-shirt from her torso, leaving her in only her plain white bra and panties. She removed her bra and grabbed the top of her panties when a thought entered her mind. She began to dig through her back pack, throwing clothes over the tent. A pair of yellow panties hit Yuki Agumon in the face.

            "Ah!" she cried, flinging it to the ground.

            "They're clean!" she snapped, "Besides which _you_ don't even wear clothes."

            "Yeah, because it's not like my leather skin keeps my body temperature in check or anything…"

            Kasumi ignored her and continued to search through her bag. When her hand brushed up against a familiar piece of fabric she breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought I left it at home."  With her swim suit safely in hand, she pulled off her panties and threw them into the pile on the floor.

            "Question."

            The teenage girl glared at her partner. "What?"

            Yuki Agumon mentioned to the clothes on the floor, "Your dirty clothes are all mixed with your clean ones. How are you gonna tell the difference?"

            Kasumi was silent for a moment, then shrugged. "Eh." She pulled on her swimsuit, then pulled the rubber band out of her hand, letting it flow free around her shoulders. Once she was ready, she stepped outside

            The others had already changed and were now on the beach. Hikari and Asami, were sitting on a beach towel beneath a large umbrella. Plotmon X and Leormon were curled up beside them. Taichi and Agumon X were standing by the water, studying the waves. She saw Gabe and Kotemon off by themselves, but she ignored him and ran to her father.

            The teenage boy, in fact, could not help staring at the three females. Each one was wearing a suit that fully showcased their curves and well-toned bodies. Hikari was wearing a white, two-piece suit. Yet it was the two teenage girls at which he was staring. Kasumi was dressed in a one-piece blue suit with orange stripes down the sides. The suit was high around her legs revealing her entire thighs-her well developed legs, her athletic body.Yet, it was Asami that was causing his body to almost tremble. The teenage girl was wearing a pink bikini adorned with white flowers. While Kasumi's body was slightly larger, more muscular, while Asami's was not. In fact, compared to her cousin, Asami was smaller and thinner, yet, maybe that was why Gabe thought she was more attractive. Of course, Asami had a caring, compassionate, pleasant personality, while Kasumi was a spoiled bitch.

            "Gabe!"

            He blinked for a moment, returning back to reality. He saw that Asami was waving to him, "Why don't you come and join us?"

            "Oh, right, thank you." He and Kotemon wandered over to Asami and Hikari's area. As he approached, he saw that the middle-aged woman was rubbing sun-tan lotion onto her daughter's back.  "Great," he sighed.

            Kasumi and Taichi, meanwhile, were standing next to the waves. Agumon X and Yuki Agumon had already dove into the water-Agumon X was a fire type digimon and Yuki Agumon was a cold type-Agumon X could generate enough internal heat to not be cold, and Yuki Agumon would not feel the cold, but Kasumi could feel the chill of the water as it washed around her ankles. "Come on in!" her partner shouted to her, "Come on, you little wimp!"

            "You've got leather skin, remember?" she snapped back as she slowly stepped forward. She suddenly felt a pair of hands around her mid section before she was thrown through the air and she crashed through the water. She jumped up, completely soaked and saw her father standing on the shore line, laughing. She growled, then started tossing the water into his bare chest. He began to shiver.

            "Hey!" he shouted back, throwing more water onto her. Soon, their partner joined in: Yuki Agumon splashing Taichi, while Agumon X attacked Kasumi with the water. Soon, Agumon X and Taichi were overpowering the two females.

            On the shore, Hikari turned to her daughter, "They look like they need some help."

            Asami turned to her mother, a grin forming on her face. The two females began to run towards the water, and once they were close enough, began to toss water into Taichi and Agumon X's back. They both yelped in surprise and turned to face them.

            "Great work, Aunt Hikari!" Kasumi shouted. With her father distracted, she began to toss more water onto her father and Agumon X. Soon, the family began to laugh, having a fun time. On the shoreline, Gabe and Kotemon sat by themselves.

            "I miss Lizzie," Gabe said.

"You do?" Kotemon asked. He thought it was nice that his partner missed his sister.

"Yeah," Gabe frowned, "I could toss her into the water easily."

Kotemon rolled his eyes.

After the water fight was over, Asami and Kasumi, floated in the water, letting the waves carry them to the shore, then the beach and back again. While the two girls rode the waves, Taichi and Gabe started the barbecue with the small fire they had made, with the metal grill resting over top.

Taichi threw half a dozen frozen burgers onto the grill, yet the combination of cold and hot caused a billow of smoke to roar into the air, enveloping the two males. Kotemon began to fan the smoke with his kendo sword, but to no avail. Yuki Agumon panicked and used her technique to expunge a blast of frigid air into the flames, instantly putting it out. Unfortunately, she also froze Taichi and Gabe. The two males wrapped their arms around their bare chests, shivering fiercely, their teeth chattering loudly.

            "I'll take care of the burgers," Hikari offered, placing her hands on her brother's shoulders. She pulled them back, "Ahh, you're freezing!"

            "He took Yuki Agumon's Frozen Wind at full blast," Plotmon X said, glancing at the white-colored digimon.

            "I'm sorry!" she shouted, blushing, "I'm sorry!"

            "Sit in the sun," Hikari ordered, "You'll warm up."

            Taichi and Gabe did as they were told. Asami walked over with a handful of blankets. "Here, this will help." She wrapped one around her uncle, then walked over to Gabe. She tripped over a small rock in the sand and she fell into the teenage boy. He was able to catch a glimpse of her cleavage before she fell into his chest; he could feel her breasts pushing up against him, separated only by a thin piece of pink fabric.

            "I'm so sorry!" she gasped, jumping back to her feet.

            "I…i…it's okay," he managed to say, despite his chattering teeth.

            Kasumi had step out of the water and had witnessed the trip. She clearly saw the expression on Gabe's face when he got an eyeful of Asami's breasts. "Great, a pervert on top of everything else."

            "What else?" Yuki Agumon asked.

            "Shut up," she snapped. Her partner began to chuckle. "What?" she snapped.

            "I think you're jealous."

            The teenage girl laughed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right."

            "No, it's okay if you're jealous of your cousin…"

            She glared at her partner, "I am _not_ jealous of Asami. I mean, look at her, I doubt she could even walk up stairs without getting out of breath, besides…" She mentioned to her own body.

            "Your boobs are still smaller…"

            Kasumi whacked her partner in the back of her head as hard as she could.

            "Kasumi!" her aunt called, "What kind of burger do you want?"

            "Cheeseburger," she grinned, "Medium well."

            Hikari looked to the others. "What about you?"

            "I'll have the same," Gabe replied.

            "You packed the chicken salad, right Mom?" Asami asked.

            Hikari nodded and went back to tending to the burgers. "Hey, why didn't you ask me?" Taichi asked.

            "You don't have a choice," Hikari smiled, "Sora told me you're not allowed to eat red meat anymore."

            "I'm still waiting for a second opinion on that," he protested, "Come on, Hikari, make me a rare burger!"

            She shook her head, "Sorry, but I promised Sora, and even if I didn't, I would still listen to your doctor better then you."

            He frowned and crossed his arms. "Jeeze Dad, getting old?"

            He glared at his daughter, and she knew enough to be silent. They ate their meal, watching the waves roll into shore as the sun began to set. "We're going to have to do some testing tomorrow, you know," Taichi said.

            "I think that's a good idea," Gabe replied, "There's probably another area around here like that cave we found yesterday."

            Asami shivered slightly as a cold breeze blew across the beach. She walked over to her tent and reached inside, pulling out a long-sleeved sweater which she threw on over her bikini. "It got cold here, didn't it?"

            "A little," Taichi responded, "I'm getting warmer, to tell the truth." He glared at Yuki Agumon, who only grinned sheepishly.

            Kasumi rose to her feet, stretching her arms above her head. "Well, we got any fireworks or anything?"

            Asami could not help but smile; her cousin was simply her cousin, for better or worse. She was about to speak, when she saw that her partner suddenly tensed. "What's wrong?"

            Leromon's eyes darted to the right. "I smell something…"

            The teenage girl turned to Plotmon X. "Do you…"

            She did not answer, instead turning to Agumon X. He nodded slowly. The lizard then turned to Taichi. "There's two of them…"

            The middle-aged man was silent for a moment, then nodded. He took a deep breath, then shouted into the air, "All right, you might as well come out, we know you're there!"

            A laugh was heard echoing through the area. "I apologize, I had forgotten with whom I was dealing."

            With the source of the voice revealing their enemies, the DATS agents turned completely around, at the area with their volcanic region of Urd eventually turned to the sands of the beach. Stepping out from behind one of the smaller ash-created rocks was Shinji and Skull Satamon. The demon skeleton was wearing the Golden Fleece around his shoulders. Yuuji and Skull Baluchimon appeared from behind another small mountain.

            "Great, you two again?" Kasumi growled, "What the hell do you want now?"

            Gabe raised an eyebrow. "Are there more artifacts around here?"

            "More?" Yuuji asked, turning to her brother.

            Shinji smiled, "You've spoken to the other groups, haven't you? You know about the others?"

            "Tsuragi and Ami and that belt?" Taichi asked, "Yeah, we know all about it."

            "Good, I won't have to try to hide that fact then," Shinji answered.

            "What do you want?" Agumon X demanded.

            He shrugged, "My sister and I thought that on such a lovely day, a trip to the beach sounded like a pleasant idea." He smirked at the three females, "Those had I known that such beauties were here, I would have come sooner."

            Yuuji sighed and rolled her eyes, "Twin brother, please…"

            Shinji raised his palm, "Yes, right. We have a mission to accomplish." He nodded slightly at the DATS team, "We have our orders to destroy you."

            "Who?" Taichi demanded, "Who's your master? Huh? Someone we know?"

            Shinji was silent for a moment. "I do not recall him ever mentioning meeting you before. But he is our Master, because he is of the blood of the First Demon Chosen, the great betrayer."

            "First Demon?" Hikari asked.

            Taichi narrowed his eyes, "You mean GranDracmon?"

            Yuuji shook her head, "No, we are not of the linage of GranDracmon. We may be demonic, but we are still human."

            "Who the hell cares who the fuck you are!" Kasumi snapped, "All we gotta know is that we're gonna kick your ass!"

            "Kasumi!" Taichi snapped, "Watch your mouth!"

            She blushed slightly as she flinched. Behind her, Gabe snickered.

            Yuuji walked over to her twin brother. "How should we approach this?"

            He sighed, "Yagami is the one to fear, Wargreymon X could destroy us without much effort, I doubt even the Golden Fleece could stand against him. I would not care to face Metalgreymon X…hell, even _Greymon X,_ might be too dangerous. Nefertimon X is another threat, but the others should be easily dealt with."

            "But we're not suppose to kill them, correct?" she clarified, "Just test them."

            "Right," he nodded.

            "Than what should be done, twin brother?"

            Shinji frowned. "I had hoped not to use this so soon, twin sister, but it appears that to achieve our objective, we have no choice."

            She nodded. The twin siblings and their partners walked forward. "Finally ready?" Yuki Agumon shouted.

            Yuuji responded by reaching into her pack and removing a curled up length of rope. She grabbed one end and let it drop to the ground, unraveling as it fell. "What is that?" Kasumi snorted, "You gonna knit something?"

            The demonic girl pulled her arm back, then whipped it forward. The robe suddenly split in two-one end wrapping tightly around Agumon X, and the other around Plotmon X. Taichi gasped while Hikari cried out her partner's name. The Mammal digimon struggled to break free, "I…I can't move!"

            "Taichi!" Agumon X shouted, "I can't get free!"

            Yuuji smiled slightly. "That is Gleipnir. It can bind anything…" she pulled back on the robe, tightening it even more," Twin brother does not wish you to join in this fight."

            "Thank you, twin sister," Shinji replied," Now, shall we begin?"

            Gabe looked to the two adults. "What should we do?"

            Taichi stared down at Agumon X and Plotmon X, who were trapped tightly within the grip of Gleipnir. "We're out," he sighed. He stared at the Demon Chosen, then at the three teenage DATS agents, "Just be careful, understand?"

            Shinji chuckled. "Tell you what, I shall even give you a fighting chance."  He turned to his partner, "Skull Satamon, remove the fleece."

            His partner nodded. "If that's what ya want." He grabbed the Golden Fleece and removed it from his shoulders, dropping it to the ground.

            Gabe nodded and grabbed for his digivice, "Evolve!"

            "Kotemon evolve to Gladimon!"

            "Yuki Agumon evolve to Allomon!"

            "Leormon evolve to Raiamon!"

            Gabe turned to Kasumi. "We'll take Shinji and Skull Satamon," he said, mentioning to Gladimon, "You two take the other one."

            She wanted to complain about Gabe being in charge, but she was still sore from her father's reprimand of her cursing, so she kept silent. "Fine." She turned to her cousin, ""Watch Dad and your mom, alright?"

            She nodded. "Okay."

            Shinji raised an eyebrow. "_This does not bode well. We must test the girl's strength, not these two."_ He glanced at his sister, who nodded slightly. _"So she understands as well. Good. We must defeat these two quickly and test the strength of Asami Yamaki."_

            "Are we going to fight or not?" Allomon growled.

            Skull Baluchimon growled. "Oh, we are gonna fight, and I'm looking forward to killing you."

            "I'd like to see you try!" Allomon snapped, "Dino Burst!"

            The Undead digimon whipped his skeleton wing around, blocking the fire ball. He then charged forward, smacking the dinosaur's head with his other wing. Allomon stumbled to the side. Skull Baluchimon was about to strike with his wing again, but the dinosaur chomped down on the wing as hard as she could. She could feel her rows of teeth start to crack, but she held tight. Yet, the Undead digimon was too powerful, and she was forced to pull back. Skull Baluchimon bashed the dinosaur repeatedly with his wings.

            "Allomon!" Kasumi shouted.

            As Skull Baluchimon raised his wing to smash into Allomon once again, the dinosaur fired another Dino Burst, this time directly into the Undead digimon's face. While it did not harm it, it did cloud his vision; Allomon bent over and shouted, "Dynamite Head!" She rammed her head into Skull Baluchimon's already injured nose. The Undead digimon appeared to be disoriented, and so the dinosaur continued her assault.

            "That's enough," Yuuji called.

            "That's enough?" Kasumi questioned. However, her questioned was soon answered as Skull Baluchimon broke free of Allomon's attack, by flying into the air.

            "That's not fair!" Allomon shouted, "I can't fly!"

            "I know," Skull Baluchimon chuckled. "Now take this, "Grave Bone!"

            He fell onto Allomon with all four of his feet, smashing her into the ground. Time slowed to a crawl as Allomon's entire body was crushed. For a moment, it appeared as though she had shattered like a pane of glass, Yet, when Skull Baluchimon leapt back into the air, the form of Yuki Agumon was seen moaning loudly in the giant crater.

            "Oh fuck it!" she snapped, then flinched when she remembered her father was standing right behind her. She turned to him, but he was too preoccupied with his trapped partner to notice.

            Gladimon was engaged with his own battle against Skull Satamon. The warrior digimon swung and jabbed with his sword, but each one was blocked by the staff of the skeleton digimon. He trusted, jab, swung and pierced, but each and every one was easily shielded by Skull Satamon.

            "Come on now," he laughed, blocking with his staff, "You're gonna to have to do better then this!"

            The armored digimon growled, then charged forward "Sword Dancer!" He began to whirl like a top, turning his outstretched swords into a bladed top. As he twisted closer, Skull Satamon once again held his staff parallel to his body, shielding him from the twirling razors. For Gladimon, it was like repeatedly striking a metal pole. When the warrior's technique was finally complete, Skull Satamon swung for his legs, but Gladimon executed surprising agility and jumped, the demon's attack cutting empty air. While in the air, he twisted through the air, and actually managed to use his sword to cut into Skull Satamon's back. However, this attack did not come without a price, as the skeleton whipped his hand around, grabbing the Warrior digimon and smashing him into the ground. The skeleton digimon twirled his staff around in his hand before pointing the orbed tip at Gladimon. "Nail Bone!" A blast of unholy energy shot forth, striking into the Warrior digimon.

            "Oh no!" Gabe gasped, "Gladimon, are you okay?"

            He was responded with a loud groan.

            Shinji smirked and turned to his twin sister, "Now that they have been taken care of…"

            "I understand, twin brother." She turned to her partner, "Skull Baluchimon, you know what must be done."

            Her partner growled and began to walk towards Raiamon. "W…we're the only ones left," Asami said, "W…we have to fight."

            "This doesn't look good," Taichi said, trying desperately to rip the glowing bands of rope from around his partner, "We need Wargreymon!"

            Hikari stared at her daughter, who was standing beside Raiamon, as they both watched Skull Baluchimon slowly walk towards them. "Asami! Run, get away!"

            Before her daughter could respond, Skull Baluchimon roared, "There is no escape!" He smashed his front left foot into the ground with such force that a tremor erupted forth, ripping a fault line into the ground behind Asami and Raiamon. The teenage girl gasped loudly, and her partner's legs began to wobble, not because of the quaking ground.

            "Fight me!" Skull Baluchimon shouted, "Fight me!"

            Asami took a deep breath, "G…go, Raiamon, I know you can do it."

            Her partner roared as loud as he could, attempting to intimidate his Undead opponent. It did not work, of course, but it did help to psyche himself up as he ran to begin the battle. "Thunder of King!" His mane began to crackle with electricity that erupted forth in a sea of lightning bolts, striking Skull Baluchimon directly in the face.

            The Undead digimon was not harmed, yet his face was clearly singed. He charged forward and swung at Raiamon with the sharp claws on his front paw. The Nature Spirit attempted to dodge, but Skull Baluchimon swung with his other claw, bashing into his head.

            "Raiamon!" Asami shouted.

            "Tell him to fight back!" Kasumi ordered.

            "He's doing his best," her cousin protested.

            "Thunder of Kings!"

            Both girls turned back to the battle and watched as Raiamon's lightning attack once again struck the Undead digimon. Skull Baluchimon shook off the attack, which he did feel that time, and charged forward. He swung his left wing around and bashed into Raiamon's head. He furthered added to the injury by swinging with his other wing, hitting the other side of the lion's head, before head-butting him, finishing his combo attack.

            Asami winced, gripping her fists. She was not aware of it, but Raiamon's strength suddenly increased. The Nature Spirit ran forward, his sharp teeth glistening in the sun light. "Critical Strike!"

            His jaw chomped down on the back of the Undead digimon's neck. Skull Baluchimon groaned loudly, then staggered for a moment. The DATS agents held their breath.

            The Undead digimon grinned. "Sorry! Glaive Horn!" His massive front paw slammed down onto Raiamon's head, and the last digimon fell to the ground. He glowed briefly, then returned to his Child form.

            "Leormon!" Asami gasped, "Leormon…"

            Yuuji glanced to her brother. "The strength was there, briefly, but it was there."

            Shinji nodded. "Then we know what must be done."

            His twin sister tensed the hand that was holding Gleipnir, and more tendrils of the mystical rope shot forth, wrapping around the other DATS agents, except for Asami and the unconscious Leormon. Asami stared with terror as Skull Satamon darted towards her, grabbing her with ease and trapping her within his iron-grasp.

            "Asami!" Hikari screamed, "Asami!"

            As Skull Baluchimon hoisted Leormon onto his back, Shinji turned to the screaming Hikari. "We are just going to 'borrow' your daughter. No harm…_should_ come to her."

            "Should?" Hikari shrieked.

            "Let her go right now!" Yuki Agumon snapped, struggling to break free of the Gleipnir ropes around her wrists and ankles, "If I get out of here, you're going be sorry!"

            "Please," Yuuji snorted, "You were the first to fall."

            The white dinosaur growled.

            "Please," Hikari pleaded, "Let my daughter go, please, take me instead."

            "A tempting offer, Lady Yamaki," Shinji replied, "But you are not the one that we need. Farewell."

            The Undead digimon grabbed their Demon partners and took to the air. "Mommy!" Asami screamed, from within Skull Satamon's arms, reverting to a younger speech as terror overtook her.

            "Get back here!" Taichi screamed, "Get back here!"

            The DATS agents then received a surprise, as soon as Yuuji was out of range, Gleipnir's grip vanished. Hikari collapsed to the ground, tears in her eyes, "Asami…"

            Taichi placed a hand on his sister's shoulders, "We're going to get her back, I promise."

111

            Team B had originally been comprised of Yamato, Shiro, Sora and Akira, but after Team C had come to their rescue, Sora and Akira decided to switch with Noriko and Yasu, letting the Ishida be together as a family. Now, the new Team C returned to their exploration of Lachesis- the Dark Continent, while Team B begin to further explore Decima-the "Earthland".

            Yasu was excited that her older brother was with her again, and she could not wait to tell him everything that had happened. "…but it was so cool!" she grinned, "Me and Labramon distracted him, and then Lizzie was able to save you!"

            Shiro chuckled and gently rubbed his younger sister's head. "Yeah, I know. I'm really proud of you."

            She nodded, still excited. "But I _knew_ you were in trouble, Oniichan! Mom said I felt Mrs. Yagami's power, isn't that so cool!"

            "Yeah, that's pretty cool all right."

            As their daughter continued to tell their son about her adventures, Noriko spoke out to Yamato, "I'm scared."

            "What?" he asked, "About what?"

            She sighed, "Yasu." She turned to her husband, "Yamato, it wasn't me that knew you were in trouble, it was Yasu. And after talking to Sora, I know that Yasu felt Akira's power."

            "So then what's the problem?" he asked, "I don't understand, isn't that a good thing?"

            She shook her head, "You don't get it, do you?"

            "No, so please just tell me."

            She sighed again. "Shiro got the X-Antibody, and Yasu didn't. Now, Yasu has my Darkness powers, and Shiro hasn't shown any form of that power. Your X-Antibody passed to Shiro, but Yasu…if she got my power, then she got BD-2 from _me!_ Yamato…I killed our daughter!"

            "What?" he said with a slight chuckle, "Noriko, Yasu's not dead, and she's not dying." He hugged her tightly, "Now, I know you're worried about the kids, but you can't blame yourself for everything, right? After Yasu started to show signs of BD-2, I felt guilty too…"

            She blinked. "Why?"

            "Because, I gave Shiro the X-Antibody, why couldn't I give it to Shiro too? Did I subconsciously think that the oldest kid was better? But I knew that I had nothing to do with it, genetics are just a matter of chance, right? I mean, Shiro has your brown hair, and Yasu's got my blond hair. Don't blame yourself because of something that you didn't have any control over."

            She frowned, "Yeah, well, its easy to say that, but…"

            He hugged her again. "I know…I know…"

            They stopped speaking when they noticed their children staring at them. "Whatcha talking about?" their daughter asked.

Yasu knew that they were talking about her, and she hated it when they acted as if she was not there. She was ten years old, not a little baby anymore. "Stop talking about me like that."

            Her parents were surprised by her abruptness. Noriko smiled slightly, "Um, why don't we stop for lunch?"

            Yasu grinned, her anger melted by being able to eat. "Yeah, okay!"

            "Let's just find a spot," Yamato added.

            Plotmon frowned, "I guess that's where we come in, huh?" Their digimon partners scattered across the flatlands, vanishing into the tall grass. A few minutes later, they all came rushing back. "What's wrong?" Shiro asked.

            "There's something you need to see."

            "Wait a second," Yamato said, staring at them, "You all went to the same place?"

            Gabumon X shook his head, "That's not important right now, come on."

            The digimon led the group through the grass and came to a cliff where a valley stretched before them. In the center of the green valley, was an odd structure, three large stones positioned right up against one another, creating a make-shift three-side room of sorts. "So?" Noriko asked, "Three rocks?"

            "There's more to it," her Plotmon sighed.

            "Yeah," Labramon said, "There's an etching of a digivice on the inside."

            "Really?" Yamato asked.

            The Child digimon nodded. "All right," the blond man said, "Might as well check it out." Team B may their way down the cliff side and stepped onto the green grass of the valley floor. "Something doesn't feel right," Yasu said.

            Shiro looked to his sister. "What do you mean?"

            She rubbed her arms, "I don't know, something just feels weird…"

            He stared at his sister with a curious expression. "Do you believe her?" Psychemon asked.

            "I don't know…" Shiro turned to his parents, he knew his mother could sometimes sense events that were about to happen, not as strong as Mrs. Yagamis, but if Yasu was starting to display their mother's powers…

            He turned to speak to his parents, "Hey, Dad…" However, he found that his mother and father, along with their partners, were already standing inside of the three-sided rock structure. They saw the carving of the digivice, and stepped forward to examine it. Gabumon X ran his hand over the carving, then pulled it back quickly.

            "What's wrong?" Plotmon asked.

            "It's hot," he gasped.

            "Hot?" Noriko asked, "I don't understand.."

            Yamato narrowed his eyes and stared at the carving, "It looks…new, like it was just carved…" He gasped loudly, "We've got to get out, it's a…"

            Before he could say 'trap,' a shrieking sound was heard in the air, getting louder. They stared in the sky and watched as a massive rock, easily the size of the other three, slammed into the ground in the missing 'wall,' trapping the husband and wife, along with their partners, inside. Even more strangely, was the fact that two figures were standing atop the same rock-Ami and Astamon.

            "Jeeze," she sighed, "'Bout time you get here, I thought we'd be waiting for ever." She stared down at Yamato, who was already reaching for his digivice, "I wouldn't do that if I were you. It's kind of a tight squeeze down there, and your wife would take the energy from your…let's just call it 'X-evolution' at full force…no telling what might happen."

            Yamato stared at Noriko, who could only stare back. "Damn it," he muttered.

            "Yamato!" his wife shriek, "You're not even gonna try! What about Shiro and Yasu?"

            Ami smirked. "Don't worry, they'll be…taken care of…"

            "You bitch!" Noriko snapped.

            "Funny, I've heard the same thing about you."

            Yamato had to grab his wife to keep her from attempting to climb the rock wall.

            Outside of the rocks, the Ishida children were having a hard time believing what had just happened. Finally, Yasu screamed out, "Oniichan!"

            "We've got to get them out!" Shiro finally shouted.

            Psychemon shook his head, "We've got a problem though…her!"

            "And me!"

            Turning around, they saw Tsuragi and Neodevimon walking towards them, the gold belt Megingjoro around the devil digimon's waist. Yasu jumped behind her brother and cautiously peeked around to stare at the Demon Chosen. "What do you want?" Shiro shouted.

            "You!" Tsuragi shouted. He crossed his arms, "And I can't believe your parents walked right into that trap! Jeeze, I really can't believe that worked…"

            Yasu was glaring with rage, "Hey, take that back right now!"

            Shiro, on the other hand, was thinking about what he had just been told. _"They wanted us, and they made sure Mom and Dad couldn't help…why? What do we have that's so special?"_

            Tsuragi looked up at Ami and Astamon, who were still standing atop the large rock. "You gonna sit tight?"

            She nodded, and mentioned over her shoulder, "I'll make sure they stay put."

            "Good," the young man replied. He stared at the Ishida children, "All right, you'd better evolve your partners, because Neodevimon's gonna kill you if they don't."

            "Oniichan?" Yasu asked, turning to her brother.

            He sighed deeply. "All right, I guess we don't have much of a choice. Imouto, just be strong, all right?"

            She nodded quickly. "Okay, I will."

            Tsuragi snorted, "Oh, how cute, you're just as disgusting as those twin fuckers!"

            "What?" Shiro asked.

            "Never mind." He smirked, glancing at Yasu, "Oh, I should probably watch my mouth, huh?"

            "Shut up, you mother fucker!" Yasu snapped, "My mother swears worse then you! Now if you want to fight, shut up and fight!"

            Shiro could not help but smile at his younger sister. He looked to their digimon partners. "Evolve!"

            "Psychemon evolve to Gururumon!"

            "Labramon evolve to Dobermon!"

            The two digimon charged at their opponent, but once they were close enough, Neodevimon whipped his elastic arms forward, grabbing the two canine digimon by their heads and bashed them together. Both Shiro and Yasu winced sharply as Neodevimon flung their partners to the sides. Gururumon and Dobermon once again charged at the skeleton digimon. Neodevimon backhanded Dobermon, then used used his other arm to shield his head as Gururumon launched to attack. The wolf digimon chomped onto the arm, biting as hard as he could. While his teeth did dig into flesh, it was not nearly enough to stop the Fallen Angel. He began to pound the wolf's head with his other fist until Gururumon was forced to release his grip.

            "Grau Realm!"

            Neodevimon glanced to his side as a stream of black energy spewed from the mouth of the black canine digimon.  He fell backwards, arching his back and the black energy flew over his body. Gururumon had to roll to the side to avoid being struck. Once back onto his feet, he executed his Chaos Fire; much like Dobermon's attack, a stream of energy exploded from his mouth. Neodevimon dodged once again, but the black canine shot another Grau Realm. The Fallen Angel could not maneuver in time and was hit directly in the side. He tumbled along the ground before jumping back onto his feet.

            Yasu began to cheer, jumping up and down in the air. "Yes, yes, yes!"

            "Stop that!" Tsuragi snapped, "Show some respect, you sound like a moron!"

            "Don't talk to my sister like that!" Shiro shouted back, "Gururumon!"

            Neodevimon glanced to the side as Gururmon charged him again. "You never learn, do you?" he chuckled. He leapt into the air, executing a perfect back flip, punching his fist into Gururumon's back. The wolf's legs gave out and he fell onto the ground. Neodevimon continued his flip in the air, landing gracefully a few feet away.

            He heard a loud growling and turned to see Dobermon running towards him. "The same thing again and again?" the Fallen Angel chuckled, "You've got nothing new, huh?"

            "Guilty Claw!"

            Dobermon stopped short, skidding on his feet. His momentum caught up with him and he fell over forward, landing on his back. Worse, the Guilty Claw was still coming towards him. He fired his Grau Realm, but the Guilty Claw tore through it, striking Dobermon with such force that the Beast Digimon screamed out in pain before regressing to Labramon once more.

            "Oh no!" Yasu screamed, tears forming in her eyes.

            "Gururumon," Shiro turned to his partner, "It's up to us now."

            His wolf partner nodded. "Right, I won't letcha down. You're big, but I bet you can't dodge that fast! Chaos Fire!"

            Neodevimon smirked, "You're wrong, but I don't hafta doge." He allowed Gururumon's energy blaze to strike to slam into his chest, and the Fallen Angel did not even flinch. Shiro and his partner both gasped.

            "Oh crap!" the canine digimon exclaimed.

            Neodevimon chuckled, "Exactly, Stun Claw!"

            His right arm whipped out in an elongated elastic band that hit Gururumon on the nose, sending a wave of paralysis energy into his body. He began to spasm, then fell onto his side, still twitching.

            "Gururumon!" Shiro called.

            The wolf's jaw were locked tight, but he managed to mutter through his teeth. "Look out!"

            But his warning came too late, Neodevimon's Stun Claw struck Shiro as well, dropping him to the ground. When Yasu saw her brother collapse to the ground, she screamed out in terror, then fell over backwards, completely unconscious.

            "Well, that was easier then I thought it was gonna be," Ami smirked, crossing her arms. She was still standing on the massive rock, and so saw Noriko shouting up to her.

            "Hey! Why did my daughter just scream like that?!"

            The teenage girl shrugged. "Your daughter just fainted…you'd better help her get over that problem."

            Noriko clenched her fists so tight that her long nail threatened to draw blood from her palms. "You bitch! Let me out of here right now!"

            Ami simply ignored her. Astamon grabbed her and leapt to the ground, landing gracefully. Neodevimon threw the comatose and paralyzed Ishida children and partners into Astamon's arms.

            "There," Tsuragi snapped, "Take those to Shinji."

            "Where are you going?" Astamon questioned.

            "Back to what's important, the next artifact. Come Neodevimon."

            His partner nodded and followed him as they exited the valley. Ami turned to her partner, then simply shrugged. "Come on, let's get moving."

To be continued…….

1

**NAME:** Kasumi Yagami

**GENDER:** Female

**AGE:** 15

**ETHNICITY:** Japanese

**OCCUPATION:** Student

**PLACE OF BIRTH:** Tokyo, Japan

**DATE OF BIRTH:** July 24, 2013

**KNOWN RELATIVES:** Taichi-father, Sora-mother, Akira-brother, Mitsuo-uncle, Hikari-aunt, Asami-cousin, Susumu-paternal grandfather, Yuuko-paternal grandmother, Haruki "Yuushi" Makato, paternal great-grandfather, (deceased) Haruhiko-maternal grandfather, Toshiko-material grandmother, Jiro "Hidokoro" Kaji-maternal great-grandfather (deceased)

**GROUP AFFILIATION:** DATS

**SUB-GROUP:** X-Chosen

**EDUCATION:** Currently enrolled in high school

**HEIGHT:** 5' 2"

**WEIGHT:** 107 lbs

**EYES:** Brown

**HAIR:** Brown

**POWER:** X-Antibody

**WEAPON:** None

**DIGIMON:** Yuki Agumon-Allomon

**BIO:** The first born child of Taichi and Sora Yagami inherited the X-Antibody from her father, but unfortunately, that was not all she had inherited from him. She is energetic, hyper, and slightly arrogant. While her father was able to overcome his arrogance due to Skullgreymon, she has not experienced anything of that sort yet. Despite her attitude, her cousin and brother do look up to her. Yet, a major and secret weakness on her part is her inability to control even a basic evolution for her partner.

1

**NAME:** Shiro Ishida

**GENDER:** Male

**AGE:** 15

**ETHNICITY:** Japanese/Chinese

**OCCUPATION:** Student

**PLACE OF BIRTH:** Tokyo, Japan

**DATE OF BIRTH:** December 4, 2013

**KNOWN RELATIVES:** Yamto-father, Noriko-mother, Takeru-uncle(deceased), Yasu, sister Hiroaki Ishida-paternal grandfather, Natsuko Takashi paternal grandmother Shiguen-maternal grandfather, Jia Li-maternal grandmother, Fai "Daiyu" Shan, great-grandmother (deceased)

**GROUP AFFILIATION:** DATS

**SUB-GROUP:** X-Chosen

**EDUCATION:** Currently enrolled in high school

**HEIGHT:** 5' 4"

**WEIGHT:** 125 lbs.

**EYES:** Blue

**HAIR:** Blond

**POWER:** X-Antibody, Light and Darkness

**DIGIMON:** Psychemon-Gururmon-?-?

**WEAPON:** ??

**BIO:** The first born child of Yamato and Noriko, Shiro has inherited the X-Antibody from his father. Much like his father during his later teen years, Shiro is thoughtful and has a better control over his temper. He has two role models, his father, and the memory of Koushiro Izumi, and because of this, he became interested in computers and technology at a young age. He is protective of his younger sister, and tries to be a positive role model for her.

1

Author's Note: I apologize for the long update for this. What had happened was that I wrote at least half a chapter, then decided to use that half a chapter later in the story. So at least a few days of work didn't get used in the end. Well, that's part of the process, right?

            Anyway, if anyone wants to at least wager a _hint_ to an _aspect_ of the Demon Master, I have left some clues so far. In Shinji's description of him and another…reference. I believe I've said this before, but someone in this fic was reading one of my favorite stories and another clue will be in the story.

            'Till next time.


	7. The Demon's Quest: Chapter 2

_My name is Michael Barton, and I am a member of DATS. I actually am in charge of the American branch. When I first heard of Hypnos during the affair with the Fallen Chosen, I thought it was actually a pretty good idea, so when Taichi and Mitsuo remolded it into DATS, I jumped at the chance, I knew it was going to be the future. I was happy that Mimi agreed with me. The only regret I had was that we spent so much time in our own jurisdiction, that we did not see our friends for so long. _

_            When we finally saw them again, it wasn't for social reasons. The Digital World had reformed and we had to explore Neo Digital. I agreed to stay behind with Jyou and his son, but now I wished I had come, maybe I would have been able to help. The teams encountered a group of Demon Chosens, who were testing Asami, Shiro and Yasu for some reason. They captured them and brought them for testing, but what do they have that makes them so special?_

_Digimon Magog_

_The Demon's Quest:_

_Chapter 2_

            Shiro moaned loudly as he felt the affects of Neodevimon's Stun Claw wear off. He squinted his eyes tightly, trying to silence the pounding in his forehead. Even with his eyes opened, he was still completely disoriented; he knew that he was lying on his back. He pushed himself to a seated position, and the world slowly stopped spinning. He blinked a few more times and his eyes adjusted. He knew he was captured by the Demon Chosen, and he thought that he would have been placed in a dark, dank cell, but he was actually in a white room, lying on a well-made bed. His Psychemon was lying at the edge, his eyes still closed. Shiro decided to let him be until he had discovered whether or not escape was possible.

            He jumped out of the bed and slowly walked over to the metal door in the wall. He grabbed the handle and turned-locked, as he should have assumed. Sighing, he turned back around, and noticed two more beds in the room-his had been the furthest to the wall, and he had focused on the wall closest to him, thus he had not seen the others. Lying on the middle bed was his younger sister, with her Labramon lying at her feet.

            "Yasu!" he gasped, rushing to her side. He placed a hand on her shoulder and gently shook her. The blond girl remained silent.

            "Yasu!" he screamed, louder this time. This time, her eyes flickered and she stared directly at him.

            "Shiro!" she gasped wrapping her arms tightly around him, "Shiro, you're okay!"

            "I'm okay?" he chuckled, hugging her back, "You're the one that was worrying me."

            She released her embrace and her attention turn to her partner. "Labramon?" her voice quivered, holding him gently, "Labramon…."

            The small canine digimon coughed slightly. "Can't I have another five minutes?"

            Yasu started laughing, "Oh Labramon…!" She hugged him tight.

            Shiro turned to his own partner. "Are you okay?"

            Psychemon nodded. "Y..yeah, I think so." He took a quick glance around the room, "We're trapped?"

            The teenage boy nodded, "Yeah, and there's…" He suddenly remembered the third bed. He ran to the last bed and saw a teenage girl dressed in a pink and white bikini with a long-sleeve sweater over top…a teenage girl he instantly recognized. "Asami?!"

            "Asami?" Yasu questioned, standing on top of the bed so she was able to stare over her brother's shoulders, "Why's Asami here?"

            He just shook his head and began to gently shake her, "Asami…Asami…"

            The teenage girl's eyes shot open and she sat up in the bed. She blinked for a moment, then slowly smile, "Shiro, Yasu, y…you're awake!"

            _"We're_ awake?" the young girl asked.

            "You were all asleep when we got here," Asami's Leormon replied.

            The brown-haired girl nodded. "Yes, I tried for at least an hour to wake either of you, but we started to get tired…"

            Shiro took a deep breath, "Well, there's three beds here, so they probably wanted just _us_ for some reason…I wonder why…"

            "We'll probably find out soon," Psychemon sighed, "Hopefully…"

            Yasu was staring at Asami. "Why were you wearing your bathing suit?"

            "Oh, because we were at the beach."

            Yasu smiled, "I really like it, it looks so pretty. Maybe Momma will buy one for me."

            Shiro glanced over at Asami's suit, "Yasu, you're not wearing a suit like that!"

            "What, why not?"

            "Be….because…!"

            The blond haired girl pouted and crossed her arms. Asami smiled, "You should be lucky you have an older brother that watches out for you, I don't have any brothers or sisters."

            "Why not?" she asked.

            Asami shrugged. "I don't know."

            Labramon chuckled. "Maybe you have one and just don't know it."

            She smiled slightly. "Probably not."

111

            Gabe was tapping his foot in impatient rage, while he tightened his crossed arms. He turned to the blue tent, "Would you hurry up! They're getting away!"

            Kasumi leapt out of the tent, a pair of tight shorts and a blue unbuttoned blouse over her swimsuit. "All right, don't bust a nut or anything, jeeze…"

            Her father stared at her, but chose to ignore it. He was more concerned about his sister, who was pacing the sand of the beech. He turned to the two teenagers. "You ready yet?"

            They both nodded. "Yeah," Gabe answered.

            "Taichi," Hikari's voice quivered, "They could be anywhere!"

            He mentioned to Agumon X, "He can follow a scent."

            His partner shrugged slightly. "I might not be Gabumon, but I'm not…not…" He turned to Plotmon X, "What do you call it if you can't smell?"

            "Mute?" the Mammal asked.

            "No, that's when you can't talk…"

            "I can smell too, you know," Yuki Agumon called. She glanced to Kotemon, "What about you?"

            The small warrior digimon shook his head, "No, I don't even have a nose…"

            Kasumi began to laugh, "He doesn't even have a nose? What kind of a freak digimon do you have?"

            Gabe smirked, crossing his arms, "Hey, last time I check, _we_ could evolve without any trouble!"

            The teenage girl was attempting to retort, but she just stumbled over her words. She noticed that her father and her aunt were already following the scent trail, "Hurry up, you're gonna get us lost!" She pushed past him and ran after her father. Gabe just snarled and followed.

111

            When the newly-created Team C, now comprised of Mimi, Sora, Lizzie, Akira and their partners, arrived at the fringe of the black forest, each one shivered slightly. The trees loomed before them, the wind howled through the branches. Lizzie did not even want to step into the collection of trees, but her mother coerced her by reminding her that they had to explore and map their areas, even the spooky and terrifying Lachesis, the Dark Continent. Within the foreboding forest, they encountered a village of Goblimons. They cautiously approached the collection of buildings, but were pleasantly surprised and relieved, when the oni digimons began to offer them room and meals. Sora wanted to start exploring the area, but her son was already falling asleep on his feet, she decided that it might be best to just turn in for the night. Akira, however, was not happy at learning that he would be sharing a room with Lizzie.

            "But Mo-om!" he whined, "I don't want wanna sleep in the same room as a girl!"

            Before Sora could answer, Lizzie gently rubbed his head, "You will one day, kiddo."

            The younger boy pushed away from her and straightened out his hair. "Don't touch my hair!"

            She blinked. "Oh, sorry, I…I saw your sister do that, and I thought that…"

            "She does it to tease him," Sora whispered. She turned to her son, "Now listen, this will just be like having a babysitter, okay?"

            He was not convinced, and crossed his arms, pouting. She knelt down to stare at him at eye-level. "Now listen, we don't have anywhere else to stay, and these Goblimons have been nice enough to let us stay here tonight, even though they don't have much room. Now don't insult their kindness, alright?"

            "All right," he pouted, walking towards the small hut. Sora rose back to a standing position. She turned to Lizzie.

            "Sorry, about this, but that hut was just too small for me or your mother…"

            Lizzie just smiled slightly and shrugged. "It's okay, I've babysat a lot, so it's really no big deal."

            She gave a slight smile. "All right, good night."

            "Night, Mrs. Yagami." Sora waited until she was safely in the hut before walking back to her own. Mimi and their partners were waiting inside.

            "Are they asleep?" Mimi asked.

            "They just went to bed," Sora answered. She glanced out the opening of the hut, watching the Goblimon wandering around their village. "You want the first watch?"

            She shrugged. "I guess. Sora, are you sure we shouldn't have told them we were keeping watch?"

            "I don't know about your daughter, but if my son found out I was staying up to keep watch, he'd want to too. They need their sleep."

            "We need sleep too," Piyomon said, "Why don't we split the watch between the four of us? I mean, if you're just watching, I don't need to be awake, right? And vice-versa."

            Palmon X nodded. "Yeah, and if there's trouble, the person awake would just wake the others anyway. This way we're not all exhausted tomorrow."

            The two middle-aged women glanced at each other. "We've been doing this for too long," Sora said with a smile, "All right, I'll take first watch, you can rest."

            After an uneventful night, the group sat down for breakfast, which the village's leader, a Shamamon, hosted for them. "I trust you slept well," he said.

            Mimi smiled, "Yes we did, thank you."

            He gave a slight smile, "We always knew that humans would return to us one day, it would be best to…" he waved his hand, searching for the right word, "…make friends, heh.."

            Sora and Mimi glanced nervously at each other, but said nothing. The Shamamon leaned forward on the table, "Now, what may I do to help you on your quest?"

            "We're just really exploring," Sora answered.

            He seemed confused. "Exploring?"

            "Yeah," Lizzie spoke up, "You know, just checking things out."

            "Ah…then perhaps there is something you would like to see."

            "What?" Palmon X asked.

            "First eat, then we will go, please excuse me. " The Shamamon walked over to a Goblimon standing near the door. They began to speak in a low foreign language. Lizzie was staring at them suspiciously. She turned to her partner. "Can you understand them?"

            Alraumon shook her head, "Nope, I have no idea what they're saying."

            "Great," the teenage girl muttered, "I hope we're not walking into a trap."

            An hour later, Team C was being led through the dark trees by the Shamamon and three Goblimon. While they spoke to the DATS agents in Japanese, to each other, they used their own language, which none of the DATS digimon could understand.

            "I don't like this," Akira's Falcomon shivered, "I don't feel so well."

            "Yeah, me neither," Akira frowned. He tugged on his Sora's arm, "Mom…"

            "Not now," she said. She was too busy keeping her eyes open for a possible ambush.

            After a tense hour-walk, they arrived at a mysterious building, a dark church-like structure. Sora furrowed her brow. "Taichi said something about a building like that…"

            "What is this place?" Mimi asked.

            She noticed that the Oni digimon were backing away. She twisted around to face him, a questioning expression on her face. The Shamamom looked to the ground, "I am sorry, I truly am."

            A cold feeling past through the middle-age woman's stomach. She twirled to the building and watched as more then two dozen Pico Devimon flew from the opening and surrounded them. Akira, Lizzie, along with their partners, were starting to become concerned, but their mothers and partners were only looking with an amused expression. They knew that 24 Child digimon were not going to cause them much harm. Yet, they wanted to know what was happening, so they did not evolve their partners.

            Stepping from the door of the building was a familiar figure. "What are you losers doing here?"

            "Tsuragi!" Sora gasped.

            The Demon Chosen crossed his arms. "So you remembered my name, big deal, I asked you a question, what are you doing here?" He looked to the Shamamon, "Or did _you_ do this? You think by bringing _them_ here, it's going to save you? I wanted the horn, not _them!"_

            Mimi looked to the Shamamon, who was standing safely outside the circle of Pico Devimons, "What's going on here?"

            The Oni Digimon hung his head low. "I didn't mean to trick you…he…he came a few days ago, demanding that we bring him here. When he realized that _Giallarhorn _was not here, he demanded we bring it to him. We tried to explain that our village was only constructed a few years ago, and that temple was empty when we arrived, he would not believe us."

            "You're fucking right I don't believe you," the Demon Chosen shouted, crossing his arms, "And if you don't tell me where it is, I'll burn your entire village to the ground, now where is it?"

            Akira's fists were clenched and he began to shake with rage. "Y….you killed all those Candlemon, now you're gonna do it again?"

            "What if I am?" he said with a chuckle, "You think any of their lives matter? They're nothing but fleas!" He mentioned to Neodevimon, "We could kill all of you right now if we wanted to."

            "Yeah right!" the younger boy snapped, "I could kick your ass anyday!"

            "Akira!" Sora shouted at him. The situation was tense enough, she did not need him acting like his sister.

            Tsuragi glared at him, "You arrogant little punk!" he screamed, "That's it, you're all dead, I'm gonna kill you all!" He snapped his fingers, and half of the Pico Devimon surrounded the Shamamon, "Once I'm done with them, you're next!"

            "Shit," Mimi muttered. She did not want to become engaged in another battle, they had to protected Shamamon and the other Goblimon, so she attempted to bluff their way out of it. "Hey, you really think you're going to win? I mean, come on, you've only got the Pico Devimon to fight, right?"

            Tsuragi snorted," Yeah, and _you_ don't have Ishida to save your ass this time. And who said you were going to be fighting Pico Devimons?" He reached for a gourd that was hanging on his belt. "This is water from Lake Trito, it has the power to cause aging."

            Mimi imagined herself as an old woman 20 before hand, she began to scream, "No, that's not fair!"

            "Shut up!" he shouted, "Aging for a digimon is a little different…" He poured the water into his cupped hand, then flung the water onto the Picodevimon. Each of the Child digimon began to glow, transforming into larger, bulkier, dark dragon digimon.

            "Devidramon!" Palmon X gasped, "He…he evolved them."

            Tsuragi dropped the now-empty gourd to the ground. "Devidramon, tear them to pieces!"

            As the dragon digimon lumbered forward, Mimi shouted to the others, "Evolve, now!"

            Each one evolved to their Adult forms, while Palmon X reached her Fully Evolved form. Sora was still feeling tired from not getting enough sleep the night before, so she could not give enough of her Fire power to evolve her partner to Garudamon. Mimi understood her friend's problem. "Lillymon'll take care of his suped-up Devimon."

            "You can try, girly," Neodevimon chuckled, flexing his muscles, "Try all you want, but it ain't gonna happen."

            He leapt into the air, sailing over the distance and smashing into the ground inches in front of Lillymon X. The Fairy digimon clenched her fists and glared at her opponent. She suddenly slammed her hands together, creating a flower that bloomed into a large barrel, "Flower Cannon!"

            Neodevimon batted the energy bullet aside with his left hand before firing his elastic right arm, "Guilty Claw!"

            Lillymon X twisted out of the arm's path, then kicked the expanded arm as hard as she could. To her horror, the arm whipped back around, wrapping tightly around her body. Mimi called out her partner's name, watching in horror as she tried to free herself from the coiled arm.

            The others were fairing better: the Devidramon were simply no match for the DATS digimon. Diatrymon and Red Veggiemon were showing surprising strength, and were easily defeating the dragon digimon, smashing and pounding them into unconsciousness. Birdramon, however, was having more difficulty. At one time, Sora's power was that of love, but the Second Black Death stripped her of that, but it uncovered her true power, the power of her grandfather, Hidokoro, the power of Fire. However, Love was spiritual, from the strength of her soul, and Fire, while more powerful, was definitely of the physical, and subject to her body's strength, and she was tired. She was 40-years-old, no longer a kid, missing sleep affected her much more then it used to.. That, in combination with the ache she felt from her leg stump, walking so much put weight on her prosthetic leg, which harmed what was left of her leg. She was weak and tired, and her partner was being affected. Birdramon could not dodge from Devidramon's jab, and her stomach was torn by the dragon's claws.

            "Birdramon!" Sora shouted. She attempted to run to her fallen partner, but her leg stump ached and she nearly fell over. Lizzie had been standing beside her and caught her.

            "Thanks."

            The teenage girl stared up at the red-headed woman, whom she was supporting by her shoulders, "Are you okay?"

            "Y..yeah," she replied, "J…just a little tired." She suddenly winced, and Lizzie spun her head back around. Devidramon had struck Birdramon in the lower jaw. The giant bird tried to fight back, but her energy was nearly drained as well.

            "Birdramon," Sora frowned, "I'm sorry."

            Diatrymon had finished off his last Devidramon, and Akira turned to boast to his mother, but when his eyes saw his fatigued mother and her injured partner, he shouted to his own partner, "Diatrymon, save Birdramon!"

            His bird partner flew to free his mother's giant bird partner. "Destruction Roar!" A massive sound wave blasted forth from his beak, striking Devidramon in the back, twirling him into the ground. Yet, he did not stop, "Take this, Mega Dash Impact!"

            He began a tackle combo attack that bashed and pounded into the fallen dragon. Devidramon whipped his tail around, smacking his thick appendage into the Bird. Diatrymon stumbled backwards, falling on his rear. Neodevimon raised his arm into the air, and began to slash and tear into the bird.

            "Diatrymon!" Akira cried.

            Sora turned to her partner. "Birdramon, save him!"

            Her partner flew into the air and began to flap her wings rapidly. "Meteor Wing!"

            Her fire attack struck into Devidramon's back, but the dragon only winced. He whipped his elongated arm around, slashing the bird digimon in the beak with his sharp Crimson Nail. Birdramon was not prepared for such a quick attack and crashed to the ground.

            "Birdramon!" Sora gasped, "I'm so sorry…"

            Lizzie was still propping Sora up with her shoulder, so when she saw the redheaded woman's expression, she shouted to her own partner. "Red Veggiemon, save Diatrymon!"

            The plant digimon bounced forward. "Hang on, buddy!" he shouted to the bird digimon. He took a deep breath and began to fire a barrage of chili peppers from his mouth. Devidramon saw the attack and could have easily avoided it, but his mindless instinct drove him to prove himself against the other digimon. When then the spicy peppers struck him in the eyes, he began to roar in pain, nearly blind. He jumped back, clutching his eyes. Now free, Diatrymon fired another Desolation Roar, tearing a hole through the dragon digimon's chest. His data exploded a moment later.

            Lillymon X was still trapped within the twisted embrace of Neodevimon's arm. Tsuragi was smirking in masochistic joy, while Mimi was staring in terror. "Lillymon, please!"

            The Synthetic digimon chuckled as he squeezed even harder. "Damn it," the Fairy shouted, "Your not a snake!"

            "Struggle all you want, babe," Neodevimon grinned, "You're not gonna escape!"

            Lillymon X's shoulders twitched as her arms maneuvered into position. "What are you doing?" the Synthetic digimon snapped.

            The Fairy grinned. "Flower Cannon." Her attack ripped a hole through Neodevimon's arm, and it whipped back, a Swiss-chess mess of digital flesh. His other arm was more then ready to finish the assault.

            "Stun Claw!" he screamed, shooting his elastic arm at the Wind Guardian. Lillymon X shot into the air and began to encircle the Synthetic digimon.

            "Sleep Petal!"

            Neodevimon roared loudly, incinerating the falling petals into dust. "That won't stop me! Stun Claw!" He whipped out his electrically-charged claws, slicing across Lillymon X's stomach, tearing her pink dress to shreds. She instinctively covered herself and hovered before him.

            "Damn you," she growled, narrowing her eyes at the demon digimon.

            Neodevimon stretched his back and raised his arms. "Are you ready for round two?"

            "Stop it!"

            All eyes turned to Shamamon, who was panting heavily. "Please, I do not wish to see any more harm come to them."

            Tsuragi crossed his arms, "So you are ready to finally tell me where _Giallarhorn_ is?"

            "I do not know!"

            The Demon Chosen pointed at the DATS agents, "Then they die!"

            Red Veggiemon smirked, "Yeah right! Its four against one, and Lillymon's kicking your butt!"

            "Don't bet on that!" Neodevimon snapped.

            Shamamon sighed. "I do not know where it has gone, but the Oracle might."

            "Oracle?" Tsuragi asked, raising his eyebrow.

            "Yes, the Oracle of Digiphi," he sighed, "Go there, and maybe you shall learn what you seek."

            Tsuragi smirked, "Maybe I shall. Come on Neodevimon, quit playing with that whore, and let's move!"

            The Synthetic digimon glanced at Lillymon X, then shrugged. "Your lucky day." He jumped back to join his partner. Tsuragi climbed onto Neodevimon's back, and the two Demons vanished into the sky.

            Mimi turned to the Shamamon. The Oni digimon held his head low. "I…'sigh' I apologize."

            The brown-haired woman crossed her arms. "Why didn't you just ask us for help?"

            "I was…afraid you would not…"

            "Of course we would!" she gasped, "We're here to help _you_!"

            He sighed again, "It…it is not much, but if you wish to stay longer, you may. My village is at your disposal."

            Mimi was already annoyed, and wanted to leave, but when she saw how tired Sora had become, Lizzie was supporting her as they walked. "Okay, thank you."

111

            Taichi followed closely behind Agumon X as he followed the trail only he could see, or rather, smell. Every so often, he would need to stop and sniff the air, move in a circle before catching the sent once again. Tailmon X and Yuki Agumon helped as best they could, but their olfactory skills were not as strong.

            The lizard digimon stopped once again, this time in a grassland area, where four large stone pillars were erected, one against the other, creating a four-sided structure. He began to encircle the pillars, sniffing the ground. "What is it?" Taichi asked, "Something underground?"

            "No…" He stared at the pillars, "Something…" He sniffed the air again, then his eyes gasped in surprise, "It's…." He turned to Taichi, "Yamato and Noriko are _inside!_ Gabumon and Plotmon, too!

            "What?" Gabe gasped, "Mr. Ishida's…inside there?"

            Before he could respond, Taichi began to walk around the pillars. "Yamato!" he shouted, _"Yamato! Noriko!"_

            A faint, voice was heard shouting back. The middle-aged man round around the entire structure three times. "There's no way inside…" He looked up to the top of the four stone towers. "We've got to get up there! Agumon!"

            Agumon X evolved to Metalgreymon X, and floated over the pillars. He was able to see through a small opening between the four, this Ishidas and their partners, cramped tightly together. "Hang on." He pointed his metal arm down and gently let his clawed hand drop via the metal cable. Once it was within the opening, the Ishidas grabbed tightly and the Fully Evolved digimon wound it back, lifting them out of the rock prison.

            Once they were safely on the ground, Taichi looked to Yamato. "Not that I'm not happy for getting us out of there, but what are you doing here?"

            Taichi was about to respond, when Yamato looked over his shoulder at the rest of Team A. "Wasn't Asami with you?"

            Hikari cried, "Oh, Yamato, they took her!"

            "Who?!"

            "The Demon Chosen took my baby girl!" she cried.

            Noriko ran to her, "They took Shiro and Yasu too."

            Hikari blinked. "T…they did?"

            The other woman nodded. "Yeah, my little babies are gone too."

            They both hugged each other.

"Why did they Shiro and Yasu?"

            "I don't know, Taichi!" Noriko snapped, glaring at him.

            "She's just stressed," Yamato said. He mentioned to Agumon X, "You've been tracking them?"

            "Yeah," the lizard answered, "But I keep losing it." He looked to Gabumon X, "But now that you're here…"

            The fur-covered lizard nodded, smiling slightly. "Yeah, together we can track anything."

            "All right," Taichi said, "Two-by-two formation."

With the addition of Gabumon X's stronger nose, they began to follow the Demons' scents. Kasumi and Gabe were near each other, by necessity, not choice, as the adults were paired up-Hikari and Noriko and Yamato and Taichi. The two women were comforting each other's anxiousness, while Yamato and Taichi spoke in a low voice.

            "Why did they take your kids?" Taichi asked, "Did they say?"

            The blond man shook his head. "No, how 'bout you?"

            Taichi sighed, "They said they needed her for some reason, but why Asami? Agumon and Plotmon were out of the fight, they could have easily taken all of us, why did they want my niece?"

            "And my son and daughter?" Yamato added, "Let's hope when we find them, we'll figure this out."

111

            The three prisoners were still within their 'bedded' rooms. Yasu and Asami, along with their partners, were curled up on the center bed, while Shiro was examining the walls and Psychemon was sniffing along the ground. "This place is completely air-tight," Shiro frowned, "But without even a ventilation, how are we still breathing?"

            "We're gonna run out of air?" Asami gasped.

            Shiro knew of the brown-haired girl's panic attacks, so he quickly calmed her. "We've been in here for hours, we would have run out by now. We're getting fresh air from somewhere, so don't worry."

            "How are we going to get out?" the brown-haired girl asked.

            "Oniichan, what's gonna happen to us?"

            Shiro turned to his sister. The brown haired girl was staring up at him with wide eyes. He could tell that she was becoming frightened, "Don't worry, Mom and Dad'll get us out. There's nothing to be worried about."

            Yasu's Labramon raised his head from where he had been lying. "Wait a minute, maybe that's why they kidnapped us, they wanted your father's power!"

            "That doesn't make any sense," Asami pointed out, "Why did I get taken instead of Kasumi? Uncle Taichi has Wargreymon."

            Plotmon shrugged. "Maybe they got you two mixed up?"

            "Maybe," Shiro sighed, "Right now I think we'd just better figure out if we can get in touch with our parents."

            Yasu grabbed the D-terminal that was in the pocket of her denim skirt. "Let's us this!"

            "I already tried mine," Shiro said, "The signal's too weak to get through. Whatever these walls are made of, they're pretty thick." He sighed deeply as he took out his own digital device and examined the screen. The D-terminal's home page was still visible, "Hmm…"

            "What?" Psychemon asked.

            "The wireless signal might not be getting through because of how much information goes across the wireless signal, but I wonder if a smaller signal would work…"

            "Smaller signal?"

            "Like Morse Code…"

            Psychemon blinked. "You know Morse Code?"

            The teenage boy smiled slightly and shook his head, "No, but any kind of pulse should get some attention, right?"

            "I suppose…"

            Asami blinked. "W…what are they talking about?"

            "I don't know," Yasu yawned, "Whenever they start talking like that, my head starts to hurt…"

            A loud metallic sound was heard. They turned towards to the door and watched in mixed emotion as it swung open, revealing Yuuji and her Skull Barukimon. Asami leapt behind Shiro and cautiously peered around the older boy's shoulder. Yasu stood firmly beside her brother; their partners were standing guard before them. "What do you want?" Shiro said, defiantly.

            The Demon Chosen gave a slight bow. "Please come with me and you shall see." She stepped aside and mentioned with her hand. Shiro took a deep breathed and stepped into a vacant hall. The girls and their partners soon followed.

"Follow me, "Yuuji said as she began to walk down the hall.

"Like we've got a choice," Yasu muttered.

Yuuji lead them through the hall, with Skull Barukimon behind them. The hall was dimly lit by small lights hanging from the ceiling. The walls were devoid of features except for doors no doubt leading to prison cells where other lost souls were trapped.

            They soon arrived in a giant room that contained a metal table with metallic bonds at the top and bottom. Shinji was there as well, standing behind a table that contained a laptop computer. He walked over and bowed as well. "I apologize for the wait, but the delivery of equipment from our base was held up."

The DATS agents just stared. Shinji places his hands behind his back. "Well, should we begin?"

"Begin what?" Shiro asked.

            "Just a small…experiment," he replied. He examined the three, then looked over their shoulders to his twin sister. Yuuji raised Gleipnir and the glowing ropes leapt forth, wrapping around the DATS agents and their partners. While the Ishida children gasped in shock, Asami frowned.

            "Not again," she sadly said to her partner. She looked to the others, "This happened when they took me."

            Shinji towered over the fallen DATS agents. He grabbed Shiro and yanked him to his feet. Psychemon called out his partner's name, but it was not any use. The Demon Chosen threw the brown-haired boy onto the table and his Skull Satanmon strapped the metal bands tightly around his wrists and ankles, another one went around his waist. The last strap went around his chin, and a metallic band was attached to his forehead, holding his head firmly in place.

            Yasu cried, "Let him go!"

            Yuuji whacked the brown-haired girl in the back of the head. "Quiet, whelp!"

            Shinji sat down behind the table and began to enter commands into the keyboard of the laptop. The metal band on Shiro' forehead began to glow, and he felt a burst of pain shoot directly into his head, his body began to twitch, shaking in the table.

            "Oniichan!" Yasu screamed, trying to get to her feet, but Gleipnir held her tightly.

            Asami found a surprising burst of courage and shouted to the Demon Chosen, "Let him go!"

            The Demon Chosen ignored them. Shinji kept his gaze on the screen, his eyes dancing along the lines of information. "Is there anything?" Skull Satanmon asked.

            His partner shook his head. "No, there is nothing. The next text subject…."

            Skull Satanmon released Shiro from the table and threw him back into the ground. Yasu tried to crawl towards him, but Shinji grabbed her and easily tossed her onto the table.

            "Yasu!" Asami gasped.

            The Ishida son growled, lifting his head. He watched in horror as his little sister was put through the same pain that he was forced to endure. She was screaming, tears pouring from her eyes. Yuuji was standing next to Shinji, no one was watching him! He turned to Asami, who was quivering in near-fear. "Asami," he whispered, "I've got an idea. They're going to test you next…"

            "N…next?" she gasped.

            "Stay with me, okay?" he said, trying to keep her calm, "When they put you onto the table, that rope that she uses, it's going to disappear so they can put your hands into those metal bonds. When that happens, try to grab the rope from her hand, okay?"

            She nodded quickly, still shaking. "T…then what?"

            "Use it on them, got it?"

            "Y…yeah."

            He narrowed his eyes. "Listen to me, you can do this, okay?"

            She nodded again, "R…right, okay."

            The two teenagers turned back to the table. Yasu's turn was apartently over, as they dropped her back onto the floor. She was barley conscious, her eyes drooping. "Imouto," he sighed.

            Shinji grabbed Asami next and dragged her to the table. Her heart was pounding, she was scared, scared because of what might happen to her, and whether or not she would be able to complete Shiro's plan. Once they placed her onto the table, she watched Yuuji carefully. Just as Shiro predicted, the Demon girl dropped Gleipnar's grip around the brown-haired girl. Once she was free, Asami took a deep breath and lunged at her. She was able to grab the mystical rope from Yuuji's arm and managed to land on her feet.

            "Great job!" Shiro shouted, "use it on them!"

            Asami stared at the rope in her hand, "I…I don't know how!"

            Shinji and Skull Satamon were standing off to the side, an amused expression on his face. His twin sister shared that expression as she stared at Asami. "Well, are you not going to use that mystical weapon, bind us within its grasp?" She began to laugh, "Come now, let us see what you are capable of…"

            "Asami!" her Leormon shouted, "Come on! Use it, you can do it!"

            "Asami," Shiro said through gritted teeth, "Come on…"

            The teenage girl did not hear their cheers, staring at Yuuji stepping towards her, she was overcome with intense fear. She was paralyzed, she could not move. The Demon girl simply and easily grabbed Gleipnar from the younger girl's hands. Asami could not even put up a hint of resistance. Yuuji grabbed her and threw her into the table.

            "If that's over," Shinji sighed, annoyed, "Let's get on with this."

            "Yes, twin brother."

            Shiro sighed deeply, hanging his head low. "Asami…"

            The brown-haired girl was frozen, almost comatose as she lay on the steel table. "_Shiro…your plan was great, it was perfect. _I_ was the problem…like always, I'm nothing but weak and helpless…I am so sorry…"_

            Shinji once more entered commands into his laptop computer, and bolts of power shot into Asami's body. She did not even scream, she needed to be punished for her cowardice. Despite her silence, Shinji was gasping, staring at the information displayed before him, "I…Incredible….here, i…it is here!"

            Yuuji raised an eyebrow. "It…is?" She stared at Asami, "This…this pathetic child…?"

            Her twin brother grinned. "We must bring her before the Master…"

            And then, suddenly, the northern-most wall exploded, showering the room in dust, any shards having been disintegrated. The occupants of the room were staring at the billowing smoke of dust with confused and shocked expressions. Though they were not able to see, a male voice shouted through the smog. "What the hell is the matter with you? You could have killed them!"

            "They're fine, aren't they?" a female's voice shouted back.

            Psychemon blinked. "Allomon?"

            As the smoke cleared, Gabe and Kasumi could be seen standing in the giant hole in the wall. Allomon and Gladimon were behind them, and it was obvious that Allomon had used her Dino Burst to tear into the wall, which Gladimon did not approve. The foursome was soon joined by the adults of their combined groups. "I assume you're making all that noise because you found them?" Agumon X snapped at the two Adult digimon.

            "Asami!" Hikari screamed, seeing her daughter strapped to the examination table. Noriko pushed past her upon seeing her two children lying on the floor.

            "Shiro! Yasu!"

            Both young women were about to run to their children, but Taichi grabbed them back. "What are you doing?" Noriko demanded.

            Taichi narrowed his eyes at Shinji and Yuuji, "Leave this to me and Agumon."

            Kasumi grinned. "All right, my Dad's gonna kick some ass!"

            Yuuji moved to her brother's side, "Maybe we should leave…"

            Shinji smirked, "I shall not run!"

            She groaned, crossing her arms. "You're just as bad as Tsuragi!"

            Taichi held out his palm and the Katana of Hidokoro appeared in an explosion of flame.  Human and digimon were pulled towards one another, merging together. "Agumon X warp evolve to Wargreymon X!"

            "Brother!" Yuuji screamed.

            Shinji stood his ground. "Skull Satanmon!"

            The skeleton digimon swung his staff before him. "Nail Bone!"

            Wargreymon X batted the demon's energy attack aside. It smashed into the wall, ripping through the brick and mortar. Skull Satanmon charged forward and swung his staff once more. Wargreymon X blocked the staff with the blade on his left arm, and used the blade on his right arm, the transformed Katana of Hidokoro, to ram through the skeleton shoulder. Skull Satanmon moaned in pain and even released his grip on his staff.

Kasumi crossed her arms and smirked at Gabe. "That's _my_ father!"

            The teenage boy stared at her, "Really? 'Cause you see, I was kinda confused about that…"

            She just glared at him.

            Skull Satanmon pulled himself out of Wargreymon X's blade and he clutched his injured shoulder. The Dragon Man positioned himself with his bladed gauntlets in the air. "Come on!" he laughed in a mixture of Taichi and Agumon X's voice, "You running already?"

            "Skull Satanmon!" Shinji shouted, "Do not fear!"

            The Skeleton digimon was about to attack again, but Wargreymon X was in front of him before the demon could even blink. The Mega digimon raised his fist and slammed into Skull Satanmon, the force of his attack slamming him into the back wall. Shinji watched in horror as his partner flew past him. He twisted to Yuuji, "Twin Sister!"

            She was almost trembling. She stared at him, "I told you not to do this! Come, we must leave while we are still able!"

            Wargreymon X cracked his knuckles. "Who said you're going anywhere?"

            The Demon girl shuttered. "Twin brother!" she screamed.

            He narrowed his eyes. "Fine, let us be gone."

            Yuuji's Skull Barukimon grabbed the unconscious Skull Satamon by his mouth, and his partner leapt onto his back. Shinji stared at Asami, still strapped to the table, before joining his twin sister. Skull Barukimon quickly escaped down the large hall.

            Wargreymon X smirked, "You're not getting away…"

            "Taichi!" Hikari shouted.

            The Dragon Man looked over his shoulder. Shiro, Yasu, Asami, along with their partners, now that Yuuji was out of range, were freed from Gleipnir's mystic bonds. He took a deep breath, and regressed back to Taichi and Agumon X.

            Noriko was hugging her two children. Yamato needed to help his son to his feet, and their daughter was completely unconscious. Noriko held her tightly, "Yasu…"

            "She'll…she'll be okay," Shiro managed to say, "J…just let her rest…"

            Hikari and Plotmon X freed Asami from the table, and Gabe rushed to the teenage girl's side. Before Hikari could even speak, Gabe cried, "Are you okay?"

            The teenage girl smiled "Y…yes…" She looked over to Shiro, who was fussing over his little sister, "I'm sorry," she whispered.

            Kasumi stood by her father, "That was really cool, Dad. You're the greatest."

            Taichi smiled down at her daughter. "I guess he just wasn't as strong as he thought."

            His daughter nodded. "But…what did those two want?"

            He stared at Asami, Shiro and Yasu. "I don't know…but I don't think we're going to like it when we find out."

111

            Within the evil cave of the Demon Chosen, Shinji was speaking to his Demon Master. "And you were barely able to escape?"

            Shinji nodded. "Yes," he spat, "Skull Satanmon is recovering, and I was forced to leave the laptop behind."

            "You left that device behind?!" he shouted.

            "Have no fear," he replied, "There was nothing within that memory that could compromise us. A remote worm program has already been activate, destroying the hard drive."

            The Demon Master nodded. "And what of your findings?"

            "The Ishida children have nothing, they are barren."

            "And the other?"

            Shinji smirked, "The Yamaki child…contains what we need."

            "Is it enough?"

            He nodded again. "Yes, more then enough. And there is an added bonus, she is completely unaware of it, there is no chance of her using it against us."

            "Yes, but her family will not allow us to take her, we must wait until a proper opportunity arises."

            Shinji raised an eyebrow. "You mean…the Agent of Destruction?"

            "Yes, once Tsuragi has located that weapon, we will use it, and that child will be ours!"

_Next: The Demon's Quest_

1

**NAME:** Gabriel "Gabe" Barton

**GENDER:** Male

**AGE:** 16

**ETHNICITY:** Japanese/American

**OCCUPATION:** Student

**PLACE OF BIRTH:** New York City, New York, United States of America

**DATE OF BIRTH:** August 15, 2012

**KNOWN RELATIVES:** Michael-father, Mimi-mother, Lizzie-sister

**GROUP AFFILIATION:** DATS

**SUB-GROUP:** X-Chosen

**EDUCATION:** High school

**HEIGHT:** 5' 9"

**WEIGHT:** 150 lbs.

**EYES:** Brown

**HAIR:** Brown

**POWER:** X-Antibody-??

**DIGIMON:** Kotemon-Gladimon-?-?

**WEAPON:** ??

**BIO:** Gabe is the strongest of the children, his partner actually almost able to reach the Fully Evolved level by the strength of his spirit alone-without any external force, a feet not easily accomplished. Due to his strength, he had developed a rivalry with Kasumi Yagami, who is jealous of his strength. He is a competent leader who thinks and plans when approaching a situation. He has also begun to develop a crush on Asami Yamaki.

1

**NAME:** Asami Yamaki

**GENDER:** Female

**AGE:** 14

**ETHNICITY:** Japanese

**OCCUPATION:** Student

**PLACE OF BIRTH:** Tokyo, Japan

**DATE OF BIRTH:** February, 4, 2013

**KNOWN RELATIVES:** Mitsuo-father, Hikari-mother, Taichi-uncle, Sora-aunt, Kasumi-cousin, Akira-cousin, Susumu-paternal grandfather, Yuuko-maternal grandmother, Haruki "Yuushi" Makato, maternal great-grandfather, (deceased)

**GROUP AFFILIATION:** DATS

**SUB-GROUP:** X-Chosen

**EDUCATION:** Middle school

**HEIGHT:** 4' 5"

**WEIGHT:** 99 lbs.

**EYES:** Brown

**HAIR:** Brown

**POWER:** X-Antibody-??

**DIGIMON:** Leormon-Raiamon-??-??

**WEAPON:** ??

**BIO:** Asami is like her mother, caring and compassionate. She tries to see the best in everyone. However, she is also weak and inexperienced. She has fought very little, and has yet to defeat any opponent. She is prone to panic attacks and is constantly underestimating herself. She is unaware of the fact that the Demons are now pursuing her for a mysterious purpose.


	8. Tides of Fate Begin to Turn:Chapter 1

_My name is Jyou Kido and I was the oldest of the Chosen _Children,_ I say 'Children,' because this concerns when we were younger. Being the oldest, I always tried to watch out for the others, but it always seemed like I was worrying or whining My son is the oldest out of our children, so I tried to teach him about watching out for the others, but…he's more like me than I thought, which isn't necessarily a good thing…._

_            The others were exploring NeoDigital, but they ran into more Demon Chosen! Akira and Yasu displayed their mother's powers? Not only that, but they tested Asami, Shiro and Yasu for some reason. What does all this mean?_

_Digimon Magog_

_The Tides of Fate Begin to Turn_

_Chapter 1_

            Taichi grumbled as he reluctantly pushed his hand from beneath his sheets to locate the alarm clock on his nightstand. After what seemed like hours, he slammed his hand down on the button, stopping the dream-ending screech. He threw his sheets off and climbed out of bed. He yawned loudly, stretching his arms above his head so far back that his t-shirt rode up his abdomen, showcasing his small stomach bulge.

            "Damn it, I've got to lose this weight," he mumbled.

            "No more late-night meals for you."

            He glanced over and saw that the door leading to Sora's office was wide open. He was used to seeing his wife awake before him, it happened every day, as she was the one who normally prepared breakfast and forced their two children to get ready for school. Yet, when he saw her at her artist's table, he knew why she was awake so early.

            "Couldn't sleep?" he asked, stepping inside to kiss her.

            She shrugged. "Your snoring was really loud, you should try a decongestant tonight."

            He frowned. "I don't…"

            "Don't snore, yeah, you've been telling me that for fifteen years," she sighed. She turned to him and sighed, "I had…another dream…"

            The tone of her voice told him what kind of dream it was-one of her precognitive visions. It was one of her ablates as the Daughter of Fire, she was the Second Messenger, destined to receive brief glimpses of events that had not yet come to pass. Catherine Rupert, the Daughter of Light, was the First Messenger, but, with her death sixteen years ago, Sora was now burdened to bear whatever message the fates decided to reveal. "How bad was it?"

            "Not that bad…at least, not like some of them." She shivered, remembering her first two visions-the destruction of the Digital World, and the death of Taichi and Yamato. "But, this one felt…important, I don't know, so I spent most of the night drawing it." She mentioned to the table, where a page from one of her large sketch pads was covering with colors and lines, images of visions which only she could see.

            It was actually a number of images, mostly unrecognizable figures and symbols, but two images stood out, one of two adult men and two teenagers-a boy and a girl, standing together, facing a large, dark amorphous shadow, and the other one was a group of nine figures dressed in armor, standing firmly side-by-side.

            "What does it mean?" Taichi asked.

            Sora pointed to the humans, "I think these are you, Kasumi, Yamato, and I think Shiro."

            Taichi blinked, moving his head closer-he could see that one of the men had brown hair, while the girl standing next to him had a long pony-tail-his daughter's normal hairstyle. The other man had blond hair, while the boy standing next to him had the same color of hair. "Oh yeah, but what are we staring at?"

            She shrugged. "I don't know…but whatever it was, was enough to wake me up." She shivered, "I don't like it, whatever it is."

            Taichi just shrugged as he walked to the bathroom. "Eh, whatever it is, we'll deal with it, we always do."

            She could not help but smile as her husband's attitude, he really had not changed since he was younger. She chuckled, pulled her robe over her nightgown, then walked into the kitchen. Piyomon was already there. "Oh, I didn't know you were awake."

            The pink bird stared at her, "We've been partners for how long? When you have a bad dream, you don't think I don't know?"

            Sora chuckled, "Yeah, I guess you're right."  She joined her partner as they prepared the _Miso_ soup they would be having that morning. When Sora noticed that it was nearing seven o'clock, she walked into the hallway. She knocked on the first door on the right, "Kasumi, it's time to get up!" She did the same to the second door, "Akira, wake up!"

            As she walked back to the kitchen, she was surprised to see the first door open and her daughter stumble into the hall. "Mom, I don't feel so good…"

            "What's wrong, honey?" she asked.

            Kasumi was clutching her abdomen, "My stomach hurts…"

            Sora stared at her daughter, she had dark shadows beneath her eyes and her cheeks were pale. "Have you been up all night?"

            She nodded quickly. Sora pushed her bangs out of the way and felt her forehead. "Well, you don't feel warm…"

            Kasumi quickly moaned, "My stomach really hurts…"

            Sora stared down at her daughter. "You know, you're getting better…"

            "W…what?" she asked.

            Sora smiled, "I can easily tell if you have a fever, but how am I going to know if your stomach really hurts, right?"

            Kasumi blinked. "W…what are you talking about? Y…you think I'm tricking you? Heh…heh…"

            Sora ran her finger across her daughter's cheek, a yellowish substance coming off in her hand. She held her finger up. "Don't waste your make up like that. Now get ready for school."

            Kasumi grumbled and stormed back into her room, slamming the door shut.

            "What was that?" Taichi asked when Sora walked back into the kitchen.

            "Just your daughter trying to skip school again…" she sighed, sitting down at the table.

            Her husband frowned. "How come when she gets in trouble she's _my_ daughter?"

            Agumon X and Piyomon chuckled from their side of the table.

            Akira, Kasumi and their partners appeared a few minutes later. Kasumi's face was now bright red, no doubt from scrubbing her face to remove her facial cosmetics. Sora smirked, "Kasumi, you're feeling better already, huh? You've got some color back into your cheeks."

            She was about to snap 'Shut up," but then remembered to whom she was speaking. She just silently ate her breakfast.

            "You have your speech, right?" Agumon X asked.

            Taichi blinked, then patted his shirt pocket. He nervously reached into the pockets of his jacket, which was hanging over the back of the chair. "Oh, yeah, it's right here."

            Akira looked to his father. "You have to give a speech today?"

            "Yeah, _baka_, don't you pay attention?" Kasumi asked, "He's going to give a speech in the middle of the city today, and he gets to ride there with the Prime Minister!"

            "Don't call me stupid, stupid!" her little brother snapped back.

            Kasumi glared at him, "Dad's gonna speak in front of the entire city, and he gets to be with the Prime Minster, don't you think that's cool!"

            Sora smiled slightly, "_So that's why she wanted to skip today, she wanted to see her father.…Maybe I should let her….No, she should have just asked instead of trying to trick me."_

            She glanced over at the clock. "You kids had better go, or you'll be late."

            "Yeah, what a shame that'd be," Kasumi muttered as she walked over to the door. She and Akira slipped on their shoes.

            "Bye Mom, bye Dad!" Akira shouted as he walked through the door.

            "Good luck Dad," Kasumi called as closed the door.

            Agumon X looked to his partner, "We'd better leave too."

            "Good luck," Piyomon smiled.

            Sora hugged Taichi, "I'll be at Noriko's, she's got the larger screen t.v. Good luck."

111

            "Good morning, Kasumi."

            The pony-tailed girl pulled her head out of her locker and saw Asami standing next to her. "Oh, hey."

            Her cousin moved her head to one side, "Are you feeling okay?"

            She sighed, "_Yes,_ unfortunately…"

            She blinked. "What?"

            Kasumi sighed, shaking her head, "Never mind." She began to drop books into her back, "Aren't you pissed that you couldn't see the big presentation today?" She growled, "Damn it, I can't believe I've got to be here in fucking school!"

            "I like school," Asami replied.

            Kasumi snickered, "And that's why you're a nerd, you're even worse then Shiro!"

            "What's worse then Shiro?"

            The two girls saw their friend walking towards them through the crowded halls. "Nothing," Kasumi sighed, "Is your Dad gonna be there today?"

            "You mean at the event later? Yeah, your fathers asked him to come."

            "Well, it sucks that we've got to be here instead of watching them!" she growled, then a smile crossed her lips, "Hey, you wanna sneak out?"

            "Skip school?" Asami gasped, "You can't do that!"

            "Why not?" she asked, "This is going to be a major news conference for Chosen, don't you think that's important?"

            Shiro hesitated, "Maybe…"

            The pony-tailed girl grinned. "Great! It doesn't happen until after lunch, so that's when we'll make our break!"

            The teenage boy stuttered, "Um, y…yeah, b…but…."

            Kasumi turned to her cousin," You sure you don't want 'in' on this?"

            The other girl shook her head, "No, I'm not skipping school."

            She shrugged, "Your lost, but I'll tell you how cool your father looked." She reached into her bag and pulled out her cellphone. She dialed the first number on her programmed list, "Hey Yuki….Who the hell do you think it is?, 'Who is it?' Yeah…now listen, I'm sneaking out around lunch…yeah, Shiro and Psychemon are gonna join us….no, she's being her normal 'goody-two shoes' self…."

            Shiro looked to Asami, "How do you put up with her?"

            The other girl only shrugged, "She's my older cousin….I have to…"

She turned back to Shiro, "Meet me in front of the lunchroom later, and we'll break out! Yeah!"

111

            Yamato was sitting perfectly calm in the limo seat, his arms crossed and his head hanging low, eyes closed. "How can you sit there so calm?" Taichi asked, "I'm jumping out of my skin!"

            The blond man raised his head to give his friend an odd glance, "You're nervous? What for?"

            "I don't know," he said, adjusting his tie, "It just feels like my skin is crawling."

            "Maybe you have fleas?" V-mon exclaimed.

            Yamaki glared down at his partner, "I told you not to embarrass me!" He looked over to the 'normal' human in the limo, "I'm sorry, Mr. Prime Minister."

            The Japan-leader chuckled. "No, no, I am enjoying this…'introduction,' very well." He glanced at the three digimon, "I am glad to have finally met these 'partners' of yours. I can remember that summer when these digimon destroyed Odaiba."

            "Myotismon," Taichi clarified, "And yeah, we remember that too…He came for my sister."

            The Prime Minister blinked, "Really?"

            "Yeah." He looked to Yamaki, "Does she still have nightmares?"

            He nodded. "Yes, unfortunately."

            The Prime Minister glanced at them. "Now, so I understand this," he pointed at Yamaki, "He is married to your sister, right?"

            They both nodded. "Yes," Yamaki answered.

            The Prime Minister chuckled, "That is good. I always felt that family members made the best coworkers. There might be…conflicts, but in the end, it is always resolved, mostly because no one wants to talk about it at family gatherings."

            The three men and their partners each chuckled slightly. Taichi was staring out the window. "It looks like we're here."

            The others looked out their windows as well and saw that they had arrived at the Diet Building. The streets had been closed off for at least a mile, yet the limo still had to slow to a near stop. Stretching before them, was a sea of people, reporters, watchers, and, as those in the limo were certain, more then a few hidden Chosen.

            While the limo driver attempted to carefully maneuver his way through the crowd, the windows were surrounded by reporters, screaming inside, trying to get their attention. "Can I ask you a few questions?"

            "Would you mind speaking to us?"

            "Can I interview you?"

            Yamato looked to the others. "Damn, how do you deal with this?"

            Taichi shrugged, "Just ignore them."

111

            Unbeknownst to the passengers in the limo, the family members were amongst those hidden within the crowd-except for Yamaki's daughter, who was obediently paying attention to her History teacher. Kasumi and Shiro blended into the crowd perfectly-even though the teenage boy was concern that their school uniforms were mark them as school-skippers, the teenage girl simply told him to, "stop freaking out." Their partners were hidden as well-both draped in thick trench coats.

            "I'm dying in here!" Yuki Agumon whined.

            "Keep quiet!" Kasumi hissed, "Do you wanna get caught? Just pretend you're my little brother or something."

            "Okay, I can do that, uh…shut up you stupid ass!"

            The pony-tailed girl lightly kicked her partner in the side. "Oh, sorry, my foot slipped."

            Shiro and Psychemon just shook their heads. The teenage boy placed his hand over his eyes to shield them from the sun as he scanned the stage. "Hey, there's our Dads!"

            Kasumi squinted her eyes and saw her father walking onto the metal platform that had been placed at the bottom of the Diet Building. Standing beside him was Yamato and Yamaki, and trailing behind them were their digimon partners, disguised in trench jackets as well. The teenagers glanced down at their similarly disguised partners and sweated slightly.

            The Prime Minister was the first to speak. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you all for coming here today…"

            Shiro was listening intently, this was the Prime Minister of Japan, after all, and he was right there! He did not want to admit it, but maybe it was a good idea to sneak out with Kasumi. The teenage girl, on the other hand, was bored out of her mind. She wished that the Prime Minister would just shut up so she could hear her father. She did not give a rat's ass about anyone else speaking…

            "…."And so, I'd like to introduce the Vice-Minister of Digital Affairs, Taichi Yagami."

            "Finally," Kasumi sighed, "Its 'bout time."

            Taichi rose from his seat near the rear of the stage and walked over to the podium. The two politicians greeted one another briefly before Taichi approached the microphone and began to speak. "Thank you, I'd like to begin…."

            Kasumi held her head high as her father began to speak. She watched happily, grinning proudly. Her father was important, and she felt important as well. She could not wait to prove that to that bastard Gabe.

            She would never know if she was the first to hear the mysterious sound, but when she did notice it, time appeared to slow to a stop. She could see a small shadow fly past her in the sky, and she also saw that same object strike her father directly in the chest. Whatever that object was, it was moving so fast that the force of striking Taichi was enough to throw him backwards into Yamato and Yamaki, who were seated directly behind the podium. The crowd fell silent, unmoving, all except one of the trench-coated figures on the stage, whom Kasumi deduced was Agumon X, running to Taichi's side. Unfortunately, he, too, was soon struck by a barrage of the mysterious objects, dropping him to the ground.

            Kasumi was just staring, her mouth hanging open, and her eyes staring forward. That is, until she felt someone shaking her shoulder. "Kasumi!"

            She blinked, and the world came crashing back onto her senses. People were screaming, the crowd was running in all directions  Shiro was shaking her, "Kasumi!"

            "What?!" she screamed.

            "Your father!"

            She turned back to the stage, her uncle and the Prime Minister were tending to her father, but Yamato and Gabumon X were no where in sight. She twisted around, staring at the building roofs. She saw three figure upon the building behind them-Yamato and Garurumon X were there, as was a figure draped in a black cloak of some sort.  She clenched her fists in rage and plowed through the people, Yuki Agumon instantly following.

111

            Yamato saw the figure on the roof seconds after Taichi and Agumon X were attacked, so he and his partner ran to catch the assassin before he escaped. He knew that Yamaki would take care of Taichi, and he was determined to catch the…and he hoped, _would-be_ killer. The X-Chosen and his partner arrived on the building roof within minutes, do to Garurumon X using his thick claws as climbing tools, scaling the side of the building in no time. When the two of them arrived on the roof, they were slightly surprised to see the figure standing there, apparently waiting for them. "Yamato Ishida and Garurumon X, I was surprised to see ya down there, we didn't know ya all'd be coming."

            "We didn't know until this morning," the blond man said, narrowing his eyes. He knew by the sound of the attacker's voice, that it was a female-an older teenager or young adult, judging by the tone. "And you're going to burn in hell for what you did to Taichi!"

            She chuckled. Her face was covered by the shadows of her hood, all that was visible was her left eye-a glowing red eye. Yamato could not even be sure that he was not staring at something that was not really there-like a ghost, or an invisible girl.

            "Who are you?" he demanded, "Why did you attack Taichi Yagami?"

            She chuckled again. "The answer to ya question…none of your fucking business! As for the second question…I was ordered too."

            "Ordered?!" he snapped "Who?"

            "Sorry, sugah, ain't gonna happen."

            He growled. "What should I do?" Garurumon X whispered, "Attack her?"

            "I don't see a digimon anywhere," he whispered back, "She's probably not a Chosen, but she's got to be dangerous."

            "I'm just gonna charge her, try to scare her into surrendering."

            Yamato sighed, "All right, just be careful."

            Garurumon X slowly marched forward, staring at their mysterious opponent. He was going to try to scare her into surrendering by roaring loudly. He was about to open his mouth when the mysterious figure suddenly lurched forward. She stopped herself from crashing into the ground by bending her left leg. Yamato could now see that she was wearing a pair of leather-like pants, and as she rose back to a standing position, he was able to see a dark red tank top around her torso. He also saw a pair of weapons hanging from both sides of her waist. As he moved further up her body, he saw that her hood had fallen backwards during her fall-she was clearly an American, with a head of shoulder-length, curly brown hair. She also had a metal square over her left eye, with a glowing red screen. She was also wearing a headband with an image of a small horned animal-a deer, most probably, displayed like a trophy.

            Yamato suddenly remember that his opponent had fallen forward. "What happened?"

            "Something hit her," Garurumon X replied, "An attack…"

            Unbeknownst to Yamato or Garurumon X, the mysterious eye piece on her face was actually displaying information, like a miniature computer monitor. "ANALYZING ATTACK….DINO BURST….ALLOMON…"

            She chuckled and slowly turned around, "Kasumi Yagami I presume?"

            The teenage girl was clenching her fists so hard that her nails were threatening to tear into her skin. "You fucking bitch! What did you do to my father?!"

            She only smirked.

            "Who the fuck are you?!"

            "Look, you came in late, we've…" she mentioned over her shoulder to Yamato and Garurumon X, "…all ready been through this."

             Kasumi was shaking with rage. "I'm gonna kill you!"

            "Calm down!" Yamato snapped.

            "Calm down?!" she snapped.

            Yamato was about to yell back, when he noticed Gururumon leaping onto the roof-Shiro was seated atop the giant wolf's back. "Dad! Kasumi!"

            The cloaked figure chuckled. "Well, looks like a party."

            Yamato glanced at the other Chosen. "All right!" he shouted, "We've got her on three sides, if we attack together…"

            "Burn her to a crisp!" Kasumi shouted. Her partner fired another Dino Burst at the cloaked figure, but she gracefully leapt into the air, executing a back-flip, bringing her leg around, kicking the ball of fire into the air, where it exploded in a burst of flame. The Chosen and their partners covered their eyes, and when they looked again, their mysterious opponent was gone.

            "Damn it!" Kasumi shouted, stomping her foot into the roof, "Damn it!"

            "What the hell is the matter with you?!" Yamato screamed at the teenage girl.

            "What?!" she snapped back.

            "Your digimon attacked her!"

            She crossed her arms. "Yeah, so?"

            "You could have killed her! You had no idea she would be able to survive it! And we could have had her, but now because of you, she's gone!"

            "You saw what she did to my father!" Kasumi screamed back.

            "And you came running up her to kill her?" he shouted back, "You didn't even care to see if your father was even still alive? He could be dead right now, and all you cared about was running up here to fight! Don't you care about anyone but yourself?"

            She felt a pang in her heart. She looked over the ledge to the stage at the bottom of the Diet Building. Taichi and Agumon X were lying down, Yamaki and V-mon kneeling beside them. "Y…y….you didn't stay either!" she shouted.

            "Your uncle was there!" Yamato shouted back, "And in case you're wondering, yes, he's still alive, but he and Agumon were hit by three arrows directly in the chest! They may not even survive!"

            She felt another sharp pain in her stomach. Yamato took a deep breath and turned to his partner. "Anything?"

            Garurumon X shook his head, "No, her scents gone."

            "Damn it," Yamato muttered. He looked to his son, "We're going to need Gururumon's nose."

            "Uh, sure, Dad, no problem," he said, taking quick glances to his friend. Kasumi and Allomon were just staring off the building ledge.

            Yamato sighed again, "If we can't find anything, we might need to call Yasu too."

            "Yasu?" Shiro blinked, "Why?"

            "If we can't get a scent, we might need Labramon." He jumped onto his partner's back, "Let's move. Kasumi, get to your father."

            The teenage girl just nodded numbly. Garurumon X and Gururumon, along with their partners charged forward, jumping from roof top to roof top. Allomon looked down to her partner. "Kasumi…"

            "Just turn back to Yuki Agumon," she simply said, "I don't want you freaking out the hospital staff."

111

            Sora had been at Noriko's watching the news conference. As every news station in the city was covering the event, the redheaded woman saw the horrible event-the sight of her husband flying backwards, crashing into her brother-in-law and the Prime Minister, was enough to bring her to near-unconsciousness. Thankfully, Noriko was there to keep her planted firmly in reality.

            "Holy fucking shit!" Noriko gasped, "Oh my fucking god…."

            Even though her mind was near collapse at the shocking sight, her best friend's statement was enough to keep her grounded. Subconsciously, she knew this, and, subconsciously, she would thank her, but right now, she could only stare at the television. "T…T….taichi…"

            The camera quickly turned back to the reporter. "Taichi Yagami has just been shot, I repeat, Taichi Yagami has just been shot…!"

            "What about Agumon?!" Piyomon screamed, "What about Agumon?!"

            Plotmon ran to her friend's side, "It'll be okay…"

            Noriko turned to Sora, then back at the screen, then back at her best friend. The redheaded woman was staring numbly into the television screen, completely silent. Piyomon was equally as silent, after witnessing the trench coated figure that she knew was Agumon X fall to the ground as well. Noriko was not sure what she should do, so she just walked over to Sora and stood beside her, if nothing else, she could just be there.

            Then the telephone rang. Noriko ran over and grabbed it as fast as she could. "_Mushi Mushi_…Yeah…yeah we just saw it….Okay…okay, got it."

            She ran back to her friend, "Sora, that was Mitsuo, they're taking Taichi to the hospital."

            "W….where?"

            Noriko grabbed her keys, "I'll drive you."

111

            Reika Ootori and Megumi Onodera had arrived at the hospital early enough to corner off halls and rooms, all to secure Taichi's identity as a Chosen. Yamaki had called Jyou right before calling Noriko. The physician was waiting inside the hospital hall along with a staff of nurses and other DATS doctors. When the doors opened and the stretcher came rolling inside, he gasped. Lying on the stretcher were Taichi and Agumon X, arrows protruding from their chests.

            "Oh god…"

            Gomamon X turned to his partner, "Jyou…?"

            The man shook his head, "No, it's fine, they're going to be fine!" He ran to the stretcher and began to examine his friends as they were being pushed into the emergency room. Kasumi and Yuki Agumon were there as well, having come in after the stretcher. Neither of them could begin to understand what the hospital staff was doing, Jyou was yelling something about checking blood pressure, or doing some other kind of test or something…

            Jyou and the others pushed the stretcher into the emergency room, closing the doors behind them. Kasumi was about to follow, but Yamaki grabbed her. "Wha-? Uncle Mistuo?"

            He did not answer, only pushed her into one of the chairs. "Your mother's coming," he said, "Wait here for her."

            She looked to the doors, "But…"

            "Stay here," he said again.

            "Where are you going?" Yuki Agumon asked.

            "I've got to get back to base, " he sighed, running down the hall, leaving the teenage girl and her partner alone.

When Sora charged into the hall and saw her energetic, tomboyish daughter sitting calmly and numbly in her seat, her hands even resting atop her lap, she felt another pang in her stomach. "Kasumi…"

            The teenage girl looked up just as her mother embraced her tightly. "Mom, stop, you're embarrassing me!"

            "How's your father?" she gasped.

            She mentioned to the emergency room, "He's in there with Dr. Kido."

            Sora gave a slight smile, "Well, at least I know Jyou'll make sure he's okay…"

            "Mom, he….there were arrows in his chest, Agumon too…"

            "Agumon too?" Piyomon asked.

            Kasumi nodded, "Yeah…" She felt emotion start to rise within her once again, rage overtaking her. She clenched her fists, "Damn it!" _"If Mr. Ishida hadn't of scared me like that, I'd be beating that fucking bitch into the ground right now!"_

111

            Yamaki and his disguised V-mon were silent as they sat on the train car. The middle-aged man was staring at the floor, his head hanging low. "They'll be alright," V-mon said from beneath his jacket.

            His partner sighed, "Taichi, Yamato and their partners are the strongest guys I've ever met, and I don't just mean in physical power either, but to see Taichi and Agumon so close to d…to death…." He took a deep breath, "What am I going to tell Hikari?"

            V-mon raised an eyebrow. "You didn't call her?"

            He sighed again, "No. I'm debating whether to call her before we get to base, or should we just skip base and tell her in person?"

            "Plotmon's probably at home."

            He frowned. "Yeah, I know…"

            V-mon turned to look back at the floor. His eyes drifted to a young woman sitting a few seats away, her face covered by her long hair, which was dull green in color. What caused him some concern was that it did not appear to be an artificial color. "Mitsuo…"

            "I see her," he replied.

            "She's been staring at us since we got on."

            "I know."

            "What are we going to do?"

            Yamaki did not answer, instead staring at the front of the train cab. When the vehicle slowed to a stop, he lightly elbowed V-mon in the shoulder as he jumped to his feet. "Come on."

            "But…this isn't Shinjuku…" the digimon responded, following his partner. The Chosen and Digimon exited the train and walked through the crowd of people on the platform. Yamaki glanced over his shoulder and saw that the green-haired woman was following. The blond man maneuver through the sea of people, as he and V-mon exited the station and stepped onto the street. The mysterious woman was still trailing.

            "What now?" V-mon asked.

            "Just keep walking," he replied.

            "Going somewhere specific?"

            "Someplace that's abandoned."

            In the end, Yamaki chose a local university's all purpose stadium, which was not being used. He and V-mon walked to the center of the field, then turned quickly. The green-haired girl was just stepping onto the field. She was wearing a knee-length green leather jacket, with a black t-shirt and leather skirt beneath.

She smirked. "I knew ye was leadin' me here,' she spoke in a melodious Irish accent, "I should have known that ye would have spotted me on that train."

            "Who are you?" Yamaki demanded, "And why were you following us?"

            She nodded slightly, "Ye may call me Flidais."

            "Flidais?" V-mon asked, raising an eyebrow.

            The girl nodded. "That's right, and the reason I was followin' ye…well, I've got my orders to kill ye, nothin' personal."

            "Kill?" Yamaki asked.

            "Orders?" V-mon asked.

            Yamaki sighed. "My guess…the assassination on Taichi wasn't the only one…" He narrowed his eyes at Flidais, "All right, how many more are being targeted?"

            Flidais smirked, "Sorry, but that was all I was authorized to give, I cannae say anymore." She chuckled, and an elongated tongue slipped between her lips, licking around her chin before slipping back into her mouth.

            "What the fuck?" V-mon gasped.

            "What are you, exactly?" Yamaki demanded.

            She ignored his question, instead crouching down before propelling into the air. Yamaki and V-mon craned their necks and watched her sail through the air. Once she was overhead, she threw down a barrage of metal projectiles from the sky. V-mon and Yamaki both leap to the side, the metal stars impacting into the ground.

            "You'd better evolve."

            "What?" V-mon gasped, "Against a human?"

            "Did you see her tongue?" he snapped, "And the way she jumping into the air? She's not human, she can't be." He took a deep breath, "Besides, I think this would be a good time to test the device."

            V-mon nodded slowly, "Right, I gotcha."

            "Device?" Flidais asked, landing gracefully on all fours, "What device?"

            Yamaki reached into his pocket and emerged with a large, digivice-like object. His opponent raised her eyebrow, "What be that?"

            The DATS commander only smirked, "I suppose you could call it a mega digivice, a super-powered digivice, and it should allow us to Fully Evolve."

            "Truly? If that works, we'll need to update our files…"

            Yamaki pointed the face of his 'Mega-digivice,' towards his partner. Miraculously, the screen began to light…

            "V-mon evolve to…Tankmon!" V-mon transformed from his small, blue dragon form to a mechanical creature with tank treads for legs and missile barrels for arms and a larger one for a nose; covered with green armor.

            Tankmon glanced over his body, "Tankmon? Tankmon!" He twisted to Yamaki, "Why am I Tankmon? What happened to Fladramon?"

            Yamaki was equally as confused, "I…I don't know, I never used this before…Maybe it just needs more power…" He twisted his head around and spotted the wires that fed power to the stadium lights. He smiled slightly and ran.

            Flidais laugh was heard cackling through the stadium. "And you two are supposed to be commanders of DATS? Ha!" She held out her hands, her nails growing into long, curled claws. She used her legs to propel forward, running at an incredible speed. Tankmon could only see a blur rushing towards him. He whipped his gun-barrel hands around and fired at that blur.

            "Machine Gun Arms!"

            Flidais once again leapt high into the air. Tankmon twisted his gun arms to the sky, firing bullets at her for as long as he could, but she quickly passed behind him. He pivoted on his waist, twisting completely around and continuing firing. Flidais did not appear to know that he was able to do perform that impossible technique. Yet, she was able to dodge Tankmon's projectile, if only barely.

            "Damn.." Tankmon exclaimed.

            Flidais chuckled. "That was a good move, I'll give ye that, real sneaky."

            Tankmon pointed his gun arms at her. "Machine…."

            Flidais opened her mouth and her tongue suddenly leapt forward, wrapping around Tankmon's body, binding his arms tightly to his torso. The tongue even snaked around the missile launcher-nose, pointing it towards the ground. This rope-tongue was still attached to Flidais's mouth, and the more-than-human woman would have made an arrogant remark if she could have spoken, but Tankmon could tell she was laughing inside.

            "That bitch is so full of herself…" he muttered.

            Flidais ran her finger over her elongated tongue. She pulled it tightly, then released her grip, the tongue bouncing like a rubber band, the vibration moving towards Tankmon, and as it passed along the portion binding the mechanical digimon, it felt like a jackhammer on his body.

            "Hang on," Yamaki said to himself as he heard his partner's scream. He had managed to break the circuit box connecting the power supply to the wires feeding the lights. Once he manipulated the wires to the way that he wanted, he shoved them into back of the Mega-digivice. The mechanical object began to activate and Yamaki twisted his head back to the battlefield. Tankmon's body was glowing brightly. His tank treads changed back into legs, his gun barrels were replaced by actual hands, and his entire body became covered in silver armor. "Tankmon evolve to Knightmon!"

            His suddenly increased-bulk pulled at Flidais's tongue, until she was forced to release her grasp, and the tongue whipped back into her mouth. "Fully Evolved, eh?" she asked, "It looks like I'll have to kick it up a notch!"

            "Why don't you just shut up already?" Knightmon snapped. He grabbed the sword from his side and swung into the air, "Berserk Sword!"

            He charged forward, the sword raised high into the air. Flidais took a massively deep breath, her chest filling up to an impossible size, like a massive balloon. Knighmon had to stop short, his eyes unbelieving what they was seeing. His opponent suddenly exhaled, a sonic boom of air smashing into the armored digimon. He slid back on his heels, having to jab his sword into the ground to slow himself to a stop. When he looked back, he saw that Flidais was gone. He had seen her attack style twice, so he slashed his sword into the air, sending a wave of electricity crackling above him," Electric Slash!"

            He heard his bolt of lightning smash into something, and smirked as he watched Flidais fall back to the ground. She climbed back to her feet, but Knightmon was already in front of her. "Berserk Sword!" He jabbed his blade deep into his opponent's shoulder. She grunted in pain, glaring at Knightmon. She swung her feet around and kicked the armored digimon into his chest with all of her might. He sailed backwards, tumbling backwards on the ground. He jumped back to his feet, gripping his sword tightly. Flidais was clenching her wound, which was dripping a greenish blood. She only growled, knelt down again, and jumped high into the air, clearing the top of the stadium and vanishing on the other side.

            Yamaki ran to his partner's side, "Knightmon, well done."

            The armored digimon slid the sword back into his sheath," She ran…I guess she knew she couldn't stop me, eh?"

            "Don't get cocky," he replied, "She was sent to kill us, someone else wanted Taichi, how many more are…" He suddenly gasped and began to run towards the exit.

            "Where are you going?" Knightmon demanded, running after him.

            "Hikari!" he shouted back.

111

            Hikari hated parent-teacher conferences. It was not that she disliked speaking to frustrated or angry parents, it was that she hated the disappointed expressions when she was forced to tell them that their child was not living up to his or her potential.

            She smiled as politely as she could muster as the man and woman stepped into her classroom. They were younger then her, in their early twenties, their son must be their first child. She bowed. "Hello, I am Hikari Yamaki."

            The man bowed, "I am Suguru Daimon, and this is my wife, Sayuri."

            Hikari mentioned with her hand to two chairs she had placed in front of her desk. The young couple sat down and Hikari gently lend against the front of her desk. "I would like to begin by saying that Masaru is a very…energetic and lively child. He does not have any problems expressing himself, if there is something on his mind, he says it." She smiled again, "And that's really good, social behavior learned in elementary school can have a major impact later in life. I was a shy child until I was eight or nine, so I know personally how important these social interactions can be…"

            They both just nodded, obviously not fooled by Hikari's 'positive' argument. So she took a deep breath, "But, I do have some bad news, Masaru has not been performing as well as he could be."

            "What do you mean?" Sayuri asked.

            Hikari reached for the eight-year-old's folder. She was about to open it and show the couple the 50 percent he had received on his latest test, when the door to the classroom suddenly flew opened. The principal walked into the room. "Mr. Mori," she gasped, "I…um, I'm in the middle…" She was attempting not to sound rude, but…

            The principal gave a slight bow to the Daimons, "Please excuse me, Mrs. Yamaki, could you see me in the hall for a moment?"

            "Excuse me," Hikari said to her 'guests,' and entered the hall. The Principal closed the door behind her.

            "I just received a call from a Sora Yagami…"

            Hikari felt a strange, unpleasant feeling in her stomach, "Sora? What did…?"

            "Your brother was…your brother was shot earlier today…"

            Hikari felt that feeling spread through her entire body, "T…Taichi was s…shot?"

            The principal quickly told her the rest of the mention, the hospital where Taichi was being treated. The middle-aged-woman ran back into her classroom and grabbed only her purse, leaving the rest of her supplies behind. She ran out of the school and ran towards the sidewalk.

            "About time you got out."

            She twisted around and saw Plotmon X crawl out of the bushes that surrounded the front of the building's perimeter. "Plotmon?"

            Her partner had a cellphone in her mouth, which she dropped to the ground. "I called ten minutes ago! I had to pretend to be Sora, or they weren't going to listen to me…"

            "How did you know?"

            "Mitsuo's secretary called _me_," she explained, "But it was only a message, I guess they're pretty busy right now."

            "Taichi was shot, what do you think?" Hikari gasped.

            "Then let's go," Plotmon X exclaimed, "Nefertimon can get us there in no time."

            Hikari nodded and reached for her digivice, which was in her purse. Plotmon X evolved to Nefertimon X and the middle-aged woman leapt onto her back. She was thankful that she had decided to wear her dress pants today instead of the skirt or dress she normally wore. Her partner took to the air and began to fly towards the hospital. Nefertimon X knew her partner was upset.

            "They'll be okay, they're stronger then this."

            Another pang shot into her heart, "T…they?" she gasped, "Oh no, Agumon too?"

            Nefertimon X nodded sadly, "Yes."

            As the two females flew through the air, they were unaware that they were being watched by another hovering figure, following a good distance behind. This figure did not go unnoticed.

            "Someone's following us," Nefertimon X said.

            "Following us?" she gasped, "Who's following us up here?"

            "I can smell him…or her…or it, I don't know, it's just there."

            Hikari turned slowly to glance over her shoulder and saw that there was indeed someone following them: a male dressed in jeans and a ripped, black t-shirt. He also appeared to be in his early teenage years, as zits and pimples covered his face. He held in his hand a chakram-type weapon, but he seemed to have no means of flight at all. "A digimon?"

            "No," Neferimon X replied.

            "No?" she gasped, "Then…he's human?"

            "Or he used to be…"

            Hikari glanced back over her shoulder in order to examine the boy more closely, and she was just in time to see the chakram sailing towards them. Hikari used her legs to squeeze against Nefertimon X's side, and the Holy Beast digimon dropped down, the weapon sailing over their heads. The weapon acted like a boomerang, twisting around and sailing back. Nefertimon X twisted around fully and watched as the man caught the weapon in his right hand.

            "Oh man," he said, "I almost had you."

            "Yeah, keep thinking that," Nefertimon X muttered.

            "Who are you?" Hikari asked.

            "My name's Nanook," he replied, stifling a yawn, "And I've got to kill you, so let's just hurry up and get this over with, alright?" He threw the chakram again, and Nefertimon X countered by firing her Rosetta Stone, which smashed into the bladed weapon, yet to her horror, it tore through the thick stone!

            "Ahh!" Nefertimon X gasped, dropping down, the chakram and the debris of the stones shot over their heads. The chakram twisted around and came back to land in Nanook's hand. Nefertimon X took a chance. She fired two beams of red energy from her elegant head dress. Nanook blocked with his chakram, the beams ricocheting off of the spinning blades. When he moved the weapon away, his face still displayed the same bored expression.

            "Why couldn't you just give up? Damn, now I've got to work…"

            "What the hell is the matter with this guy?" the Holy Beast asked.

            "I don't know," Hikari answered back, "But he reminds me of Taichi, Yamato, and Daisuke back when we were kids. Remember when Oniichan was 16? Mom had to force him just to do something besides video games…"

            "Just a lazy teenager? How come a normal, human teenager is able to fly and block my Curse of Queen?"

            "I don't know…"

            Nanook yawned loudly, then raised his hand that held the chakram. He shot forward, raising the chakram into the air. Nefertimon X braced herself for the attack, but at the last moment, her opponent twisted his other hand around and placed his palm on her side, near to Hikari's dangling leg. The Holy Beast began to roar in pain and shot back. Hikari stared down at her partner's side and saw a sight that nearly made her vomit: the white fur had been replaced by oozing, blistering boils-each one pooping white and black puss. "Oh my god! Nefertimon…"

            "I…I'm fine," she hissed through her teeth, "I…it's hurts like hell, but I can…manage…"

            Nanook came in for another attack, this time flinging his chakram again. Nefertimon X moved much slower, due to her injury, and could not dodge in time. The bladed weapon dug into her rear thigh, and Hikari was thrown forward, her face hitting her partner's neck.

            "S…sorry," she hissed.

            Nanook caught his returning chakram and used its momentum to twist himself around in the air and fling it again, adding to its kinetic energy. The injury was causing pain throughout all of Nefertimon X's body, and she was frozen in place. Hikari and her partner watched helplessly as the weapon came towards them…

            A bolt of lightning suddenly shot up from the ground, blasting into the chakram, sending it twisting out of control. It still returned Nanook's hand, but missing Hikari and Nefertimon X entirely. Also, the lightning blast damaged enough of the weapon so that when Nanook tried to catch it, it tore through his hand.

            All eyes drifted to the ground, and saw standing upon the building roof directly beneath them was Yamaki and Knightmon. "Mitsuo?" Hikari gasped, "W..who..why are you with Knightmon?"

            The armored digimon chuckled, "It's me, V-mon."

            "V-mon?" Nefertimon X managed to say.

            Nanook frowned, "Man, _two_ Fully Evolved? Damn, I didn't sign up for this…And my hand…" He shrugged, "Well, later." He turned and began to fly away until he disappeared.

            "What the hell?" Knightmon asked.

            "Just…a lazy…fighter," Nefertimon X mumbled, descending downward.. Once Hikari jumped onto the roof, the Fully Evolved regressed to Plotmon X. Thankfully, the skin infection caused by Nanook had vanished. The Mammal digimon was still very weak, however, and the middle-aged woman needed to carry her.

            "Mitsuo, what about Taichi?" she gasped.

            "I was just heading to DATS," he replied, "I've got to alert the others."

            "About what?" she asked.

            "Taichi, you and me were attacked, I'm sure it's not going to end there. Who's next?"

111

            Yamato and his son were still chasing Taichi's would-be-assassin. Both wolf digimon were successfully able to locate her scent, and easily followed the trail to a more derelict area of the city, specifically an abandoned lot next to a condemned hospital, and a half-standing office building. Garurumon X slowly trotted inside, smelling the ground.

            "Anything?" Yamato asked.

            "The scent's strong," his partner replied, "Real strong."

            "She's here somewhere," Gururumon replied, glancing up at the rooftops over head.

            Her shrill voice was suddenly heard, chuckling loudly. "I guess there's no point in trying to hide from a bloodhound, eh?"

            They looked to the sound of the voice and saw their opponent standing atop one of the buildings. She leapt off the ledge and gracefully landed on the ground. "Dad!" Shiro gasped, "She…she's not human, is she?"

            Before Yamato could reply, the would-be assassin snapped, "Hey, I might have some…modifications, but I'm still human, which is more then I can say for you freaks!"

            "We're bringing you in," Yamato said, "Surrender now, or we're going to use force."

            She grinned, reaching for the weapons at her side. "Crossbows," Yamato muttered, "It was her all right."

            She held the crossbows in a pose before her. "All right, come and get me, boys! And don't hold back, I'm tougher then I look…"

            "Artemis, you greedy little bitch!"

            She growled, glancing over her shoulder. "Just great…"

            The DATS members stared in confusion as another figure appeared, this one slowly walked out of the debris of the abandoned hospital. This one was a male, dressed in a pair of camouflage pants and a shirt that appeared too sizes too big. It was held around his waist with a belt whose buckle was the same deer-headed engraved as the archer's headband. The sleeves, however, completely covered his hands and arms, leaving them hidden under flowing cloth. The most shocking aspect of this individual was that his face was covered entirely by a metal face mask.

            The one he called 'Artemis,' turned to him. "Fuck off, Orion, this is my…"

            "Ishida was my prey, bitch!" he snapped, "You interfered in my hunt!"

            She shrugged, "Hey, what can I say, when ya got 'em in your crosshairs, ya fire."

            Yamato narrowed his eyes. "_I was his prey?"_

            Orion stepped forward, "Get lost, this is my fight!"

            Artemis sighed and put her weapons back into their holsters on her hips. "Suit yourself." She waved at Yamato and the others, "Bye, sugah." She then began to mysteriously run up the side of the hospital building, vanishing once she reached the roof.

            "Hey!" Shiro shouted. Gururumon was about to run after her, but Yamato shouted out to them.

            "Stop!"

            "What?" the teenage boy gasped.

            "We've got her scent, we'll get her later," Garurumon X replied.

            Orion shrugged, "Your brat can attempt to hunt her, I'm just interested in you."

            Yamato hesitated, then nodded to his son. "When you find her, call for back up. We have no idea how strong these guys are."

            His opponent chuckled, "When I'm done with you, you will know…"

            "Good luck," Shiro called before his partner charged down to the street.

            His father looked to his opponent, "Who are you?"

            "As you have probably heard, I am Orion, and you have the pleasure of becoming my prey!" He swung out his arms then pulled them back quickly, the fabric of his shirt billowing backwards, revealing metallic gauntlets on his wrists. Two large blades slid from an unseen slot further up his arm down his wrists, giving him the perfect wrist-mounted weapon. He charged forward, swinging his left blade at the large wolf. Garurumon X, along with Yamato, who was still riding atop him, shot into the air. Orion's blade swung at empty air. He turned his head to the sky, following the wolf as he landed on the side of one of the nearby buildings. Orion followed, and Garurumon X propelled himself away seconds before the blade slashed into the building, shattering the brick and mortar.

            Garurumon X flipped around in the air and blasted his Fox Fire at his opponent. Even in mid-air, Orion was able to avoid the energy blast by executing a perfect back flip of his own before launching forward in mid air, slashing into Garurumon X's chin. Yamato held tightly as his partner fell to the ground, but he was able to land gracefully on both of his feet. Orion landed a moment later, a few feet before them.

            "Well?" Yamato whispered to his partner.

            "He's strong, really strong."

            "Fully Evolved?"

            Garurumon X nodded. "We'd better try."

            Yamato nodded. He knew that evolving to Mega required much more energy then Fully Evolved, and it would leave them less tired afterwards. He leapt from his partner's back, and Garurumon X quickly evolved to Weregarurumon X. The wolf man held his arms open, his claws fully revealed.

            Orion grinned, holding up his wrist-mounted blades. He gave a yell and ran forward. He swung his blades into Weregarurumon X's side. When the wolf twisted to avoid the thrust, the mysterious opponent swung his other blade around, slashing the wolf's side. A large gash appeared, dripping digital blood.

            Yamato gasped, "Are you okay?"

            His partner clutched his side. "I won't lie, it hurts…"

            Orion chuckled, "Of course it hurts, for you have been touched by the mighty!" He made a motion with his hand, and a nightmare came to life, as the pool of Weregarurumon X's digital blood suddenly came to life, flowing into the air like a bending river. The X-Chosen and his partner stared in disbelief, despite the miraculous things they had seen in the life, this was like nothing else.

            Orion pulled his arm back, and the river of blood did so as well. The assassin began swinging his arms back and forth, and the blood mimicked every move, slamming into Weregarurumon X's face with the force of a lead brick. The wolf man quickly grew tired of this and executed an attack of his own. "Kaiser Nail!" He whipped his claw around, sending a stream of energy that incinerated the blood river and actually knocking Orion back. He was about to continue his assault, but Orion jumped back to his feet.

He flew forward with such speed that Weregarurumon X operated on instinct alone, luckily able to kick Orion's chest. The mysterious assassin flipped into the air and vanished. The wolf's head darted from side-to-side, seeking out his would-be-killer. He was unaware Orion was dashing around behind his back, and when the opportunity was right, he attacked, slashing the back of the wolf's shoulder with his blade. Fur and skin was split, and Weregarurumon X instantly pulled his neck back. Orion punched into the injury as hard as he could. The wolf man fell onto his knees before regressing to Gabumon X once more.

            Yamato instinctively went to run to his partner's side, but Orion appeared before him in a flash. The assassin chuckled. "So, Colonel Ishida, I have to say, I'm disappointed, I would have thought someone of your reputation would have put up a better resistance, but prey is…prey!" He jabbed his blade deep into the blond man's chest. The heart was only grazed, but his lung had been pierced. The X-Chosen stumbled, clutching his side, before collapsing to his knees and falling onto his face. The pain coursing through his body should have made him jump to his feet, but he was barely conscious.

            Orion laughed. "Farewell." He jumped into the sky and vanished from sight.

            Yamato struggled as hard as he could, reaching into his pocket and removing his D-terminal. With his last once of strength, he entered an emergency call and sent the message to DATS command. With that done, his hand fell motionless to the ground and his world exploded into darkness.

To be continued………

**NAME:** Kenji Kido

**GENDER:** Male

**AGE:** 16

**ETHNICITY:** Japanese

**OCCUPATION:** Student

**PLACE OF BIRTH:** Tokyo, Japan

**DATE OF BIRTH:** September 25, 2012

**KNOWN RELATIVES:** Jyou-father, Kiku-mother

**GROUP AFFILIATION:** DATS

**SUB-GROUP:** X-Chosen

**EDUCATION:** High school

**HEIGHT:** 5' 8"

**WEIGHT:** 140 lbs.

**EYES:** Brown

**HAIR:** Bluish

**POWER:** Normal Chosen

**DIGIMON:** X-Antibody, Otamamon-Gekomon

**WEAPON:** None

**BIO:** Kenji is the only son of Jyou and Kiku Kido. He is much like is father in appearance and attitude. He tends to worry and fret over small problems, yet when trouble arises, he is the first to run to his friends' sides. Like his father, he is the 'medic' of the group, studying the means to heal both human and digimon.

1

**NAME:** Elizabeth "Lizzie" Barton.

**GENDER:** Female

**AGE:** 14

**ETHNICITY:** Japanese-American

**OCCUPATION:** Student

**PLACE OF BIRTH:** New York City, New York, United States of America.

**DATE OF BIRTH:** April 21, 2014

**KNOWN RELATIVES:** Michael-father, Mimi-mother, Gabe-brother.

**GROUP AFFILIATION:** DATS

**SUB-GROUP:** X-Chosen

**EDUCATION:** Middle school

**HEIGHT:** 5' 3"

**WEIGHT:** 115 lbs.

**EYES:** Blue

**HAIR:** Blond

**POWER:** X-Antibody, Normal chosen

**DIGIMON:** Alruamon-Red Veggiemon

**WEAPON:** None

**BIO:** Lizzie is the daughter of Mimi and Michael, and while resembles her father, her attitude is clearly her mother's. She cares for her appearance above all else, and has a close relationship with her brother.

1

Author's Note: A pretty quick update, but that was only because I had written at least half of this chapter before deciding to put the "Tides of the Fate Begin to Turn," _after_ "The Demon's Quest," Originally, they were going to be switched.

Till next we meet.


	9. Tides of Fate Begin to Turn:Chapter 2

_My name is Mitsuo Yamaki, and I am a Chosen, though I haven't been one as long as my fellow Chosen. I first received V-mon only about 15 years ago, while my wife, Hikari, had her Plotmon for at 25 years. Hikari…our marriage almost ended before it even started, because I choose to keep my real life quiet, my government connections. I was part of the agency Hypnos, which was tasked with watching the 'Digital Phenomenon,' which included Hikari and the others. When she found out, she was devastated, but we were able to overcome those problems and now we're happily married with a daughter, Asami._

_            My brother-in-law, Taichi, and I founded a new agency, DATS, which handles the digital problems in a more direct manner. We were giving a speech on this agency, when an assassin attacked Taichi, nearly killing him. I was attacked by a enhanced human named Flidais, while Hikari was attacked by someone named Nanook. We both were able to drive them off, but Yamato was hunting down Taichi's assassin, Artemis, he instead encountered Orion, who nearly killed him as well. What's going on here?_

_Digimon Magog_

_The Tides of Fate Begin to Turn_

_Chapter 2_

Yakutsk, in the Sakha Republic, of the Far Eastern Division of Russia, was a city with far-sweeping temperatures-a city of climatically extremes. While the winter temperatures could reach well below zero degrees Fahrenheit, summer temperatures could be over 100. Why Anna decided to move here, she would never know.

            She stood on the balcony of her apartment, feeling the cool breeze against her bare hands, while the sun cast down on her face. She could hear the sounds of the city below, but she had learned long ago to filter the varying levels of sounds. She could almost picture her home…even if she had never seen it. She had become blind fifteen years ago, seven years before her move.

            She heard the sound of the apartment door opening. "Mom, I am home."

            She smiled slightly and walked back inside. She heard the floor boards creaking, and knew where her son was standing. She ran towards him, and before he had a chance to run, she embraced him tightly. "Oh, how was your day at school?"

            He pushed himself away from her. "Mom!"

            She grinned, knowing how much he did not like being held like that. "So, how was your day?"

            He shrugged. "Okay, I guess. For p.e. class, we were playing basketball outside, but because of the wind, none of my shots made it into the basket."

            "Yes," his mother replied, "It has been very windy today…"

            "What?"

            She smiled. "Nothing. So, what would you like for dinner?"

            "Oh, actually, I was going out with Galina tonight."

            She sighed. "Oh, right, yes, I had forgotten." She placed her hands together, "Would you like a snack?"

            "Yeah, did you bake something?" He began to sniff the air, "Brownies?"

            She nodded, "Yes, for my little boy."           

            He sighed and rolled his eyes. He ran into the kitchen, where Anna's Penmon was staring in the oven, while a red-colored version of Penmon had his flipper-hands in the soapy water. This bird glanced over his shoulder and saw the teenage boy standing in the doorway.

            "Aleksey!" he shouted, running at the boy.

            The teenager held up his palms. "Muchomon, Muchomon! Wait, stop!"

            It was too late, the large red bird ran into him, knocking him onto the ground. Penmon and Anna held the two back to their feet, the teenage boy's sides covered with soap and water. "We made you something!" He waddled back to the table, where a plate full of brownies was lying on the table.

            While the teenager and his partner began to chat, Penmon stood next to Anna. "They're pretty cute."

            "Yes, I know." She felt a tinge of pain in her voice. Even though she had accept her blindness long ago, one of the only two regrets she had in her life, was that she had not even seen what her child looked like. Penmon told her that Aleksey resembled Anna, with blond hair and blue eyes, but, unfortunately, he also inherited her BD-2 infection, as Aleksey was missing one of his eyes, and he was also forced to wear fake teeth, as the virus took away his own mandibles.

            They walked into the living room and Anna found her favorite chair, sitting down in the cushions. She heard the sound of the television turn on, and she knew that Penmon was watching. "It was so windy today," he said, "I wonder if tomorrow's gonna be any better."

            He turned to the news channel to wait for the forecast, but the news anchor was introducing the next segment. "An odd item was found in the Lena River early today. It was discovered by a cargo ship coming to Yakutsk's sea port. This item-a sword, was found when it ran into the hull of this ship, while it came into port. The authorities believe that the recent earthquake could have jarred lose river soil, bringing the sword to the surface. As of right now, no one is certain the origin of the sword, but testing is taking pace at the Russian Academy of Science branch university, right here in Yakutsk University. More as it develops."

            Penmon looked to Anna, "Did you here that, cool, huh?

            His partner was staring at the television screen, even though she could not see it. "Penmon," she said, "We need to get that sword"

111

            Nearly four hours later, Anna and her family were standing in the office of the president of the Yakutsk State University. She was seated in one of the chairs, with Aleksey standing nervously behind her.

            "Mrs.Trepov," the president said, "I don't quite understand…"

            "I know it sounds crazy," Anna replied, "But you must believe me, that is the Claymore of Wind-that is my grandmother's sword!"

            "Yes," he sighed, "But…how can you be so sure? Especially-and I don't mean this to sound the way it will, but, how can you be so sure if you didn't even see it?"

            "The wind told me."

            He blinked. "Excuse me?"

            Aleksey sighed and rolled his eyes. "Mother, you sound like you belong in an asylum."

            "It is the truth," she said, turning her head in the direction of her son's voice.

            The president stared at her. "Could you explain further?"

            "I used to live in Moscow," she said, "But, for the past five years, I felt an unexplainable pull towards this area. I followed the breeze, and settled here, and now I know why, that claymore has been calling to me."

            "Calling to you?"

            Aleksey was blushing fiercely, trying to hide his face.

            "Yes," his mother responded to the president's question.

            "You do realize that the sword appears to have been there for centuries?"  

            "You're wrong," she said, "It fell to Earth 15 years ago, after the Digital World's destruction…."

            "Mom!" Aleksey snapped.

            "Digital World?" the president asked, "You mean that…that 'thing' Japan is so focused on?"

            She hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Yes."

            "And how exactly are you involved?"

            She hesitated again. "I…I cannot say…"

            "All right then, if this sword is that….that Claymore of Wind that you mentioned, how are you connected to it?"

            "It belonged to my grandmother."

            "I see…"

            "I know this sounds crazy, but you must believe me. I must have that sword!"

            He sighed again, "Mrs. Trepov, even if I did believe you, I can't just give you this sword, it is very valuable, so without any form or proof…"

            "You must!" she gasped, "It cannot stay here!"

            "Now listen," he said, "The only reason we even let you in here is because of your government connection, but I can't give even you such an artifact, sorry."

            "But…"

            She felt two hands on her shoulder," Come on Mom," Aleksey said, "We'd better go."

            Anna reluctantly allowed her son to lead her out of the office and through the halls of the university until they were once again outside. "I should have brought Penmon," Anna said, "He would have to believe me…"

            "I don't think that was even the problem," her son replied, "Even if you told him you were a DATS agent, he wouldn't give you the sword unless he had to. Besides, do you really think that…that sword is one of those weapons?"

            "The Weapons of the First Chosen," she clarified, "And yes, that is Svetlana's Claymore of Wind, the weapon my grandmother wielded in her mission for the Digital World."

            "All right, if we can't get it, what are we going to do?"

            His mother smiled slightly, "Oh no, we are going to get it, we just need to speak to your father."

            As soon as they returned home, Anna ran for the telephone and dialed a number that she knew by heart. A man's voice answered, "Hello?"

            "Hello Makar, it is Anna."

            "Anna? Oh, this cannot be good…"  

            She chuckled, "I need a favor."

            Makar sighed, "As I thought, what is it?"

            "There is a claymore…."

            "Yes, I have seen the news," he sighed, "And you need this weapon for a reason connected to this Digital World?"

            "Yes, I knew you would understand."

            "We were married, correct? Leave everything to me, you will receive a call from the University President by tomorrow."

            "Thank you," she smiled, "I may need to take Aleksey to Japan for a little while…"

            "As I said before, I understand, I only ask that I may speak to him before you go."

            "Of course, thank you." She disconnected, and was about to leave, when another thought entered her mind. She dialed another familiar number. "Hello, Lynna? It is Anna…yes…yes, good, t…there is a reason that I called you. Have you felt an odd…pull at some point in the past fifteen years…?"

111

Shiro was the first to receive Yamato's emergency call from his D-terminal via his own communication device. He was torn between following Artemis and returning to his father. He knew his father would never send such a sign unless he was in serious trouble, so, he broke off pursuit and turned to the area where he left Yamato and Orion. Seeing his father lying in a pool of his own blood made him face the possibility of death, but upon seeing the unconscious Gabumon X beside him brought him some relief, for if his father's partner was still there, then Yamato yet lived.

            He removed his shirt and tied it tightly around Yamato's torso, binding the wound tightly, halting the flow of blood. He hoisted his father and Gabumon X onto Gururumon's back and the two charged towards the hospital where Jyou was desperately trying to save Taichi's life.

111

            The nurse had to keep wiping Jyou's forehead so that the sweat did not drip into his eyes. He was having enough difficultly repairing the damage to Taichi's chest. The surgeon had successfully removed the arrows, but the projectiles had done more damage then originally thought: they had torn through arteries, veins, and, unfortunately, organs. Taichi's heart had been pierced, and it was trying every ounce of Jyou's reserves, both physically and mentally, to repair it. His latest stitching job was holding, thankfully.

            "One down," he said, eying the other lacerations, "Only about a million to go.."

            His wife and fellow surgeon, Kiku, was closely watching the monitors. "Heart rate dropping…"

            "Damn it!" Jyou shouted. He took a deep breath, "_Stay calm, just think this through. You can do this, but not if you're panicking, just stay calm.._

            The doors suddenly flung open and a teenage boy rushed inside. "Kenji?!" Kiku exclaimed, "Get out of here!"

            "It's Mr. Ishida!" he snapped, "He…he's got a massive laceration through his chest!"

            Kiku stared at Jyou. Her husband stared in shock for a moment. "I'll take Yamato," she offered. She grabbed her son and dove through the doors, entering into the hall. "Don't rush in there like that again!"

            "But…"

            "I know you're just want to help, but now isn't the time!" She dropped him into a seat next to Kasumi and Shiro, then ran into the second operating room. Noriko had been standing by the door, staring into the glass window. She had wanted to speak to Kiku, but the surgeon was already busy with the other doctors and nurses. She only stared with a blank expression on her face.

            On the other side of the hall, Sora was much the same, staring through the glass, watching as Jyou desperately tried to save the life of her husband. Kasumi and Shiro were both as silent as their mothers. Kenji noticed how quiet and still the hall was…if he could not help his parents, maybe he could help here…

            "How's your sister?" he asked Shiro.

            "I think she's at DATS."

            "She and Akira are with my aunt and uncle," Kasumi sighed, still keeping her gaze on the floor, "Mom told Aunt Hikari to get them."

            Kenji stared at the girl, he had never seen her this way before. "He'll be fine…" He turned to Shiro, "…they'll _both_ be fine, my Mom and Dad will save them, don't worry."

            "Of course my Dad'll be fine!" Kasumi snapped, "He's not gonna die like this!" She flinched, then stared back at the floor, "Dad…"

111

            Half a world away in New York, Michael was just returning home from work. He stepped into his penthouse apartment. "Hey guys, I'm home."

            There was no response, so he walked into the living room and found his entire family with their eyes glued to the plasma screen television. He knew at once something was wrong; his son and daughter were never home at this time of the evening. "What's…"

            Mimi turned to her husband, "Michael, it's…Taichi's been shot!"

            He blinked for a moment, unable to believe what he had just heard, "W…what?"

            "It's on all the news channels," Gabe explained.

            "Mitsuo called before," she explained, "Yamato was attacked too, they…they don't know if they're going to…"

            "Wait, attacked?"

            "Mitsuo and Hikari were attacked too," she explained, "Oh, Michael, what about Sora and Noriko? And Shiro and Yasu and Akira and Kasumi…"

            Gabe rolled his eyes, "I'm sure she'll be fine," he mumbled, "Probably doesn't even care about what happened to her father…"

Mimi would have yelled at him, but she was still speaking to her husband, "Michael, I'm worried about them."

            He nodded. "We'll leave right away if you want." He lightly rubbed his chin, "We'll have to take the jet though, I doubt we'll get any immediate flights…"

            Mimi had already turned to her children, "Do you want to come, or are you going to stay here?"

            "I wanna go," Lizzie spoke up, "I never get to do anything like that here, Gabe hogs everything."

            Her older brother stared at her, "What did I do?"

            "Just get packed," their father said. Both teenagers ran into their rooms, but Mimi moved slower.

            "I'm sure they'll be fine, they're both so strong."

            She gave him a quick smile before walking into their bedroom. Once she was gone, he sighed deeply, "_I only wish I could believe that…"_

            A few hours later, the Barton family was walking to their private jet, which was housed in a hanger at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Michael had called ahead and the crew had fully prepared the massive vehicle for departure. That section of the runway had been cleared, so their digimon partners walked without any covert guises.

            Their captain was waiting for them. He gave a slight nod as they approached. "Good evening."

            "Are we ready to take off?" Michael asked.

            He nodded and mentioned to the open door with his arms. "Please take your seats and we'll be off."

            The Barton family ran up the stairs into the aircraft. The passengers sat in the lush, cushioned seats and buckled tightly. The captain's voice sounded over the speakers, "Prepare for take off."

            "I hate this part," Betamon X mumbled. Out of the four digimon, he was the only one that was not humanoid in nature, so he had to be strapped into the seat sideways, the G-forces smashing into him at a far greater strength then the others, as they were seated in the correct way for which the seats were designed.

            Once they were safely airborne, Gabe and Kotemon ran over to the Nintendo _Mnemonic_, which was attached to the large-screen television. "Whatcha playing?" Lizzie asked.

            "_Zelda._

            "Which one?"

            _"Quest for Link's Soul._"

            Lizzie was starting at the screen and was slightly surprised to see a female character. "You're playing as Zelda?"

            "Duh!" he sighed, "Link's dead, Quest for Link's soul…get it?"

            She sneered at him, "Well I'm glad to see that there's more female main-characters."

            "They should be supporting characters, nothing more," he replied.

            His sister huffed and crossed her arms. Gabe snickered, he knew that comment would cause that reaction.

            "Gabe!" Mimi snapped, "Stop teasing your sister!"

            "Mom, it was just a joke…"

            She sighed, shaking her head, "Well, I agree with Lizzie, boys aren't the only ones that play video games."

            Michael and Betamon X took that opportunity to sneak out of the passenger area. Mimi had been nagging him for some time to invest in the video game market. Even as a child, he was never too interested in video games, what was the point of playing a knight in a game, when you could appear as an extra in your father's _Robin Hood_ movie?

            The duo decided to see what was being served for dinner that night, so they entered the kitchen area. They stopped short at the door when they saw that the room was completely empty-in fact, it was still spotless, it had not even been used. Michael and Betamon X glanced at one another. "Maybe the pilot knows something?" the digimon suggested.

            The middle-aged man nodded. "That's a good idea."

            They made their way through the corridors of the plane. As they passed by a set of windows, Michael glanced outside, and another problem was added to his list. "We're flying pretty low…"

            "Huh?" his partner asked.

            He pointed out the window, "We're flying lower then altitude, a lot lower…" He began to run through the hall, followed by the jumping Betamon X. When they reached the cockpit, when they _saw_ inside the cockpit, a sick feeling pierced the pit of their stomach-there was no one flying!

            Michael dove into the room and stared at the control panel, "It's on automatic," he said, with a small hint of relief, "But where the hell did the pilot go?"

            "What about the crew?" Betamon X asked.

            "If the pilot is behind this, then he probably left them on the ground, but where is he…?"

            Both of their eyes slowly drifted to the ceiling, "Oh, I've got a bad feeling about this."

            "If I evolved to Megaseadramon, I could just fly up to the roof."

            Michael was silent for a moment, then nodded. "All right."

            A few minutes later, then had used the opening hatch to climb to the roof. The plane was flying at such a low altitude that the pressure was not a problem. The wind speed was easily countered by a special, hazmat-like suit and a pair of magnetic boots, which Michael had taken from the repair crew's supplies; that crew was missing as well. These suits had become standard equipment as the result of a famous lawsuit in 2019, nine years earlier.

            When they arrived on the plane's roof, they were shocked to see that their mysterious pilot was indeed standing on the roof…without any protection of his own. He was a large man with broad shoulders and bristling muscles. His arms were crossed, yet his face was expressionless. "I was wondering how long it would take you to come out here."

            "Who are you?" Michael demanded.

            "You can call me Hoakah," he answered.

            "Hoakah?" he repeated, raising his eyebrow, "All right, 'Hoakah,' what's going on here?"

            "I am here to kill you," he simply replied.

            "What?" Betamon X asked, "What did we do to you?"

            "Nothing, and I mean you no ill-will, but those are my orders."

            "Orders? From who?"

            He did not answer.

            "Okay, how are you able to stand out here without any kind of protection? Can you tell me that?"

            "I have become more then human," he answered, "Now, I do not wish to speak any longer. I will kill you, and bring your scalps back as a symbol of the completion of my hunt."

            Michael turned to his partner, "You'd better evolve…"

            "Evolve? Against him?"

            Hoakah spoke, "You need not fear an uneven fight, as I've said, I've become more then human, you will not harm me."

            Michael once again turned to Betamon X. "Do it."

            His partner nodded, "Betamon X evolve to Seadramon X!"

            The large serpent pulled his head back and fired a blast of freezing air from his mouth, "Ice Spear!"

            Hoakah raised his right forearm, and muttered, "Turtle…"

            Seadramon X's attack would have struck his opponent, if a near-transparent turtle shell had not appeared, deflecting the blast into the air.

            "What the?" the digimon gasped.

            Hoakah knelt down, "Buffalo," he muttered. He launched forward and bashed his head into Seadramon X's stomach with speed and strength. The serpent digimon fell over backwards, but with a simple twist of his body, was able to return to his normal stance.

            "What is going on here?" Michael gasped.

            "My power is derived from the wildlife of the world," Hoakah replied, "The indestructibility of a turtle shell, the speed of a buffalo, and…" He held out his left hand, and the fingers grew into menacing claws, "The strength of a bear!"

            He dove for Seadramon X, who jumped into the air at the last moment, whipping his tail around to strike Hoakah in the back. His opponent stumbled forward, and Seadramon X brought his tail back around, intending to continue his combo. Yet, Hoakah grabbed the tail with his massive arms and twisted him around in the air. The serpent managed to grab hold of the tail wing with his teeth. The shockwave rippled down his body, flicking Hoakah back. The massive man skidded along the airplane roof before stopping near the cockpit.

            A thought shot through Michael's head. He had forgotten that the aircraft was flying by autopilot alone, and flying at a low altitude. If Seadramon X was not able to defeat their opponent soon, the plane could very wall crash into a mountain. "Seadramon! We've got to end this now!"

            His partner nodded, and began to evolve once more. "Seadramon X evolve to Megaseadramon X!"

            "Evolution will do you no good," Hoakah replied, watching as the Fully Evolved digimon appeared before him, "I will still defeat you." He knelt down and charged forward, using the speed of the buffalo once more. Megaseadramon X did increase in size, but his speed decreased. He was not able to move before Hoakah slammed his head into the serpent's stomach. Yet, the Deep Saver whipped his head around, his horn glowing large, "King's Javelin!"

            Hokah used the appearing turtle shell on his right hand to block Megaseadramon X's ramming horn. The Deep Saver moved his tail, whipping into his opponent's legs, actually managing to knock him onto his side. Megaseadramon X shot into the air, and created a massive storm of electricity within his horn. "Maelstrom!"

            He blasted the storm of lightning into the roof, and it ripped along the metal surface until it smashed into Hoakah, flinging him off of the airborne vehicle. He fell towards the Earth's surface, but flung his arms open and shouted, "Eagle!"

            His downward momentum stopped and he hovered within the air. He watched as the aircraft sped through the air, quickly growing smaller and smaller. "Well played, but my hunt still continues…"

            Michael and Betamon X quickly dove back into the aircraft and ran to the cockpit. The autopilot was still functioning. The middle-aged man turned to Betamon X. "You don't know how to fly, do you?"

            "No, you don't?"

            He sighed, "That's why I have a pilot." He jumped into the seat and put on the headset, positioning the microphone over his mouth, "Mayday, mayday!"

            "This is Tower, what is your emergency?"

            Michael hesitated for a moment, "Um, I don't know how to fly?"

When the plane finally touched ground, Michael's heart was pounding and he had a death grip on the controls. The voice speaking via his headset began cheering, "Way to go man! We're already sending a team to you, just sit tight."

            Michael slowly removed his hands from the controls and wandered out of the cockpit, still dazed. He and Betamon X found their way into the passenger area. His family came charging towards him. "Michael!" Mimi snapped, "What the hell is going on here?"

            He just collapsed onto the couch.

111

Back in Japan, specifically the DATS building, Yamaki was seated in his main operator seat, observing the news footage of Taichi's attack on the large screen before him. "Sir!" Megumi Onodera shouted from her own terminal, "I just received a call from Mimi Barton."

            "Mimi?" he asked, "What…?"

            "She and her family had heard of Taichi and were coming to help, but Michael was attacked by someone calling himself, "Hoakah."

            "What?"

            "He was able to drive him off, but she wanted us to know."

            Yamaki just nodded. "Yes, all right…"

            Reika Ootori, however, had been busy at her own terminal, "Sir, I think I've found something."

            The DATS commander ran over to look over her shoulder. "I did a search on the names we've got, Artemis, Orion, Flidais, Nanook and now Hoakah."

            "You found something?"

            "Yes, they're all hunting gods and goddess. Artemis was the Greek goddess of the hunt, Orion was another Greek god hunter, the son of the water god, Poseidon. Flidais is a Celtic goddess of the hunt, and Hoakah appears to be from Native American beliefs."

            "Hunters?" Yamaki sighed, "We're being hunted."

            V-mon turned to him, "But why? Are they doing it themselves, or did someone hire them?"

            Yamaki had no answers.

            Megumi tapped her earpiece, "Sir, I'm receiving another call."

            "Who?"

            "It's from those Karastuki Numemon that Noriko and Mimi befriended."

            "What?"

            "They've spotted the Demon Chosen."

111

            Hikari was doing her best to keep Akira and Yasu occupied, so they would not have time to think about their fathers. She had them using the computer room to do their schoolwork, but as it was getting close to dinner, she brought them to the cafeteria.

            They grabbed some trays and began to pick items from the counter. "I want a hamburger, Mrs. Yamaki," Yasu said, practically jumping out of her skin.

            "Okay, okay," she chuckled, placing the food item onto her tray, "Do you want some fries?"

            "Yeah!" she grinned.

            Hikari grave her a small plate of fries. She turned to her nephew, "What would you like?"

            Akira thought for a moment. "Pizza."

            She nodded and handed him the plate with two slices. Hikari grabbed a bowl of rice and pickled vegetables. "All right, let's find a place to sit."

            The two preteens ran over to a table where their partners were already eating their own dinner. Akira and Yasu began to devour their dinner. "Poor kids," she sighed.

            "They seem fine to me."

            She turned and saw Plotmon X standing beside her. "I mean because of their fathers."

            Her partner just shrugged. Hikari mentioned with her head, "Come on."

            They joined their younger counterparts at the table. Halfway through their meal, Hikari spied her husband entering the cafeteria. "Mitsuo, are you going to join us?"

            "Sure!" V-mon grinned, "Just let me get something." He ran to the counter and began to pile food onto his tray.

            Yamaki made a mention with his head, "Can I speak to you?"

            Hikari's face paled as she followed him away from the table. "What's wrong?" She asked, glancing to Akira and Yasu, who were still too focused on their meals.

Yamaki shook his head, "I still haven't heard anything."

            His wife simply nodded.

            "That's not a bad thing," he added, "But…we've got another problem; the Demon Chosen have been spotted."

            She nodded.

            "But we're stretched thin as it is. I don't think Sora and Noriko are going to want to leave the hospital, and Jyou and Kiku can't leave. I could go, but…"

            "You want me to go?" Hikari asked, "But, what about the kids?"

            "I'm sure Reika or Megumi would watch them."

            "But they're busy too." She sighed, "I don't want to just drop them off with Sora and Noriko…" She smiled slightly, "I could just ask my parents." She grabbed her cellphone from her purse on the table. She walked back to Mitsuo before dialing. "Hello? Mom? No…I haven't heard anything else, but, I have a mission with DATS, can you watch Akira and Yasu Ishida tonight?" She smiled, "Okay, thanks. I'll be right over."

            "She will?" Yamaki asked.

            Hikari nodded. "Just let me tell Sora and Noriko." She dialed another number, "Sora, its Hikari. I need to go into the Digital World…no, it's nothing, just stay by Taichi's side. I'm just telling you that I'm going to drop Akira and Yasu off at my parents…Are you sure? Um, yes, I suppose. Okay, I'll see you soon then, bye."

            "What is it?"

            Hikari sighed, "She wants me to bring Kasumi and Shiro too. She said they're just sitting there, and she wants them to take their minds off of this."

            He hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "All right, just be careful."

111

            After depositing the preteens at the elder Yagamis and picking up Kasumi and Shiro, along with Kenji (who volunteered since he was at the hospital anyway), Hikari and her small team were walking through the sunny grasslands of the Digital Region of Clotho-the 'Light Continent."

            "This is the Digital World, huh?" Kenji asked, "Wow, this isn't so bad."

            "Wait'll you see the volcanoes," Yuki Agumon muttered.

            "Volcanoes?" Kenji's Otamamon asked.

            Shiro looked at his friend with a questioning expression. "Why didn't you come with us when we had our first mission?"

            He shrugged, "I don't know, I think it had something to do with having too many people or something…" He frowned, "I'm always left out of everything…"

            Shiro looked to Hikari, "Do we know which Demons they saw?"

            "No," the middle-aged woman shook her head.

            "I hope it's that bitch Yuuji," Kasumi muttered. She used her right hand to punch her left palm, "Damn it, I can't wait to shove my foot up her ass and wipe that fucking grin off her face!"

            "Kasumi!" Hikari snapped.

            "Sorry, Aunt Hikari," she mumbled. Yuki Agumon was snickering at her, "Shut up!" she snapped, lightly kicking her partner.

            "This is just a reconnaissance mission anyway," Plotmon X added, "We're just supposed to gather information."

            The pony-tailed girl crossed her arms, "Yeah…"

            Shiro was staring at his D-terminal, "According to the information that Mr. Yamaki gave us, the Demons were seen only a few meters away."

            "What exactly are we going to do when we see them?" Kenji asked. He mentioned to the grasslands, "There's not really anywhere to hide!"

            Shiro mentioned to his Psychemon, "We've encountered those two Demons enough time to get their scent, he'll be able to smell them long before we see them."

            "That's a great plan," Kenji replied, "But weren't there _two_ groups of Demons? What if it's the other one?"

            "I've got their scent," Yuki Agumon spoke up.

            "Yeah, but you can't smell like Psychemon," he sighed, "Oh man, this isn't going to be good…"

            Kasumi glared at him, "They're gonna hear your complaining if you don't shut your mouth."

            "Okay, that's enough," Hikari said.

            All this time, Psychemon had been sniffing the air. "I've got something!"

            "What?" Shiro gasped, "Where?"

            He continued to sniff the air, moving to the left. He led them through the grassland before stopping a few feet later. "They're over there."

            They each had to squint their eyes, but still found only dots in the distance. "Damn it," Yuki Agumon frowned, "Falcomon or Piyomon could see them."

            "We're just going to have to trust Psychemon's scent," Hikari said.

111

            They continued in silence as they crossed the grasslands before the _grassland_  abruptly stopped, giving way to the roaring ocean. There was no coast, no beach, no sand, not even any cliffs or sharp drop, just an abrupt end of the grassland.

            "Did I miss something?" Yuki Agumon asked, glancing around, "Where did they go?" She stared at Psychemon, "Or are you losing your touch?"

            He ignored her and continued to sniff the ground. "They were here…" He went up to the water's edge.

            "Oh no," Kenji sighed, "Let me guess, they went across the ocean?"

            "Yeah."

            "Just great!" the older teenager gasped, "What are we going to do now?"

            "We'll just have to fly over," Plotmon X said, shrugging her front shoulders.

            "My partner can't fly!"

            Otamamon hobbled to his partner and gently rubbed his lower leg, as that was as high as he could reach. "I can swim, remember?"

            Kasumi was pacing the ground, "Come on, they're gonna get away!"

            Plotmon X evolved to Nefertimon X, while Otamamon evolved to Shellmon. Shiro and Psychemon joined Kenji on his partner's back, while Kasumi and Yuki Agumon sat with Hikari on the older woman's partner. They flew across the ocean, guided by Psychemon's sense of smell. An island soon appeared before them, a massively large landmass, but no where near as large as a continent.

            "It's as big as Honshu!" Shiro gasped, leaning to try and examine more of the island.

            "Is this Atrops?" Hikari asked, "It's got to be, Atrops."

            "Fate and Chance, right?" Kenji shouted.

            Psychemon suddenly exclaimed, "They're down there!"

            All eyes turned downward. There was a large mountain looming before them, but at the landmass's base was a collection of houses, another village. They could barely see, but Psychemon's nose could smell the Demon's scent overpowering about a hundred other scents. The group landed a quarter of a mile from the village and begin to walk.

            They crawled through the trees until they were close enough to the outer perimeter of the settlement. They were standing, hidden in the brush, to the side of a large clearing in the midst of trees and buildings. The village was populated by Patamons, Plotmons and what Hikari surmised to be Lopmons. "This is a holy place," Plotmon X commented.

            The leader of the village was dressed in flowing robes, at least, he DATS team assumed he was the leader as he addressed the two Demons in the center clearing. "My name is Lord Holy Angemon, who are you? Why have you come to Fortuna?"

            The male answered, "I'm Tsuragi of the Uni Clan of Demons, this is Ami, and our partners, Neodevimon and Astamon."

            "Uni Clan?" Shiro whispered.

            Kasumi hit him in the shoulder, "Shut the fuck up!" she hissed.

            Ami's eyes move slightly to the bushes. She made a motion with her hands, but said nothing.

            "Why have you come here?" Lord Holy Angemon asked again.

            Tsuragi grinned and shrugged, "We were just out for a stroll and thought we'd visit Digiphi."

            The Angemon paled. "Y…you seek the Oracle?"

            Ami snorted, "See, he's not as retarded as you thought."

            The Angemon continued, "If you see her, turn back now, for she can only be summoned during the full moon." He mentioned into the night sky, where the moon was hovering over the horizon," It will be dawn in mere hours."

"You'd just better be quick about the directions then."

            Lord Holy Angemon narrowed his eyes at the two. "Why do you seek the Oracle? Answer me that."

            Tsuragi shrugged, "Just a few philosophical questions, the meaning of life, you know, shit like that."

            "The meaning of life is to aid those you care for."

            "Your _opinion_ doesn't count, we want the oracle."

            Lord Holy Angemon sighed, staring at the two. "I will not tell you of the Oracle's location, for you bring great evil with you."

            Ami smirked, "That's what Demon's do, and you'd better tell us what we want to know, or who knows what'll happen to your fellow villagers…"

            She glanced over at the three Digimon species. She made a motion with her hands. The DATS agents stared at Ami's Astamon, who remained standing motionless by her side. They thought that perhaps it was only an empty threat, when white, slithering tentacles suddenly erupted from the ground. They wrapped tightly around a dozen of the Child digimon, while the others ran, screaming in terror.

            The DATS team turned to Hikari. The middle-aged woman nodded, "All right, let's…"

            She was not able to answer, as more of the tendrils wrapped around her and the others. They were hoisted into the air, along with the trapped Child digimon. They watched as the tentacles lifted from the ground to the bay, where the source was revealed, a massive demonic sea creature. "Marinedevimon!" Hikari exclaimed.

            On the ground, Ami was grinning. "Nice catch, Shou!"

            A teenage boy dressed in a pair of pale yellow shorts and a matching t-shirt who was standing on Marinedevimon's shoulder was grinning. "Of course, what else did you expect?"

            Kasumi struggled against the tentacles binding her tightly, "When I get out of here, you're gonna be sorry!"

            Hikari's eyes turned to her niece, then to the teenage boy on Marinedevimon's shoulder, then to the two Demon children on the ground. "Another member of your Uni Clan?"

            Tsuragi nodded slightly, "Yeah, that's right."

            "I didn't know you had different groups."

            "Just the two," Ami explained, "Those inbred twins are part of the Decima Clan; you can tell because we have brown hair, while they've got blond."

            Hikari glanced to Tsuragi, then back at Ami. "You're related, aren't you?"

            The male mentioned to Ami, "Yeah, that's my baby sister."

            She glared at him, but said nothing.

            Tsuragi mentioned to Shou, "And that's our cousin, along with Kiyoshi."

            "Kiyoshi?" Kenji asked, "Who's Kiyoshi?"

            He mentioned over his shoulder, to where a steel-spider-like creature had wrapped his legs around Lord Holy Angemon. "I recognize that digimon," Hikari commented.

            "Infermon," Plotmon X replied, eyes narrowed.

            "And let's not forget his partner, Kiyoshi!" Tsuragi said, mentioning to the teenage girl standing a few feet to the side. She had long, brown, curly hair and was wearing a bronze t-shirt, bright bronze tights, and a yellow skirt and matching jacket.

            "There are more of these guys then we thought," Psychemon gasped.

            "You have no idea," Kiyoshi chuckled, crossing her arms. She turned to Lord Holy Angemon, "Now, I think you were about to tell Tsuragi about the location of Digiphi?"

            The leader of Fortuna sighed deeply. "Very well, it appears I have no choice." He turned to the large mountain which cast its shadow onto the village. "Up there, the very top, there you \shall find the remains of Digiphi."

            "I knew you'd see things our way," Neodevimon chuckled.

            Tsuragi nodded. "Shou, Kiyoshi, you stay here and take care of the others…." He glanced to the moon hanging in the sky, "We've got a time limit."

            The two Demons Chosen, along with their partners, exited the village and began to walk the path winding up the mountain. Kiyoshi glanced to Shou, "Well, what should we do with them?"

            Shou stood firmly on Marinedevimon's shoulders as the massive sea beast lifted up the DATS agents, wrapped firmly within his tentacles. "And you're suppose ta be the Chosen that protect the Earth, eh? You're not so tough."

            Yuki Agumon struggled against the tentacles, "Just wait until I get out of here, you're gonna be sorry!"

            Marinedevimon snorted, "Yeah, what's a puny Child gonna do against me?"

            "Just wait and find out!"

            Shiro sighed. "_She's just as bad as Kasumi. Both of them and their mouths…"_ As Marinedevimon whipped him around, water whipped into his face. He wondered for a moment where it came from, as they were high above the water, but then he saw his answer, Marinedevimon's entire body was still dripping with water. His previous thought about Kasumi and Yuki Agumon came crashing into his head. "That's it!"

            "What's it?" Kenji asked.

            Shiro ignored him and shouted to Kasumi. "Have Yuki Agumon attack!"

            The pony-tailed girl stared at him. "What? I'm not that stupid!"

            "Do it!" he shouted back, "Right on the tentacles!"

            She sighed, "Fine,…Yuki, do what he wants."

            The small dinosaur took a deep breath. "Frozen Wind!" Her exhaled breath struck the white tentacles, and the water droplets froze upon impact-but it was no mere sheet of ice, as every droplet of water within those appendages froze. The weight of the ice soon became too much, and the tendrils fell into the ocean, where they shattered upon impact.

            "Not a bad trick," Shou growled, "But you're still in the water! Get them!"

            Marinedevimon reached his hand into the water, but the surface of the bay exploded, as the evolved forms of the digimon erupted forth: Allomon, Gururumon, Shellmon and Nefertimon X. They grabbed their partners and jumped from the bay and landed firmly on the ground.

            Kasumi smirked, "I guess we're not in the water anymore, huh?"

            "That doesn't mean we won't still kill you!" Shou shouted.

            Hikari's eyes darted to the mountain path. "We need to go after them," Shiro said, "Who knows what'll happen up there?"

            The middle-aged woman nodded. "You and Kasumi go, Kenji and I will stay here."

            "What?" Kenji gasped, "We can't take him on!"

            "We have to," she replied, reaching for her D-terminal, "I'll call for help, but you…" She glanced to Kasumi and Shiro, "…have to go now before you lose their trail."

            The pony-tailed girl grinned. "Oh hell yeah!"

            Hikari stared at Shiro, "Don't do anything rash, understand?"

            He nodded. "All right, Gururumon, Kasumi, let's move!"

            The small group exited the village and ran up the mountain path. Shou and Marinedevimon stood perfectly still. Kiyoshi stared  in horror. "Shou, you fucking dipshit, why aren't you stopping them?!"

            He shrugged. "What's the point? Tsuragi and Ami'll just beat the shit out of them, it's no problem at all."

            Kiyoshi frowned, glancing over her shoulder to where her Infermon was binding Lord Holy Angemon with all of his might. "_We're stuck here, if Nefertimon X manages to beat you, there'll be nothing I can do…and if the other DATS agents get here, they'll go right after Tsuragi and Ami. This could turn out very badly."_

111

            "I'm bored," Yasu whined.

            Akira turned to his friend, "What?"

            The brown-haired girl threw down the Nintendo Wii controller. "I can't believe they used to play this!"

            Akira shrugged, "My grandparents don't play it, they just keep it here for when me and Kasumi come to visit."

            "Kasumi plays this?"

            He shrugged, "Not really. She complains too."

            Yasu narrowed his eyes, "_Too?"_

            Akira began to pale. "Um…"

            Mrs. Yuuko Yagami entered the living room with a tray in her hands. "Here kids, I made some snacks for you."

            "Snacks?" Yasu grinned. She ran over and grabbed the tray from Mrs. Yagami's hands. Akira just stared at the girl as she devoured the chocolate treats. 

            "Don't you want any?" Mrs. Yagami asked her grandson.

            "Nah, that's okay, Baasan."

            The elderly woman sat down on the couch, "It's girls that are suppose to refuse treats."

            "I love them!" Yasu grinned.

            Labramon and Falcomon were seated on the couch as well. They had been watching their partners play the video game, when the D-terminal in Falcomon's hand began to chime. "Akira!"

The redheaded boy paused the game and ran over to examine the device. "It's from Aunt Hikari."

            "Hikari?" Mrs. Yagami asked.

            "What does she want?" Yasu questioned.

            "She's in trouble," he said, "She needs help!"

            "Are we going?" Labramon asked.

            The two preteens glanced to Mrs. Yagami. The elderly woman chuckled, "There's one thing I've learned over the years, never try to stop  Chosen from doing their destiny. You can use the desktop computer in the office."

            "Thanks Baasan!" Akira grinned.

            "Yeah, thanks Mrs. Yagami."

            She nodded. "Just be careful."

            "We will!" they chorused as they used her computer to enter the Digital World.

111

            Neither Sora nor Noriko received Hikari's message, as they had turned off their D-terminals upon entering the hospital. Plotmon and Piyomon were curled up in the chairs, fast asleep, but their partners found no rest.

            Noriko glanced to the clock, "They've been in there for hours."

            "I know," Sora sighed.

Noriko ran a hand through her hair, then turned to her best friend, "Noriko, w…what are we going to do if…if they…?"

            "They'll make it," Sora said, "They will."

            Noriko just sighed. She rose to her feet and began to once again pace the floor. Sora, looked to the floor. She placed her hands together and closed her eyes, resting her hands against her forehead.

111

            Inside the operating room, Jyou was still attempting to keep Taichi from passing through death's door. The heart monitor began to beep at an alarming rate.

            "Heart beat's dropping!" a nurse shouted.

            "Vitals are nearly flat lined!" another surgeon called.

            "No!" Jyou shouted, "We're loosing him! Get the defibrillator!"

            The nurses wheeled the piece of equipment into place and Jyou grabbed the paddles. He rubbed them together. "Clear!"

            He slammed them into Taichi's chest. The heart monitor was still beeping. "Damn it!" He rubbed the paddles together again, "Clear!" He shoved them into Taichi's chest once more, "Come on, Taichi, come on! Don't give out on me! Come on! Damn it Taichi!"

            The heart monitor continued to blare that horrific, un-altering beeping.

To be continued…….

111

**NAME:** Mitsuo Yamaki

**GENDER:** Male

**AGE:** 39

**ETHNICITY:** Japanese

**OCCUPATION:** DATS commander

**PLACE OF BIRTH:** Tokyo, Japan

**DATE OF BIRTH:** September 30, 1987

**KNOWN RELATIVES:** Hikari-wife, Asami-daughter, Taichi-brother-in-law, Sora-sister-in-law, Kasumi-niece, Akira-nephew, Susumu-father-in-law, Yuuko-mother-in-law, Haruki "Yuushi" Makato-grandfather-in-law, (deceased),  Kumiko-aunt-in-law (deceased), Megumi-cousin-in-law

**GROUP AFFILIATION:** DATS-current, Hypnos-former

**SUB-GROUP:** Chosen

**EDUCATION:** Computer science

**HEIGHT:** 5' 8"

**WEIGHT:** 164 lbs

**EYES:** Blue

**HAIR:** Blond

**POWER:** None

**DIGIMON:** V-mon-(Fladramon)-Tankmon

**WEAPON:** None

**BIO:** Mitsuo Yamaki met Hikari shortly before the events of 'Apocalypse,' yet his true self was not revealed until Juro appeared. He was the leader of the Hypnos agency, a government group tasked with protecting Earth from digital threats. Though they did not view Hikari and the others as threats, he was unable to tell her his true occupation. She discovered it, and was close to ending their relationship, but after he received V-mon as a partner, they reconciled. They are not never more in love.

1

**NAME:** Sora (Takenouchi) Yagami

**GENDER:** Female

**AGE:** 40                              

**ETHNICITY:** Japanese

**OCCUPATION:** Fashion designer

**PLACE OF BIRTH:** Tokyo, Japan

**DATE OF BIRTH:** October 30, 1989

**KNOWN RELATIVES:** Haruhiko, father, Toshiko, mother, Jiro "Hidokoro" Kaji, grandfather (deceased), Taichi-husband, Kasumi, daughter, Akira, son,  Hikari-sister-in-law, Mitsuo, brother-in-law, Asami-niece Susumu-father-in-law, Yuuko-mother-in-law, Haruki "Yuushi" Makato-grandfather-in-law, (deceased), Kumiko-aunt-in-law, (deceased), Megumi-cousin-in-law.

**GROUP AFFILIATION:** DATS

**SUB-GROUP:** Daughters of the First

**EDUCATION:** University fashion designer

**HEIGHT:** 5' 4"

**WEIGHT:** 132 lbs

**EYES:** Brown

**HAIR:** Reddish orange

**POWER:** Fire

**DIGIMON:** Piyomon-Birdramon-Garudamon-Hououmon(with Hippo Gryphomon).

**WEAPON:** None

**DEGREE OF INFECTION:** Missing right leg and missing left eye.

**BIO:** Was drawn towards Yamato during her teen years, but realized that Taichi was her true love. She was infected with BD-2, and lost her eye and leg. After being attacked by Shiokuro, her true powers awakened, that of Fire. She led the team to the Seraphimoon, and joined with Anna to form Hououmon. Her greatest fear is that she passed her BD-2 infection to her son…but, apparently also her Fire power.

1

**NAME:** Noriko Ishida

**GENDER:** Female

**AGE:** 35

**ETHNICITY:** Japanese/Chinese

**OCCUPATION:** Housewife

**PLACE OF BIRTH:** Tokyo, Japan

**DATE OF BIRTH:** August 31, 1993

**KNOWN RELATIVES:** Shiguen, father, Jia Li, mother, Fai "Daiyu" Shan, grandmother (deceased), Yamato-husband, Shiro-son, Yasu-daughter Yasu-daughter, Hiroaki-father-in-law, Natsuko-mother-in-law, Michael Takashi-grandfather-in-law, Takeru-brother-in-law (deceased),

**GROUP AFFILIATION:** DATS

**SUB-GROUP:** Daughters of the First

**EDUCATION:** High school

**HEIGHT:** 5' 3"

**WEIGHT:** 130 lbs

**EYES:** Brown

**HAIR:** Brown

**POWER:** Darkness

**DIGIMON:** Plotmon-Black Tailmon-Ladydevimon-Plesiomon(with Waruseadramon).

**WEAPON:** None

**DEGREE OF INFECTION:** Large areas of skin missing.

**BIO:** A former Dark Seed child, she had received leadership training from Taichi and Daisuke. Once she caught BD-2, she traveled to the Digital World, but was captured by Digitalaltri. Yamato rescued her, and they two developed a romantic relationship. Had a rivalry towards Catherine, who was everything that she was not. During her adventure, she realized that just because she was not like Catherine, did not mean that she was any less important. Much like Sora, she fears that Yasu had received her DB-2 infection from her, but, it appears she also passed on her Darkness power.


	10. Tides of Fate Begin to Turn:Chapter 3

            _My name is Kasumi Yagami, a Chosen from Japan. I'm the daughter of Taichi and Sora Yagami. My partner is Yuki Agumi, and she's the strongest digimon we've got…at least, that's what I'd like to say. The truth is, she has trouble evolving to the Adult level, Allomon. I was doing just fine, until Michael and Mimi Barton's son, Gabe, came here. He just breezed in with his attitude and thought he was better then me! He needs to learn just what his place is!_

_            My father and Mr. Ishida were attacked by these Hunter guys, and now they're both in the hospital, fighting for their lives. My mom wanted me to go with Aunt Hikari because she had a DATS mission. We came to this island that represented Fate and Chance, but Tsuragi and Ami were already there, looking for Digiphi or something. They brought friends with them, Shou and Kiyoshi. Me and Shiro freed ourselves and went after Tsuragi and Ami, but Aunt Hikari and Kenji Kido were left. Oh yeah, and Anna Trepov found the Claymore of Wind!_

_Digimon Magog_

_The Tides of Fate Begin to Turn_

_Chapter 3_

            Lynna smiled to herself as she lay face-first on the cushioned table.. "A long day?" the other woman asked as she prepared a collection of oils on another table.

            "I had a ten hour photo shoot at 4 this mornin'," she sighed, "For some damn movie promo that I'm not even in!"

            The masseuse began to gently massage her shoulders, taking extra care around the stub of her missing arm. "If you weren't in it, why were ya even there?"

            "'Cause it's a movie for teenage boys."

            The masseuse smiled slightly. "Yeah, it seems the only things my son is interested in has aliens killin' each other and scantly clad females."

            Lynna chuckled, "Yeah, my son too."

            The masseuse pushed into her shoulders, "Well, just relax and let all that stress melt away."

            The middle-aged woman sighed deeply, closing her eyes. She lay this way for five minutes before her cellphone began to ring. "Damn it." While the masseuse continued with her techniques, Lynna reached into her purse and removed her phone. She was about to turn it off, but something made her answer it. "Hello?...Anna?...Anna?! Oh you've got to be kidding me! Anna, how ya've been girl?"

            "Well," the Russian woman replied, "But there is a reason that I called you. Tell me, have you felt a strange pull in the last fifteen years?"

            Lynna's eyes narrowed, "Like somethin' was callin' me?"

            "Yes, exactly."

            "Yeah, I have."

             "Well, earlier this day, an item was found near my home…"

            "A weapon?"

            "Yes, how did you know?"

            "Lucky guess." She paused, "It was yar grandma's, right?"

            "Yes. I believe it arrived at the same time the others did, when those in Japan encountered the tenth First Chosen."

            "That bad one, right?"

            "Yes. The weapon I found was the Claymore of Wind. It may have fallen to Russia because that is where my grandmother was born."

            Lynna nodded, then remembered that Anna could not see her, she continued, "And my grandma was from Australia, ya thank the Gauntlets of Water are here?"

            "Yes."

            She smiled, "Well, I'll take care of that tonight. And I get the feelin' we'll be seein' ya soon."

            Anna chuckled, "Yes, I feel the same."

            "Later." Lynna said, closing her cellphone.

111

            A few hours later, Lynna was standing on the sandy beach, with the ocean roaring before her. "It's great to be back!" her Gizamon grinned.

            She nodded, closing her eyes to allow the sea breeze to blow across her face. "Yeah, we gotta come here more often."

            "Mom, are ya commin' or what?"

            She turned to her right, where a large yacht was floating in the water. A teenage boy was standing on the deck, waving his hands, which were missing most of his fingers. "All right, Joey, we're commin."

            They climbed onto the dock and then stepped onto the boat. "Where's yar Dad?"

            He mentioned to the front of the vessel, "Ready to head off."

            Lynna walked to the controls of the boat, "Dingo, we goin' or what?"

            He studied her curiously. "And you're sure it's out there?"

            She closed her eyes again. She exhaled deeply, closing down her other senses. She pushed past the sensation of the roaring ocean, ignored the noise and the smell. Once she was completely cut off, a blast of familiar energy rippled through the darkness. "Oh, it's there all right."

            Dingo sighed as the vessel lurched forward, "I never understood that power of yours."

            She shrugged. "I don't either."

            The couple stared at one another, then smiled. Lynna walked back to the deck, where her son was seated, watching as the boat sailed through the water. She blinked, glancing around. "Where's the digimon?"

            Joey gave a smile and mentioned over his shoulder. "They decided ta swim."

            Lynna pushed past him in order to stare over the side of the boat. Swimming in the water was Dingo's Ganimon X, Lynna's Gizamon, and Joey's Kamemon. Dingo's partner, being the strongest of the three, was swimming far faster then the others, although, Kamemon was keeping up.

            Lynna was smiling at the sight, when a feeling washed over her. "Dingo, stop!" she shouted.

            Her husband quickly threw the throttle down, and the ship slowed to a stop. He grimaced as a grinding loud came from the inner workings of the vessel. "Oh, that can't be good for the engine."

            Ganimon X cheered as he reached the ship. "Oh yeah! I win!"

            Gizamon rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you won alright…."

            The other digimon shook his head. "Oh no, you're not trickin' me, you _didn't_ let me win!"

            "Yeah, keep thinkin' that."

            Joey looked into the water. "What are we lookin' for anyway, Mom?"

            "The Gauntlets of Water," she explained, "Your great-grandmother's weapon."

            "You'll have ta explain that ta me again."

            She sighed, "Don't you ever listen? You're as bad as your father."

            Dingo stared with a confused expression. "What the hell did I do?"

            She just shook her head and glanced over the side of the boat. "Are you gonna jump in?" Joey asked, "Dad made me bring the scuba gear."

            His mother smirked at him, "I don't need any scuba gear." She shed her clothes, revealing the modest bathing suit she was wearing, then leapt into the water.

            Joey turned to his father, "Was she always like this?"

            He nodded, a smile forming on his face, "Yeah, she hasn't changed much."

            Down below the surface, Lynna relied on her Water power to guide her through the salty water. Her Gizamon swam loyally beside her. They dove deeper into the sea, deeper and deeper, judging by the sensation she was experiencing how close they were approaching to their target. They soon saw it, a bright blue glow emanating from beneath a large rock. They pushed on the top of the boulder, but could not move it. Their strength was all but gone, and they simply could not hold their breath any longer. They swam back through the water, and once their heads broke the surface, they panted heavily.

            "Well?" Dingo asked.

            "It's there," his wife replied, "But it's trapped under a big rock."

            "So it's stuck?" Ganimon X asked.

            She shook her head, "Nah, just get me back on board. I've got an idea."

            Joey and Dingo helped pull Lynna and Gizamon back on board. "All right, what's the plan?"

            She just gave him a smirk, then turned back to the water. She held out her remaining arm, closed her eyes, and began to concentrate. Joey looked to his father, "What's she doin?"

            He shook his head. "I have no idea."

            The two males watched in confusion for another two minutes before Dingo started to walk towards his wife. "Lynna, babe, what are…"

            The ship suddenly began to shake as the water bubble. A giant column of water exploded in front of the ship, sending a spire of water into the air. Gravity soon grabbed hold and the water fell back to the sea…and into the boat as well.

            Dingo and Joey were staring at each other. Lynna began to laugh. "Oh hell yeah! Wow, it worked! Sweet!" She was holding up in her hand a pair of metal gauntlets.

            Her husband and son just glared at her.

111

            Sora was still sitting in the hospital hall. She glanced up at the clock on the wall. Taichi had been in the operating room for almost six hours; she glanced over to Noriko, who was staring out one of the windows-Yamato had been in surgery for nearly five hours. Neither Jyou nor Kiku had emerged from either operating room, and they would not still be in there if Taichi or Yamato were not still alive, but how much longer could this go on? When the human body was injured-no matter how strong the spirit-if that damage was not repaired, it would only be a matter of time before permanent damage occurred, and then…She shook her head, she would not think like that. Her husband would not die here, not like this…

            But what if he did? What would she do? How would she be able to take care of her children without his salary? She was a fashion designer, not really a stable occupation. Her designs were selling well now, but tomorrow she could be out of business. She was sure that Mitsuo would help give her whatever pension from Taichi he could, but what if DATS was shut down? And funerals are expensive, thankfully, Taichi had life insurance, but would it be enough? All money problems aside, Taichi was the love of her life, could she even survive without him?

111

            NeoDigital was very similar to the old Digital World, except there were nine large continents floating within the water, each one represented a power of the First Chosen: Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Forest, Metal, Darkness, Light, and one large island within the Central Sea that represented both Fate and Chance. This island was a tropical paradise, with a bay on one side. On the shores of this bay was a village named Fortuna, a village comprised of Plotmons, Patamons and Lopmons; its leader was a powerful angel, Lord Holy Angemon. This leader, unfortunately, was held-trapped-within the unbreakable legs of the arachnid-like Infermon, while his human Demoness partner, Kiyoshi, watched as the other Demon Chosen, and his MarineDevimon, fought against Hikari and Nefertimon X and Kenji Kido and his Shellmon.

            The Aquatic Beast took a mighty breath before expunging a blast of dark ink, "Guilty Black!"

            Hikari grabbed tightly to Nefertimon X as she executed a roll to avoid the phlegm of black ink. Shellmon fired a stream of water from the hump on his back. The two attacks smashed into each other, vying for control, but MarineDevimon's attack soon proved to be the stronger and ripped through Shellmon's water attack. The Deep Saver managed to leap to the side in time to avoid the ink, but Marine Devimon's tentacles whipped around, grabbing him around his large shell, lifting him into the air before tossing him into the ground. He tumbled and twisted before coming to a stop.

            Kenji gave a quick smile, "Well, that went well.."

            Shou smirked from atop of Marine Devimon's shoulder. "What the hell was that? Your best try? Ha! Marine Devimon, finish him off."

            His demon partner raised his white tentacle into the air, his eyes staring at Shellmon.

            "Curse of Queen!"

            A beam of red light blasted into the tentacle, and Marine Devimon whipped back his appendage as he moaned in pain. "You bitch!" he snarled, staring at Nefertimon X.

            "I'm glad Mrs. Yamaki's here," Kenji whispered, "Or else we'd be in trouble."

            Marinedevimon whipped his white tentacles, smacking Nefertimon X in the face. Hikari held tightly once more as they were flung about in the air. Once she righted herself, she panted heavily. "Are you all right?"

            Hikari nodded. "Yeah, but let's not do that again, all right?"

            Before her partner could respond, Marinedevimon struck again, "Guilty Black!"

            Nefertimon X countered by instinct alone, "Curse of Queen!" Her beam attack impacted with Marinedevimon's black sludge. When they two attacks mixed together, it exploded. The shockwave struck both digimon, but while Marinedevimon was able to keep himself from falling over by shifting his weight, Nefertimon X was hovering in the air, and was thrown backwards, smashing into the ground. Hikari was thrown from her back, tumbling over backwards before rolling into a tree.

            "Mrs. Yamaki!" Kenji shouted, running to her side, "Are you okay?"

            The middle-aged woman slowly sat up, rubbing the back of her head, "Sometimes being able to fly isn't that great…"

            Shellmon and Nefertimon X flew back to continue the battle with Marinedevimon, but the Aquatic Beast used his tentacles to grab them tightly, lifting them up into the air. He laughed with glee. "Look what I caught," he chuckled. He positioned his two prisoners so their heads were pointing towards each other, then slammed them together, their heads butted into one another.

            Kenji winced, "Oh man, that had to hurt…"

            Over on the sidelines, Kiyoshi was watching with impatiens. She glanced to her partner, Infermon's poison was doing its job with Lord Holy Angemon, but the angelic digimon was, not surprisingly, highly resistant to demon poison. Yet, he could not withstand it forever, within a matter of moments, it would be over, but Shou was not moving fast enough for her.

            "Hey jack-ass, what the hell are you doing?" she snapped.

            Shou grumbled. "I'm doing my job, what the hell do you think?"

            "It looks to me like your just fucking around! Hurry up and kill them so we can get back to Tsuragi and Ami!"

            "Fine, Marinedevimon, kill them now!"

            The Aquatic Beast digimon glanced at Nefertimon X, then at Shellmon. "I'll start with you." He raised Shellmon into the air before smashing him into the ground, he repeated this three more times before raising him once again. "I think this'll do it, better say goodbye now!"

            "Rosetta Stone!"

He suddenly felt a burst of immense pain from his other tentacle. Turning quickly, he saw Nefertimon X hovering in the air while what remained of his tendril flopped about his shoulder. He screamed as loud as he could and swung his fist. The Holy digimon twisted around, firing a barrage of stones so quickly and with such intensity that it tore through his palm. He was forced to release Shellmon, but his injuries were too severe, and he regressed to Otamamon before hitting the ground.

"It's just you and me now!" Marinedevimon chuckled.

            "Her and _us_ is what you mean."

            Kiyoshi was grinning as she and Infermon walked forward. Behind her, a digimon lay weakly, a Patamon with an elegantly designed belt around his waist.

            "Is that that Holy Angemon?" Kenji asked.

            Hikari nodded slowly. "Yeah, I think so."

            "Oh man, we're screwed!"

            She stared at the teenage boy. "We'll be okay, don't worry. Nefertimon can handle it."

            Her Holy Beast partner narrowed her eyes at Marinedevimon, then at Infermon. "I'd better take care of the big guy first…"

            She flew towards the Aquatic Beast, firing her Rosetta Stones. The large beast batted them aside with his left hand, but swung around with his right. Nefertimon X rolled around in the sky, firing more Rosetta Stones. Marine Devimon continued to bash them aside, but neither he nor Shou realized, that with each roll, the Holy Beast moved closer and closer until she was directly over Marine Devimon's head. Shou stared up at horror, realization in his eyes. "Marinedevimon!"

            It was too late. Nefertimon X twisted around over the demon's head. "Curse of Queen!" Her attack tore through Marinedevimon's neck, severing his head from his shoulders. His body fell backwards, and Shou tumbled from his shoulders, splashing into the water. He tried to swim to safety, but Marinedevimon's colossal frame crushed him before it vanished into data.

            Nefertimon X was panting heavily; she did not notice Infermon sailing through the air. He wrapped his spider-legs around her body, binding her wings and limbs tightly together. They both crashed to the ground, but the Nightmare Soldier did not appear to be injured at all.

            "We've got you now!" Kiyoshi chuckled, "Once Infermon's poison enters her blood, she'll be as weak as that pussy Patamon!" She mentioned over her shoulder.

            "Aunt Hikari!"

            Hikari blinked. "Aunt Hikari?" she asked. She turned as saw a redheaded boy running towards her with a brown-haired girl at his side. "Akira? Yasu? W…what are you doing here?"

            "We got your message," Yasu explained, "And we're here to help!"

            Akira grinned, "Yeah, Diatrymon, save Nefertimon!"

            Before Hikari could warn him, her nephew's partner flew in from the sky. "Destruction Roar!" His blast of sound waves smashed Infermon's body, but the spider digimon still held tight. He twisted his around on his shoulders and began to fire bolts of flames from his mouth.

            "Hell's Grenade!"

            Diatrymon was struck multiple times and he fell backwards. Yasu's Dobermon charged past him, firing black bolts from his mouth, "Schwartz Strahl!"

            Infermon whipped Nefertimon X into the fray, Dobermon's energy bolts bashing into the Holy Beast.

            "Oh no, Nefertimon!" Yasu shouted, "No, Mrs. Yamaki, he…he didn't…"

            The large canine would have stopped to examine Nefertimon X, if Infermon was not charging him. "Schwartz Strahl!"

            "Hell's Grenade!"

            The two attacks blasted into one another, detonating all of Infermon's grenades, except for a few, which sneaked through and struck Dobermon on the nose, exploding upon impact. The canine stumbled backwards and Diatrymon returned to battle. "Destruction Roar!"

            Infermon jumped into the air, his legs dangling behind him. Those same legs suddenly pulled into his body, as did his head.. "Cocoon Attack!" His transformed body, effectively a torpedo, slammed into the bird digimon at full force. Diatraymon struggled about in the air before crashing to the ground.

            "Oh man!" Akira exclaimed.

            Yasu twisted to him, "Why'd we even come? We can't do anything!"

            "Yes we can!" he snapped, "Don't give up already!"

            She nodded quickly, "Y..yeah. Dobermon…"

            Akira called to his own partner, "Diatrymon…"

            "Attack!" they shouted in unison. Their partners charged at Infermon. The Nightmare Soldier stared with an amused expression on his face.

            Kiyoshi was grinning as well, "Their going to get killed, and they don't even realize it. Infermon…"

            Then, suddenly, something miraculous occurred. Akira and Yasu's digivices began to glow in unison. This light grew in intensity, enveloping both pre-teens. As for their partners, they began to glow as well, and move into a position that was very familiar to Hikari. "No! It…it can't be!"

            "Diatrymon…"

            "Dobermon…"

            "…Jogress evolve to…Cerberumon!"

When the light faded, Cerberumon was revealed. He was a massive black canine, with two heads acting like armor over his shoulders, while his main head growled loudly, and sharp razor claws emerging from his front paws. The Demons blinked in surprise, as did Kenji.

            "That's a Jogress evolution?" he gasped, turning to Hikari, only to see that the middle-aged woman was staring in another direction. Kenji followed her gaze until he gasped as well. Standing where Akira and Yasu once stood, was a single pre-teen, obviously they had merged as well as their partners. The new Chosen had Akira's nose, but Yasu's eyes, Akira's red hair, but long like Yasu's, Akira's blue t-shirt, but Yasu's denim skirt. This new Chosen was obviously a girl.

            Kenji stepped forward. "Um, uh…"

            The girl turned to him, "You may call me Yakira." Her voice was mainly Yasu's, but Akira's was mixed in there as well, but only a hint. Another mysterious…aspect of this Chosen, was the fact that her entire body seemed to shimmer, her data flickering. She turned back to Kiyoshi, "And now, I'm going to kick your ass! Cerberumon!"

            Kiyoshi smirked, "You still don't scare us! Infermon!"

            Her spider-demon digimon scattered forward before leaping into the air. His legs and head pulled back into his body. "Cocoon Attack!"

            Cerberumon began to run forward, his body flickering as well, as if his data was ready to rip asunder. He took a deep breath and spewed out a greenish flame, "Hellfire!"

            His attack smashed into the in-coming Nightmare Soldier, and when the flames vanish, Cerberumon was gone. Infermon landed on the ground, twisting his head around.

            Kenji turned to Hikari."Why do they keep…flickering like that?"

            She shook her head, "I…I think her data's unstable."

            "Behind!" Kiyoshi suddenly shouted.

            Her partner twisted around in time to watch Cerberumon charging him. He leapt into the air and landed on the canine's back. He whipped his legs tightly around his torso. "You won't get rid of me that easily!" From his place on his back, Infermon was able to wrap more of his legs around Cerberumon's legs, dropping him to the ground.

            "Oh man, even he lost!" Kenji exclaimed.

            Yakira chuckled slightly, "He's not finished yet."

            Her partner took a deep breath and fired a blast of black mist into the ground, creating a large dark circle, into which he and Infermon fell. The area remained deathly still, until Infermon was thrown from the circle and smashed into the ground. Cerberumon leapt out a moment later, when he landed, the ground shook, and his data came dangerously close to scattering, but he was able to pull himself back together.

            "What the hell happened?" Kiyoshi snapped.

            Infermon panted, "I…it was dark, that's all I know…"

            "That was Inferno Gate," he explained, "A portal to darkness, overpowering, and if you don't have that skill to wade through the darkness…" He glanced at Yakira.

            Infermon whipped his legs to a standing position and began to charge forward. "Hell's…"

            Cerberumon took another deep breath and blew out a massive stream of green fire. "Hellfire!" Infermon and Kiyoshi were both engulfed and when the mystic flames parted, the Demoness and her partner were gone.

            Kenji exhaled deeply, "Oh man, I'm so glad that's over. Jeeze, I thought we were screwed!"

            Hikari ran over to Yakira. She stared at her curiously. "Merged together, a human Jogress?"

            Nefertimon X limped over, "Are you stuck like that?"

            "I don't think so," she replied, "Once our energy runs out, we'll probably turn back." She looked around, "Where's Kasumi and Oniichan?"

            Hikari gasped. "Oh, they're…" She turned to the mountain towering over the village, she then turned to the inhabitants of the village, who were slowly emerging from their hiding areas. And the Patamon that was once Lord Holy Angemon was weakly limping forward.

            Kenji mentioned to his Otamamon, "We'll stay here and take care of them…" He sighed, "Try some damage control…"

            Hikari nodded quickly and climbed onto Nefertimon X's back, "Come on."

            Yakira climbed onto Cerberumon's back, "All right, let's go!"

111

            Shiro and Kasumi had trailed the two members of the Uni Clan of Demon Chosen for most of the length of the battle taking place below the mountain trail. The path was covered in plants, luckily, the DATS agents did not have to worry about creating unwanted attention, as Tsuragi and Ami were not elegant in their approach at clearing the overgrowth.

            "Fucking plants!" Ami spat, ripping the green leaves from the branches, "If I had my way, I'd burn 'em all to the fucking ground!"

            Tsuragi gave a smirk, "I thought girls were supposed to like plants."

            She glared at him, "If you don't watch, I'll be ripping out your tongue!"

            He sighed, "No love for your big brother, eh?"

            "What do you want me to do, act sweet and pleasant like that bitch Yuuji?" She held her hands together in front of her and raised his voice to mimic the other Demoness, "Oh, dear brother, I am sorry that I have offended you so. I shall make you happy once more. I shall such your dick once we return to our homes."

            Tsuragi sighed, shaking his head.

            "What?" she snapped.

            "Well, you know, maybe I…I kind of wish you _would_ act like that…"

            She stared at him, "I'm _not_ sucking your…"

            "That's not what I meant!" he snapped, "You're my sister, why can't you act like it more often?"

            She huffed and crossed her arms.

            Behind them, Astamon and Neodevimon glanced at one another. "Let's just stay out of it," Ami's partner said.

            Neodevimon nodded. "Yeah, I'm with ya."

            Further behind them were the DATS agents, though they stayed hidden within the over brush on the trail's side, they could still clearly hear the argument. Yuki Agumon snickered, "Hey Kasumi, he sounds just like your Mom when you and Akira start fighting."

            She was about to hit her partner on the head, when Shiro told them to stop. "I think we're here."

            They had arrived at the end of the mountain trail-a rounded cul-de-sac, with a large pool of shimmering water, all beneath a giant tree, where streams of water flowed from the leaves to the pool beneath. The DATS agents remained hidden as the Demon Chosen stood before the pool.

            Tsuragi glanced around, "All right, Oracle, get up here, we've got some questions."

            The pool of water began to glow and a figure slowly emerged from the center-a woman with white angel wings, and yellow and red armor.  "I am \d'Arcmon, the Oracle of the All-Knowing Tree. What is it you wish to ask of me?"

            Tsuragi smirked, "I'm looking for the _Giallarhorn,_ where is it?"

            d'Arcmon closed her eyes, placing her palms together. "Yes…yes, the horn you seek…it is in the Land of the First Grain."

            "Where?"

            "You have already used your question for this reading…"

            "What?!" he snapped, clenching his fists. "You fucking little…"

            Ami placed a hand on his shoulder. "Calm down." She turned to the Oracle, "Where's the Land of the First Grain"

            She was silent for another few minutes, "You will find it on the continent of Abungu."

            "Forest?" Kasumi asked.

            The two Demon Chosen glanced at one another, then mentioned to their partners. Neodevimon and Astamon shot into the air, landing behind the DATS agents. The Chosen and their partners jumped to their feet. They stared at the two Demon Digimon, then twisted back to the Demon Chosen. Tsuragi had his arms crossed as he walked forward, an amused smirked on his face.

            "Shiro Ishida and Psychemon," he smirked, "Back to get beaten again?" His eyes glanced to Kasumi, "And the Yagami girl, huh?"

            "Hey!" she shouted, "You'd better watch how say '_girl!"_

            He stared at them, then glanced over his shoulder to the oracle. "You came here to ask a question, didn't you?"

            "We came here to kick your ass!" Kasumi snapped, "Who cares about the fucking question?"

            He smirked, "Like I believe you. Neodevimon, I'm getting tired of these DATS agents, why don't you just rip 'em apart or something?"

            His partner nodded, "Sure, love to."

            Shiro and Kasumi grabbed their digivices and their partners quickly evolved. Ami turned to Tsuragi, "Tell ya what, why don't you just let Astamon handle this?"

            "What?"

            "You've been hogging the kills, Astamon wants a turn."

            He shrugged. "Sure, just make sure he kills them!"

            Neodevimon turned to Astamon and gave a shrug before jumping back into the air and landing behind Tsuragi again. Allomon and Gururumon turned to face the Demon Digimon, only to see his gun pointing at their heads. Allomon panicked and fired a Dino Burst that exploded upon striking the gun. The shockwave sent the three digimon skidding backwards, but the two DATS agents were sent tumbling before crashing into one of the trees that covered the trail. Since they were both still in their school uniforms, Kasumi had to pull her skirt back down to cover her waist.

"Damn it, I fucking _hate_ these things!"

Gururumon glared at Allomon. "Nice shot."

            "Shut up!" she snapped.

            Astamon was examining his weapon. "You scratched it! My beautiful gun, you're gonna pay for that!"

            "He's freaked out because of a gun?" Allomon gasped, "This guy really is evil."

            Astamon smirked, "You have no idea, Hellfire!" A blast of flame erupted from his palm, engulfing the two digimon. "Chaos Fire!" screamed Gururumon, blasting through the flame. He tackled Astamon to the ground, clawing and tearing, before the demon threw him aside. Allomon slammed her head into his chest, but with a quick swipe of his knife, he slashed a wound in the dinosaur's thick skin. She winced in pain, but was still able to whip around, using her tail to swipe Astamon back to the ground.

            "Yeah!" Kasumi cheered, throwing her fist into the air, "That's my partner, yeah!"

            Astamon leapt back to his feet and squeezed the trigger on his gun, firing a barrage of bullets into the dinosaur. Allomon stumbled backwards, her leathery skin riddled with welts and bruises. Gururumon charged, "Chaos Fire!"

            The Demon chuckled, "Hellfire!"

            Both attacks slammed into one another, but Astamon's easily dwarfed that of the wolf's. Gururumon dove to the side. The Demon whipped his gun around, stilling firing as hard as he could. He was struck as well, but his body was covered with fur, not reptile skin. He regressed back to Psychemon, and Allomon, while still an Adult, was consumed with such pain, she could not move.

            Astamon smirked, pointing his gun at them. "Well, that was easier then I thought. Oh well." His smile grew as he aimed at Allomon's head, "I'll take care of you first…"

            "Hellfire!"

            The Demon gasped, spinning around to watch as a greenish version of his own-named attack came sailing towards him. He crossed his arms before his face and the flames coursed over him. "Who the fuck is stealing my attack?"

            He was answered a moment later when Cerberumon came charging into the path with Yakira on his back. The fused Chosen jumped to the ground just as Hikari and Neferimon came into view.

            "Aunt Hikari!" Kasumi shouted. She pointed at Yakira, "Who the hell is that?"

            The middle-age woman sighed at her niece's language, "_If there's one thing I wish she didn't inherit from my brother, it would be his mouth." _Out loud, she replied, "We'll explain it later."

            Ami raised an eyebrow, studying Yakira. "I've never seen that one before, have you?"

            Tsuragi shook his head, "She doesn't look familiar at all, must've just came out from under a rock or somethin."

            His shook her head, "Well I don't care, whoever she is, she's gonna burn in hell!"

            "Forget it."

            She gasped, then spun to face him, "Are you out of your fucking mind? We've got 'em!"

            "I know where the _Giallarhorn_ is now, I'm not gonna stand here and wait while you have your fun!"

            "Then go!" she spat.

            "Not without you!" he shouted back, "If there are any traps or defenses, then I'll need you to make sure I'm safe."

            She crossed her arms, "You chauvinistic little…"

            He stared at her, "Bring Astmaon back, or Neodevimon'll do it for you!"

            She hesitated, then turned to her partner, "Astamon!"

            The Demon digimon smirked at the DATS digimon and put his gun back into his holster, "You don't know how lucky you are." He dashed over to his partner, grabbed her, and shot into the air. Neodevimon did the same for Tsuragi, who only smirked at the DATS agents before the two Demons of  the Uni Clan vanished into the dawn sky.

            Kasumi stared at the sky, then back at Yakira. "Alright, what's going on?"

            Hikari opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, Yakira began to glow, and moments later returned to her two previous forms, Akira and Yasu. Cerberumon regressed to Labramon and Falcomon as well.

            Both preteens blinked. "What happened?" Akira asked, rubbing his forehead, "And why do I feel like coloring my hair?"

            Yasu stared at him, "Why do I feel like playing soccer in the mud?"

            "Jogress?" Kasumi asked her aunt, "That's what that was, wasn't it?"

            Hikari nodded slowly, "Yes, but, when Miyako and I did it, we didn't fuse together ourselves…"

            Nefertimon X nodded, "And when Aquillamon and I Jogressed, we were able to hold it for almost half a day; when we were fighting the Demon Corps."

            Kasumi frowned, staring at her brother and Yasu. "They're younger than me, and they can already evolve to Fully Evolved? What the hell? Damn it!"

            Shiro, meanwhile, had approached d'Arcmon, who was still standing in place at the water's edge. "There's something I want to know, can I ask you a question?"

            She nodded, "Yes, but only one per visit." She glanced to the setting moon, "But speak quick, for time is running short."

            "The old Digital World was destroyed fifteen years ago, how was this Digital World created?"

            d'Arcmon smiled slightly, "I apologize, but there are some things that even I cannot see."

            He frowned. "Really?"

            She closed her eyes, "However, I do know that this world was not created accidentally."

            "What does that mean?"

            She shook her head, "I am sorry, but that was your question." Suddenly, she began to scream, "I see!"

            "What?" he snapped.

            "What do you see?" Shiro asked.

            d'Arcmon began to pant heavily, staggering about. "I…" She took a deep breath, "One among your numbers, one who bears the mark of DATS…will soon…perish…"

            "Perish? Y…you mean, d…die?"

            She nodded slowly, "Yes, I…" Her body began to tense. She turned to the horizon and saw that the moon had completely set behind the far mountains, "My time has reached its limits, I must bid you farewell."

            "No!" he gasped, "Wait! Who's gonna die, who?!"

            d'Arcmon did not respond. She walked backwards into the pool and vanished below its surface.

            "Oniichan!" Yasu called, running to his side, "What were you yelling about?"

            Shiro did not answer, nor did he even care that his little sister had appeared in the Digital World. There was only one thought on his mind, "We've got to get back to the hospital!"

            "Hospital?" Hikari asked, "You mean, the one where your father…"

            The bond teenager nodded quickly, "The Oracle, a DATS member is going to die soon!"

            The team said no more, and quickly ran back down the mountain trail. They were not aware that the Demon Chosen, Shinji, had been watching, perched upon the branches of one of the trees. He was staring intently at Kasumi, and kept his gaze on the pony-tailed girl until the DATS team was out of sight. His lips slowly formed into a slight smile. "She wants to become strong, does she?"

111

            Sora was not even certain how long she had been in the hospital waiting room. Time drew into a blur, the cause was most likely her choice of entertainment, since the only television in the room was broken, according to the nurse. She had been staring at the floor for so long, she decided to count each small tile. It did not help that she usually lost count around a hundred or so, but as she stared at one small square, the rest seemed to jump out at her, like a 3-D image. This only help to add to the surreal feeling she was experiencing. She knew that she had only been in the hospital for at least half a day, but it felt like years had gone by.

            Since the halls were quiet-Noriko had stopped pacing and sat down in a chair by the window-the sound of the operating room doors opening echoed loudly. Jyou and his wife, Kikku, exited and walked into the waiting room. Sora and Noriko leapt to their feet. Both husband and wife were silent as they stared at the two women.

"How are they? Noriko gasped, staring at Kikku, since she was the one that had been operating on Yamato, then at Jyou, then back again, "What?"

            Jyou took a deep breath, "I…I'm sorry…

Sora felt her heart began to tighten.

Jyou continued, "W…we tried everything we could, but…the injuries were just too severe…."

            "We lost both of them," Kikku said, her eyes flittering to the ground, "We tried, we really did…"

            Time completed stopped. Sora felt a deathly cold feeling wash over her, her heart stopped, she could not breath. She was so overtaken by emotions, that not one could fully form. Her stomach lurched, she placed a hand over her mouth, but the contents of her stomach came rushing up her esophagus and exploding from her mouth. She fell to the floor, tears rushing to her eyes. Rage over took her and she began to slam her fists into the title floor. "Taichi!" she wailed, "This isn't fair! This isn't fair!" She began to sob loudly, "Taichi…"

            Neither Sora nor Noriko realized how difficult it actually was to plan a funeral. Thankfully, since Taichi was a member of the Diet, and Yamato was a military personal, Mitsuo was able to arrange for state funerals, which freed both women from the financial burden.

            They held the funerals together, it would be easier that way, everyone could remember both Taichi and Yamato, and how much they meant to everyone. It was somber and quiet, even Kasumi and Akira were getting along for once. But, as she watched her two children stand before the casket which contain the body of their father, she wondered how this would affect them. Her own parents were separated most of the early life, and by the time she was in high school, they were divorced. Because of this broken family, she grew never even knowing what love truly was, it took Piyomon and her friends to make her realize, would something like that happen to Kasumi and Akira? Would they grow up, thinking that everyone they cared for would leave them to?

            After her children were done, she walked up to the casket. Tears began to well in her eyes once more, "Taichi," she cried, "I should have been there with you…the…the last words I ever said to you were that I would be at Noriko's because she had the widescreen television. T…that was me complaining that you didn't want to spend the money to get one ourselves. That was my last words to you, a complaint, a sarcastic complaint. Why didn't I say I loved you? I said it to you almost every morning, why didn't I say it then? Taichi…." She cried even more.

            She felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Noriko, "Sora!" she snapped.

            Sora blinked, still staring at Noriko's face. She was still in the hospital, Jyou and Kiku were still staring at her. "Oh, I'm sorry, I…I spaced out. W..what were you saying?"

            "I'm sorry," Jyou repeated, "I know standing out here and waiting just drives you crazy, but believe me, we needed every minute of it." He took a deep breath, "Now, Sora, Taichi was struck by three arrows. One arrow hit his left shoulder blade. We had to put it in a brace, but I don't know if it will hold, he may need a shoulder replacement."

            She nodded quickly.

            "The other arrow hit one of his rib bones…pretty lucky, actually, because that saved his lungs from being pierced." He took a deep breath, "But the third arrow…the third arrow actually pierced the Aorta. I had to replace part of it with a synthetic one. This is made from a new plastic whose structure actually looks like living tissue. It's not alive, of course, but it's pretty close."

            Kiku turned to Noriko. "Now, Yamato's lung was pierced, unfortunately, along with his right kidney. I was able to repair the damage to his lung, but we'll just have to wait and see with his kidney."

            She took another breath, "Agumon and Gabumon will be fine. Digimon's bodies recover pretty quickly, when they came in, their wounds were already healing on their own. They going to be weak for while, but they should be fine."

            Plotmon and Piyomon both nodded.

Jyou spoke once more, "Taichi and Yamato are going to have to stay here for at least the next couple of days, and they're both in a lot of pain, so they're on some large doses of morphine right now. You can go in to see them, but they really need to rest right now."

            "Wait," Noriko said, "So, they're going to be okay?"

            Jyou shrugged, "Unfortunately, I don't think they'll ever fully recover, but…I don't think they'll be leaving us anytime soon."

            All four females sighed with heavily relief. Kiku told them their hospital room numbers and they instantly charged for the elevators. Jyou and Kiku walked together into the doctor's lounge. Gomamon X and Kiku's Bakumon were both sleeping on one of the couches. Neither husband nor wife spoke as they removed their biohazard-soaked uniforms and changed into their white doctor coats. They washed thoroughly, and barely made it to the other couch before collapsing onto the cushions, their eyes slamming shut. The room was quiet for a moment, before Jyou began to snore. Kiku's blood-red, heavily darkened circled eyes snapped open. "Oh you've got to be kidding me!"

111

            When Noriko and Sora went into the hospital rooms, Taichi and Yamato were not even able to speak. The morphine and pain brought on delirium and hallucinations, Taichi had died because he thought Sora was an angel. Yamato, on the other hand, thought Noriko was Catherine, and Plotmon had to keep her partner from yanking the I.V. out of her husband's arms,

            "I don't understand why you keep bringing Catherine up," Yamato said to Noriko two days later, "Or why you're mad at me for it."

            His wife just shrugged, "Fine, if you don't want to say anything…"

            He sighed, "I don't have any idea what you're talking about."

            "Okay, fine, fine…"

            This was the first time that Jyou thought it would be okay for their children to visit them. Yasu came charging into the room and wanted to jump into her father's arms. Noriko caught her at the last moment and pulled her back. "Your father was injured in his chest, remember?"

            "Oh, yeah," the preteen replied.

            Yamato smiled as his daughter carefully hugged him. "Daddy, I was so worried!"

            He chuckled as he hugged her back. He saw Labramon trotting on the ground, so he reached over and rubbed his forehead. "You've been taking care of my little girl?"

            "Of course," he replied, happily, "I'm glad you and Gabumon are okay."

            He glanced to the door and saw Shiro and Psychemon enter. Shiro had a cellphone in his hands, "Uh, Mom, the phone's for you."

            Noriko blinked and took the cellphone, walking into the hall. Yamato grinned at his daughter, "Hey, why don't you take some yen from your mother's purse and got get something from that vending machine in the hall."

            Her eyes lit up, "Really?"

            He nodded, "Yeah, I said it's okay."

            Yasu and Labramon grinned at each other. They pulled out some coins from Noriko's bag, then ran into the hall. Yamato turned to his son, "I know you want to talk to me."

            Shiro blinked, "You do?"

            "You've got that same expression on your face. So, what's up?"

            He turned to Psychemon; his partner simply shrugged. Shiro looked back to his father and took a deep breath, "What do you know about Jogress Evolution?"

            Noriko had to walk to an open window before she was able to get a clear signal, "Hello?"

            "Noriko?!" a voice shouted on the other end, "I jus' heard what happened! Are Yamato and Taichi all right?"

            The middle-aged woman smiled when she recognized the voice, "Lynna? Oh Lynna, you've got to be fucking kidding me! It's been what, 10 years since we saw each other?"

            "Yeah, yeah yeah," the Australian woman replied, "What about Yamato and Taichi?"

            "Oh, yeah, they're…they're both okay. Jyou says they're going to be fine."

            Lynna sighed heavily, "Oh, that's great news, but, you can tell me about it later. But listen, did ya hear about what Anna found in Russia?"

            "No, what?"

            "She found the Claymore of Wind."

            Noriko gasped, "Another weapon?"

            "Yeah, and that ain't all, I found the Gauntlets of Water right here!"

            "Oh, you've got to be kidding me! That's amazing!"

            "Yeah, so me and Anna were thinkin' that maybe when those weapons came to Earth fifteen years ago, they went were the First Chosen they belonged to were from. Like my grandmother was from Australia, and Anna's grandma was from Russia…"

            Noriko nodded slowly, even though Lynna could not see. "So…you think that…"

            "That the Lance of Darkness, your grandma's weapon, is in China, 'cause that's were she lived, right?"

            "Wait, that can't be right. The Shield of Metal and the Bow of Forest were both in Japan…"

            "I got a theory on that. Maybe when that Flail thing fell, those weapons were like pulled along for the ride or somethin,' but I think we're gonna need that Lance, if more of those guys that attacked Taichi and Yamato show up."

            "Wait, you want me to go to China _now?_ I'm not going to China now!"

            "But you're the only one that can find it, and it's gonna be the last weapon we can get, since we won't be able to find the Spear of Earth."

            Noriko felt a slight pang in her chest, "Maria…"

            "Yeah, but…anyway, me and the family are gonna come up in the next day or so."

            "What? Really?"

            "Yeah, and Anna and her son's comin too. We figure you're gonna need help."

            Noriko could not help but smile, "The Daughters of the First are gonna be together again…" she frowned, "Except for Maria, Catherine, Iduia and Keeya." She sighed.

            Lynna was silent for about a minute, "Well, I'll, uh, see ya soon."

            "Yeah, bye." Noriko sighed deeply as she pulled the phone from her face, "I can't go to China now, not with Yamato…but, stronger digimon might be able to…"

            She walked back into Yamato's hospital room, and saw her children, along with their partners, feasting away on candy bars. "W…where did you get those?"

            "Daddy said it was okay," Yasu replied.

            Noriko stared at her husband, her eyebrows raised. Shiro whispered to the others, "Uh oh, we'd better get out of here." They quickly exited the room, even Gabumon X and Plotmon.

            Noriko smiled slightly, "Well, they worked better then I thought." Her smile faded and she sighed deeply, "I think I need to go to China."

            Yamato stared at her, "What?"

            She explained to him about the weapons. He nodded. "And you need to get the Lance of Darkness, which is probably near your grandmother's home, right?"

            She nodded, "Yeah, the problem is, I think they tore it down to build a mini-mall, or maybe just a parking lot…" She shrugged, "Anyway, but I don't want to leave you…"

            "Noriko, you have to go. That Lance isn't just a weapon, it's a…a part of your heritage, doesn't that mean something to you."

            She was silent. "I…I never really thought of it like that…"

            He continued. "It's important in more ways then just one."

            "But what about you?"

            "I'll be fine for a few days," he protested, "Really. Trust me Noriko, I'm not going anywhere, and I'll be here when you get back."

            She was silent and paced the floor twice before staring back at him. "I want to take Yasu with me though, because maybe her own Darkness power can help."

            Her husband nodded, "That's a really good idea." His smile broaden, "You always were good at thinking like that."

            She smiled as well. "We're not going to be gone long, as soon as we find it, we're leaving, got it?"

            "Sure."

            "And I'm going to leave instructions with Shiro to call me if anything happens."

            He rolled his eyes, "And you always were good at thinking like _that_ too."

            Her eyes narrowed, "And if something _does_ happen, and I'm not here, once I join you in the afterlife, you'll pay for it, got it?"

            He sighed, "And thinking like that too…"

111

            Across the hall, Taichi was entertaining his own visitors. His wife, his children, along with Hikari and her family. The middle-aged woman said quick hellos to the others before hugging Taichi. "How are you feeling?"

            He mentioned to his chest, "Still pretty sore."

            Mitsuo shrugged. "It was pretty bad…" He sighed, "No offense, but I really thought you were…you know…"

            Leormon looked at Agumon X, "Do you guys remember anything?"

            The dinosaur shook his head, "Not really."

            "Yeah," Taichi continued, "It's kind of a blur."

            Asami mentioned to the package she was carrying in her arms. "I made you some chocolate chip cookies, Mom says they're your favorite."

            He smiled slightly, "Thanks."  He was about to take them, but Sora stepped in the way. She took the package from her niece and placed it on the table.

            "He's not allowed to have anything like that right now."

            He frowned, "Oh, come on, you can't just leave them on the table like that, what are you trying to do, torture me?"

            Kasumi grinned, "Hey, don't worry Dad, we'll take care of that for you." She grabbed the back and tore it open. Akira and their partners quickly devoured a number of the treats. Taichi stared for a moment, then sighed, turning to Yamaki.

            "Any idea who those Hunters really are?"

            He shook his head, "No. They're obviously a new group, or else we would've encountered them before."

            "I don't know," Plotmon X spoke, "A hunter-a good hunter, will wait until it's time to strike."

            "But why strike at all?" Taichi asked, "Damn it, I hate when I don't know what's going on."

            Sora walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder, turning to the others, "He needs his rest, you can't bother him with stress right now."

            As she spoke, she noticed Noriko standing in the doorway. She excused herself from the others and entered the hall. "What's up?"

            Noriko once more told the tale of the finding of the two weapons, as well as the need for the Lance of Darkness. "So you want to go to China?" Sora asked.

            Noriko nodded quickly, "Yeah, we're gonna need that weapon, right?"

            The redhead shrugged. "Yeah, probably."

            "I'm going to take Yasu with me, could you just keep an eye on Yamato and Shiro for me?"

            "Yeah, of course."

            She sighed again, then smiled. "All right, I guess I'm going to my grandmother's home, or rather, what's left of it."

111

            Yasu had never been anywhere outside of Tokyo and the Digital World, so visiting China was a major experience for her. Noriko, on the other hand, had been to Baoding many times before; her grandmother was Chinese, and had lived in this town almost her entire life.

            Yasu, and her Labramon, disguised as a regular dog, where jumping with excitement. "This is so cool!"

            Despite Noriko's earlier decree of a quick trip in and a quick trip out, she had been overtaken by her daughter's excitement, and took a detour to the nearby county of Yixian, where a portion of the Great Wall still remained, as well as the Western Tombs of the Qing Dynasty. Of course, trying to instruct her daughter in her heritage was pointless.

            "And the Qing Dynasty was the last ruling dynasty in China. It ended around 1911, when…" She trailed off when she realized Yasu was too busy using the digital camera her father had bought her for this trip.

            "Daddy's gonna love this!" she grinned to Labramon while snapping pictures of everything in sight.

            Noriko sighed deeply. "She'll want to learn one day," Plotmon replied, "Besides, as I recall, _you_ weren't that interested when your mother started telling you." She put a paw to her face, "When did you start to care? I think it was when that history teacher in high school made you give a report? And you needed that grade, right? I mean, you were pretty much failing, right?"

            "I wasn't failing!" she snapped back. She glanced to the ground, "I had a D minus or something…"

            After their trip around the greater Baoding area, they traveled to the actual city itself. Noriko was starting to worry about her husband, and wanted to get back to Japan as soon as possible, so she rushed her family through the city, but had to make one stop along the way.

            "This is China Lucky Film," she said, mentioning to the large building complex before them, "This is where my parents met."

            "Really?" her daughter asked.

            She nodded. "Yes, my mother was working here as an office secretary, and my father was working for….for…" She searched her memories, but nothing came to her, "I can't remember, but anyway, he was a businessman, and his company sent him here to see about becoming a partner with China Lucky Film. They said no, but he had to speak to my mother to even schedule a meeting." She smiled slightly, "The way my mother tells the story is that everyone didn't like the idea about her marrying a Japanese man, not to mention that she was Catholic, and he was Shinto, except for my grandmother. She never knew why, but we later think it was because when she was a First Chosen. She had a great relationship with Hidokoro."

            "Akira's great-grandfather?" Yasu asked.

            Noriko nodded again. "Yeah." She ushered her family along, and they started walking once more.

"We found her diary a few years ago," she continued, "It was pretty obvious she had feelings for Hidokoro."

            "What happened?" her daughter asked, now very interested.

            She shrugged. "I guess it was because she had to go back to China, and he went back to Japan. I think she was waiting for him, but communication really wasn't all that great, and it was a few years before she found out he was married. That's why she had my mother when she was almost 35, which was really late back then."

            Yasu smiled, "How did you and Dad meet?"

            She sighed, closing her eyes, "Actually, the first time we met, I wasn't that…sociable…"

            "Like you are now," she mumbled.

            "What?" Noriko snapped.

            "Nothing!" Yasu grinned.

            Noriko just sighed, shaking her head.

            "Mom?

            "Yes?"

            "Is it because we're Catholic that we go to the Mr. and Mrs. Yagami's for Christmas?"

            "Yes."

            "And on New Years Daddy takes us with Mr. and Mrs. Kido to ring the bells in the Buddhist Temple?"

            She nodded again, "That's right."

            Yasu kept her head down. _"So, that's why I never see anyone from Daddy's side of the family at Christmas, or Easter…"_

            "We're here," Noriko declared.

            The pre-teen girl glanced up and saw that they were standing in the parking lot of a strip mall. "We're here?" she asked.

            Noriko nodded. She scanned the area for a moment, then pointed to a video store, "Your grandmother's property was from there to…" She moved her finger to a lamppost, "…there."

            "What happened?" Labramon asked.

            She sighed, "They wanted to build a mall here for a while, but Grandma wouldn't give up her home. Then, after she died, my mom sold the property. They tore everything down." She sighed again, "Damn it, it was so beautiful, the trees, my grandmother's garden, and they tore it all down." She shook her head, "There's not gonna be any empty land soon, there won't be any green left, just gray and steel."

            Yasu nodded slowly, "So, how are we supposed to find it?"

            "Well, my guess would be that it's underground. They were developing fifteen years ago, if the Lance fell into a hole or something, they could have thought it was a shooting star or an earthquake or something, and since the hole was already here, they may not have even thought to look."

            Plotmon nodded. "Yeah, and Anna and Lynna said they found their weapons in water, so if they fell into the Pacific or something, no one would have seen them."

            "And we already have the others, except for the Lance of Earth. We'll have to see if there's any information from Mexico when we get back." She smiled, "But, first things first. We need to try to find it."

            "How?" Yasu asked.

            Noriko placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder, "Yasu, do remember when we were in the Digital World, and you felt that fire power?"

            She thought back, "Yeah…"

            "Well, that was Akira, and your Darkness power was responding to his Fire power. Mrs. Yamaki told me that you two Jogressed together also?"

            She turned away from her mother's look, "Yeah, but we don't remember…"

            "But we think that it was your powers working together. Mrs. Yagami and I did the same thing."

            "Really?" she gasped, her eyes opening wide.

            "Well, not with each other, but yeah. Yasu, you have the power of Darkness."

            "I…I do?"

            She nodded. "Yes, now, I need you to try to use that power, and help me find the Lance of Darkness."

            "I…can't…"

            "Yes you can, just trust me, okay?" She grabbed her daughter's hand, and the two turned to face the mall. "Close your eyes and just try to feel it, okay?"

            Yasu obeyed. With her eyes closed, she did have to admit that she was able to hear better, but, as the moments passed, her hearing slowly faded. She was covered by the darkness, but it was not scary, it was soothing, like she belong there. Soon, in that darkness, she could feel something, a kind of pulse, something was calling out to here…

            "I found it!" she gasped. She pulled on her mother's arm, leading her to an area behind the food store portion of the strip mall. A small hill was behind it, with a storm drain. She knelt down and peered into the drain, "Down there, it's down there!"

            Noriko examined the drain as well. A tunnel stretched beneath the parking lot. "Well, that makes this a little easier."

            "How are we gonna get it?" Yasu gasped, nearly jumping up and down with excitement.

            Her mother pushed her hand through the opening and pointed it towards the tunnel. She, too, had felt the weapon calling. She closed her eyes, and waited for the pulse of the weapon, and then returned a pulse of darkness in kind.

            Yasu felt it instantly, like a train was barreling towards them. That feeling only grew stronger and stronger, until Noriko suddenly lurched forward, panting.

            "What?" Plotmon shouted.

            Her partner grinned and slowly pulled her hand out of the storm drain, along with a short, dark, lance. "Got it," she grinned.

            Plotmon stared at the weapon. "I thought it'd be longer…"

            The middle-age woman studied it for a minute, "No, I think this is right." She stood up and started swinging it from side to side, "You can't have it too long, or else you wouldn't be able to do this…"

            Labramon sniffed the weapon. "What's this white stuff all over it?"

            Noriko moved the Lance closer to her face, "It's cement." She gasped, "Oh shit, it was probably in a support beam or something!"

            "So?" Yasu asked.

            "So, it's a support beam!" She looked back to the mall, "Something could collapse!" She grabbed her daughter's hand, "Come on, let's get the hell out of here!"

            They ran from the property and onto the sidewalk. She did not stop running until they were at least a quarter of a mile away. They were all panting heavily, and Yasu collapsed onto the ground.

            "I'm so tired!" she whined, "And my feet hurt!"

            Noriko chuckled, "Well, at least we got it."

            Yasu sprang back up, "Yeah, you got your weapon now!"

            Her mother shook her head, "No, I had to find it, but I'm not going to use it."

            Her daughter blinked, "What? Why not?"

            "Because, I just power it, it's going to go to someone else." She just shrugged, "It's just something Anna and Lynna and I decided."

            "Who?"

            "You'll meet them soon," she smiled again.

            Her daughter just nodded. "All right, who're you gonna give it to? Daddy?"

            "No, he already has the Shotguns of Light, and Mr. Yagami has the Katana of Fire."

            "So who?"

            Noriko studied her daughter, "Tell you what, you're a Daughter of Darkness, just like me. Why don't _you_ decide who gets it?"

            "Really?" she gasped. She thought for a long moment, then grinned, "Oniichan! I want to give it to Oniichan!"

            She did not know how to react, then slowly smiled. "Okay, if that's what you want."

            Yasu cheered again, grabbed the Lance from her mother's hand, then she and Labramon began to run down the sidewalk. Noriko and Plotmon quickly ran after them.

            "You're really gonna give it to Shiro?" Plotmon asked.

            Noriko sighed, "Yasu's like me, she had my Darkness power, she, unfortunately, has BD-2, from me. But Shiro…Shiro's definitely Yamato's son, he has the X-Antibody, Psychemon is almost identical to Gabumon. I'm sure some of Yamato's power went into our son. And if he's going to be just as strong, I think he'll be alright with that weapon."

            "Really?"

            She nodded. "Yeah, really."

_The Tides of Fate hath ended, the Agent of Destruction now approaches._

**NAME:** Dingo Hogan

**GENDER:** Male

**AGE:** 37

**ETHNICITY:** Australian

**OCCUPATION:** Sports Reporter

**PLACE OF BIRTH:** Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

**DATE OF BIRTH:** September 26, 1991

**KNOWN RELATIVES:** Lynna-wife, Joey-son

**GROUP AFFILIATION:** DATS

**SUB-GROUP:** X-Chosen

**EDUCATION:** Communications degree

**HEIGHT:** 5' 3"

**WEIGHT:** 139 lbs

**EYES:** Brown

**HAIR:** Brown

**POWER:** X-Antibody

**DIGIMON:** Ganimon X-Gesomon X

**WEAPON:** None

**BIO:** One of the Australian Chosen, and the only one to be affected by the X-Antibody. He was the first to encounter a lone Demon Lord, Karetu, as he 'awakened,' Lynna Jeffrey. He began friends with Yuri, and their partners were able to Jogress, but after his death, Dingo lost the ability to reach Fully Evolved. Following the defeat of GranDracmon, he and Lynna became married, and had a son, Joey.

1

**NAME:** Mitsuo Yamaki

**GENDER:** Male

**AGE:** 39

**ETHNICITY:** Japanese

**OCCUPATION:** DATS commander

**PLACE OF BIRTH:** Tokyo, Japan

**DATE OF BIRTH:** September 30, 1987

**KNOWN RELATIVES:** Hikari-wife, Asami-daughter, Taichi-brother-in-law, Sora-sister-in-law, Kasumi-niece, Akira-nephew, Susumu-father-in-law, Yuuko-mother-in-law, Haruki "Yuushi" Makato-grandfather-in-law, (deceased),  Kumiko-aunt-in-law (deceased), Megumi-cousin-in-law

**GROUP AFFILIATION:** DATS-current, Hypnos-former

**SUB-GROUP:** Chosen

**EDUCATION:** Computer science

**HEIGHT:** 5' 8"

**WEIGHT:** 164 lbs

**EYES:** Blue

**HAIR:** Blond

**POWER:** None

**DIGIMON:** V-mon-(Fladramon)-Tankmon

**WEAPON:** None

**BIO:** Mitsuo Yamaki met Hikari shortly before the events of 'Apocalypse,' yet his true self was not revealed until Juro appeared. He was the leader of the Hypnos agency, a government group tasked with protecting Earth from digital threats. Though they did not view Hikari and the others as threats, he was unable to tell her his true occupation. She discovered it, and was close to ending their relationship, but after he received V-mon as a partner, they reconciled. They are not never more in love.

1

Author's Note: Okay, I've got a few of them.

1) Information on Baoding came from wikipedia, which said, among other things, Baoding contained a large number of Chinese Catholics, so Noriko's going to be a Catholic. Also, I'm going to defer to Lord Archive's decision to make the Yagami's Catholic.

2) I'm glad to see that everyone was guessing as to whether Taichi or Yamato were going to make it. I was never going to kill them off, but it's good to see that I kept everyone in suspense. I mean, it's not like I kill characters off or anything….heh

3) I've noticed that your reviews have become longer and more in-depth, and I really enjoy reading your comments and your analysis. But, I did wonder, what you would say if you could speak to one another. So, I was thinking of maybe creating a forum for this tale, what do you think?

4) Lastly, this universe is open to anyone who wishes to write in it. If you have an idea for an Infected Chosen, an X-Chosen, a member of the Chosen Council, and wish to write about it, please, be my guest.

Later.


	11. Embodiment of Fire: Chapter 1

_My name is Shiro Ishida, a members of DATS. I am the son of Yamato and Noriko Ishida. My partner is Psychemon, a subspecies of Gabumon. I have inherited from my father the X-Antibody…but my sister inherited the Second Black Death infection from our mother. Just because of a variation of chromosomes, something so small, yet it made such a difference. I want to protect my sister as much as I can. _

_She even Jogressed when we were fighting Tsuragi and Ami. I have no idea how that happened, and I wasn't even able to stop Tsuragi from asking the Oracle at Digiphi about the location of the Giallarhorn. I don't even know what that horn is used for. _

_But some good news, my father, along with Mr. Yagami, survived their assassination attempts, And my mother had to go to China to locate the Lance of Darkness, while Lynna Hogan in Australia found the Gauntlets of Water._

_Digimon__ Magog_

_Embodiment of Fire_

_Chapter 1_

Shinji of the Decima Clan of Demon Chosen entered into the five-sided room, his arms crossed behind his back. There were two other teenagers seated within the darkness: another boy and girl, dressed in the same 'school uniform' style as Shinji and Yuuji, with both wearing a gray tie, white shirt and dull gray blazer with the Demon Chosen emblem as the crest; of course, the boy wore a pair of slacks and the girl a pleated skirt. The boy's hair was combed perfectly, and the girl's hair was a mane reaching down to her waist. Their hair was blond and their eyes were also the same dull blue. The boy spotted Shinji first, "Welcome, Elder Cousin."

Shinji glanced around, "I know where Kouta and Toshiko are, but where are Sigma and Mari?"

"They are on a mission for the Master," the girl replied.

The boy spoke again, "We were not expecting you, is your mission complete?"

He shook his head, "No Kenichi, my mission to test the powers of the DATS agents still continues."

"Then why have you come?" the girl asked.

"I have come because the threat of the Uni Clan grows. Tsuragi will soon possess the Giallarhorn, and will call forth the Agent of Destruction. He will complete our Master's plan, but there is treachery in his eyes. With such power, he will no doubt attempt to gain control of the Demon Chosen." He clenched his fist, "I came before him! I was created first! I will _not_ bow to him!"

"What do you propose?" the girl asked.

Shinji smirked, "Sawa, I have come for the Gift of Evolution."

"The Catalyst?" she gasped. She turned to stare at a large, silver pyramid situated in the center of the room.

"Yes, the Silver Catalyst of the Decimas." He frowned, "If I could, I would destroy the Gold Catalyst of the Uni Clan." He shook his head.

"But, why would you use it?" Kenichi asked.

He grinned, "I will give this gift to one of DATS, one who's desire for power will doom the others." His smile grew, "For soon, the Decima Clan will have a new Demoness!" He turned to the others, "What are your plans for this day?"

"The Master had bid us to go to Tokyo," Kenichi answered, "We are to locate a probable location for the invasion."

He nodded slowly, "If Yuuji and I were to aid you, would you aid us in completing our mission?"

"Certainly, Elder Cousin," Sawa replied.

Shinji smirked, "Excellent."

111

By the time Lynna and her family arrived in Tokyo, the Bartons and Anna were already comfortably resting in their hotel rooms…or they would have been if Sora, Noriko and Kikku had not insist on giving them their spare rooms. "I've got _two_ guest rooms," Sora stressed, "and we never use them."

Noriko nodded, "And we've got one for my parents, but they hardly ever visit anymore."

"And we've got rooms too," Kikku added, sadly, "We were expecting a bigger family."

So, it was decided, with some reluctance, that Lynna's family would stay with the Kidos, Anna, her son and Eliane, Catherine's niece (who DATS decided would be good to learn her new powers), would stay with the Ishida, which left the Bartons with the Yagamis, much to Kasumi's chagrin.

"This sucks!" she told her cousin.

Asami just sighed. "I still don't understand why you don't like him."

She just groaned, "You wouldn't!" A smile slowly appeared on her face, "Hey, why don't I stay with you for a few days?"

She paled, "W…what?"

"Oh yeah, we'll have fun! You need to loosen up anyway, It'll be good for you."

"Kasumi, I don't know…"

But her cousin would not hear it, she dragged Asami to Hikari, but her aunt did not think it was a good idea. "Damn," the pony-tailed girl grumbled. When she cam home, she locked herself in her room, happy it was still hers, and Yuki Agumon's but she was with her for as long as she could remember, it was like they existed as one being. Plus, the dinosaur usually just played the Nintendo _Mnemonic_. They did not even emerged until it was time for dinner.

Sora knocked on the door, "Kasumi, Yuki, are you two eating?"

"Yeah, we're coming, " her daughter replied, stepping into the hall. When they arrived at the table, they saw Akira and Falcomon were already seated…but so were the Barton children.

"Hello, again," Lizzie said, politely. When Gabe did not respond, she kicked with beneath the table.

"Yeah, hey," he muttered.

Kasumi was not about to say what she wanted to say, since her mother was standing next to her. "Hi."

Sora placed a tray of meat patties on the table. "Hamburgers?" Yuki Agumi gasped.

The middle-aged woman nodded, "To make our guests feels more at home."

The dinosaur grinned, "_Maybe this won't be so bad…"_

Kasumi had another idea. _"Their mother should be cooking their own meals at their own homes…wait a second…"_

"Mom, where are Mr. and Mrs. Barton?"

Sora was examining her appearance in the hall mirror. She was dressed in a black evening dress, "Mrs. Barton, Mrs. Ishida, Mrs. Hogan, Mrs. Trepov and Aunt Hikari and I are going out to catch up. Mr. Barton is with your uncle and they wanted to visit your father and Mr. Ishida."

"Shouldn't you be there," Gabe mumbled, but so low that only Kotemon heard. His partner just nodded in agreement.

"Where's Piyomon?" Yuki asked.

"With the others' partners," she replied, "I'll see you later tonight, be good, and get to bed on time, understand?"

"Yeah," Kasumi and Akira replied. Their mother left and Kasumi sat down at the table. The meal was eaten in silence which only made Kasumi and Gabe glare at one another. The tension continued until Lizzie turned to Akira. "So, what grade are you in?"

"Fifth," he answered, trying not to look at his sister.

"What kind of things are they teaching you?"

"Oh, just things like Math and history…" he frowned, "I hate math, it's so boring!"

"What kind of things do you like?"

He grinned, "I like science."

"Really? Like what?"

Before he could respond, Kasumi and Gabe both jumped up from the table. The pony-tailed girl marched to the door. "Where are you going?" Akira asked.

"We're going to Asami's!" she shouted as she and Yuki Agumon exited the apartment, slamming the door.

Gabe and Kotemon, walked to the door a moment later. "And where are _you_ going?" Lizzie gasped.

"I'm going to see Dad," he replied, leaving with Kotemon trailing behind.

Lizzie sighed, "I'm sorry about him, I don't understand why he's acting like this."

"It's my sister," Akira mumbled, "She brings out the worst in everyone…at least that's what my mother said…"

111

Shiro was bored, although he did not want to admit it. Michael, Dingo, and Joe were catching up and laughing about times that the teenage boy was not even alive to experience. Why had he even agreed to come? He and Psychemon were seated in the rear of Yamato's hospital room. Joe had reluctantly agreed to move Taichi's bed into Yamato's room, since his injuries were less severe.

"They're having a good time, aren't they?" Psychemon asked.

The blond boy nodded. "Yeah." He took a deep breath, "Do you want head out?"

He breathed a sigh of relief, "I thought you'd never ask."

They rose to their feet, when Mitsuo and V-mon walked inside. The blond man held a folder in her hands. "Mitsuo," Taichi said from his bed, "It's never a good sign when you've got a folder."

He gave a slight chuckle. "Yeah, well, this is pretty important."

Psychemon and Shiro glanced at one another, then sat back down. Mitsuo placed the folder on one of the tables. "Well, are you gonna tell us what that is?" Agumon X asked.

He nodded. "Those Hunters reminded me of something…"

Jyou crossed his arms, "Like everyone seems to want to kill us?"

The others just stared at him for a moment, then turned back to Mitsuo. "Anyway," he said, "Like I was saying, there was something really familiar about them, I did some checking in the government project archives, and did come across information for a government project involving the creation of super soldiers. But get this…Kurata was on that project." He handed Taichi the folder.

"Kurata?" Yamato asked, "The guy who almost destroyed the city with an unstable Digital Gate?"

"Juro's partner," Gabumon X added.

Mitsuo nodded, "We still have all of his files back when DATS was still Hypnos. We looked through all of them already, but now that they might be a good source of information, we're looking over them very carefully."

"What are you lookin' for?" Dingo asked.

"Anything," Mitsuo sighed, "But it's probably just a long shot."

Taichi opened the manila folder, "Project: Wairudo Banichi…"

111

With their parents out, Asami volunteered to baby-sit Eliane and Yasu at the Ishida's apartment. Aleksey had no where else to go, so he remained there as well. Eliane's BD-2 infection caused her to lose amounts of skin on her abdomen, which Yasu was interested in viewing.

Eliane lifted up her shirt to her growing bust line, showing the large areas of skin that were missing. "Wow," Yasu replied, "That looks like my Mom's stomach."

The other girl tucked her red shirt back into her jeans, "_Oui_ does she have to wear a one-piece bathing suit as well?"

She thought for a moment, then shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so."

The blond girl frowned. "All of my friends are already wearing…how do you say…more revealing suits, and I cannot."

Asami walked into Yasu's room, smiling. "You shouldn't worry about that yet anyway, you're only ten, you don't need to try and look attractive in _that_ way just yet…"

Eliane was not convinced. She slouched her shoulders, "I feel so ugly…"

Asami hugged her, "No you don't, you're beautiful." She smiled, "Now come on, don't you want your dinner?"

Yasu grinned happily, while Eliane slowly followed. In the dinning room, Aleksey was seated with his Muchomon, Asami's Leormon, Eliane's Mushmon and Yasu's Labramon. Asami mentioned to the empty seats, and the two girls sat down.

The doorbell begin to ring. "Yes?" Asami asked, walking to the door. She glanced through the peephole, then blinked in confusion. She opened the door, "Kasumi, what are you doing here?"

Her cousin and Yuki Agumon pushed their way inside, "I heard you got stuck babysitting, so I thought I'd give you some company." She threw off her sneakers and marched into the kitchen, "Hey, what smells so…" She trailed off when she saw the table completely full. "Why didn't you tell me you were having a party?"

"It's not a party," she sighed, "I'm babysitting."

Her cousin crossed her arms as she stared at Aleksey, "Really? Babysitting _him_ too?"

She blushed slightly, "He's staying here…"

Their conversation was interrupted by Yuki Agumon, who was staring intently at the food on the table. "Dinner?"

Kasumi stared at her, "You just ate!"

Asami sighed again, "Would you care to join us?"

They quickly pulled two chairs from the living room and inserted themselves around the table.

"What are we having, anyway?" Yasu's Labramon asked.

Asami mentioned to the dishes on the table, "_Karaage_ and _Korokke_ She smiled slightly, "It's basically deep fried foods. I didn't know how much Eliane and Aleksey would like Japanese food, so…" She shrugged, "Everyone likes fried food, right?"

There were no complaints as they began to eat. The French girl seemed to have forgotten her earlier depression and was happily munching away. Her Mushmon partner seemed a little cautious. He picked up a ball covered with friend batter and sniffed it cautiously. "What is this?"

Asami examined it, "It's chicken."

"_Poulet_ Eliane clarified, "You like zat, remember?"

"Chicken?" Yasu suddenly gasped. She was holding one of the pieces close to her mouth. She threw it back onto the table, "I hate chicken!"

"Okay, okay," her babysitter replied. She began to search through the plate of fried foods. She used her chopsticks to grab a long fried piece, "Here, this is shrimp."

"I don't like _crevette_ Eliane added.

Yasu gasped again. "Wait a minute!" she cried, staring at Eliane, "I can practice my French with you?"

"_Que_ the other girl asked.

"Her father's been teaching her," Labramon answered, "But she's not very good at it."

Yasu gave her partner an evil glare, "Well you're not…" he said.

Eliane just smiled. "_Oui_

Yasu grinned and jumped up from the table, "My stuff's in my room." She grabbed the other girl's hand and started to lead her away, when Aleksey called out to them.

"Do you not want to finish dinner first?"

The Ishida daughter paused, then smiled. "Oh, right," she giggled. She and Eliane climbed back into their seats and continued eating.

Asami turned to Aleksey, "Do you have any brother's or sisters?" she asked.

He shook his head, "No, I am an only child."

The brown-haired girl nodded, "Yeah, so am I."

"You two are lucky," Kasumi replied, leaning back in her seat, "Akira's nothing but a pain in the neck."

Aleksey shrugged, "Perhaps, but would you not be lonely without him?"

She was quiet for a long while; longer than Asami had ever seen, until she replied, "I never really thought about it like that before. Yeah, maybe I would be lonely…without the little pest around." She glanced over at Yasu, who was the younger sister of Shiro.

Suddenly, a thought entered her mind, "Hey, didn't you guys bring those weapons with you?" Her eyes lit up, staring at Aleksey.

Before the Russian teenager could respond, Yasu interrupted. "You mean like the Lance I gave to Oniichan?"

"What Lance?" Kasumi asked.

Asami sighed once more, "It was the weapon that Mrs. Ishida and Yasu found in China? Didn't your mother tell you?"

The pony-tailed girl just shook her head, "No, she didn't. Jeeze, chill out, it was just a question."

111

Joey and Kamemon were completely lost. They had never spoken a word of Japanese before, much less read it. It seemed so simple: use the map that Dr. Kido had left them to go to the nearest convenient store to buy something for dinner. However, they had become hopelessly lost, because neither of them realized until they were a long way from the apartment, that they could not speak or read Japanese. So, they attempted to back-track, but that proved to be a problem as well.

Joey pointed to a building with a tall point at the top, "That's the apartment buildin."

Kamemon shook his head and pointed to a building with a flat roof, "That's the buildin, stop bein stupid."

He growled, "I'm not bein stupid! You are!"

"Get some glasses, yar blind!" Kamemon pointed to the flat-toped building. "That's the one!"

Before his partner could respond, a voice shouted out to them, "Joey? Is that you?"

The Chosen and his partner looked over and saw Gabe and Kotemon walking towards them on the sidewalk. "Gabe?" Joey gasped, "Oh man, what are the chances? Damn, we're lost, dude, ya gotta help us get back to Dr. Kido's apartment."

Gabe and Kotemon glanced at one another, "You're here."

Joey and Kamemon blinked, "We are?"

Kotemon mentioned to a building on the other side of the street, one with a pointed top, "That's where Dr. Kido lives."

"Ha!" Joey laughed, "I was right!"

"You were still on the wrong side!" Kamemon snapped.

Gabe cleared his throat, "Uh, I got bored at the Yagamis, and since your parents were out, I wondered if you wanted to hang out."

The Australian boy grinned. "Sure." He mentioned to the apartment building, "They gotta big screen t.v. up there. Come on." He stepped forward, but then stopped, "Wait."

"What?"

"We were goin out to get something to eat, but…" he waved his hand, "Long story short, we never got there. You can read Japanese, right?"

He nodded. "Yeah, my Mom's Japanese…I'm half-Japanese…"

"Yeah yeah…" He grabbed the map from Kamemon's hands, "We're trying ta go there!"

Gabe stared at the map, then flipped it around, "You had it upside down. The place you want to go is on the other side of the city."

"Oh damn it," he swore, crumpling the map, "Well, any idea where ta go?"

Gabe gave a chuckle, "There was a place that I went to when I was here a few weeks ago. It was a supermarket, it had everything. It's not far."

"Great, I'm starving!" Joey and the digimon began to follow Gabe down the sidewalk. "Hey, they have pizza here, right?"

"Yes," Gabe laughed.

"Sweet."

"What about money?" Kamemon asked, "They don't use dollars here, right?"

Gabe pulled a small stack of folded paper out of his pocket, "We've got plenty of _yen_, don't worry."

Joey wiped imaginary sweat from his forehead, "Man, it's a good thing we ran into you."

Gabe just shrugged. They walked in silence, until Gabe cleared his throat, "So, what do you think of the others?"

Joey shrugged. "I don't know…they're okay I guess…" He frowned, "Has that Kasumi girl always been that much of a…"

"Bitch? I dunno…I only met her a few weeks ago…" _"So_," he thought, "_He doesn't like Kasumi either…he's smarter then I thought…"_

After their trip to the store, Gabe, Joey and their partners were walking back to the Kido's Aparment, when Kotemon and Kamemon suddenly stopped. "What's wrong?" Gabe asked.

His partner started to scan the building tops. "I thought I…" He looked to the other digimon, who nodded.

"Yeah, I felt it too."

"Felt what?" Joey asked.

Kotemon pointed with his sleeve-covered arm, "There!"

Staring quickly at the sidewalk beneath the street lamps, they saw a teenage girl in a gray school uniform…one with blond hair. "Yuuji?" Gabe gasped, "What the hell do you want?"

She gave a quick smirk, then ran away as fast as she could. Gabe and Kotemon took off after her, with Joey and Kamemon quickly following. "What are we doin?" the Deep Saver asked.

"We can't let her get away!" Gabe answered.

"Old girlfriend?" Joey asked, raising an eyebrow.

He snorted/ "Yeah, a real demon in the sack…" he muttered.

A thought occurred to Kotemon, "Hey, if she's got that rope like last time…"

His partner frowned, "Oh yeah…"

"What rope?" Kamemon questioned.

While Kotemon explained to the Australian duo about the _Gleipnir_, Gabe used his cellphone, "Hello, Asami? This is Gabe, we've got a problem…"

111

Asami knocked on Yasu's door, "Would you two like some cake?"

There was stomping on the floor, then the door flew open. The brown-haired girl poked her head out, "What kind?" she asked, her eyes shinning.

"Chocolate."

"I love chocolate!" she declared. She looked back into her room. "Come on."

Eliane followed and the three girls entered into the kitchen. From the living room, Kasumi glanced into the kitchen, "You've got cake?"

"Only enough for them," Asami mentioned to the two pre-teen girls.

"What? That's not fair!"

"You weren't suppose to be here!" Yasu smirked and stuck out her tongue.

The older girl leapt to her feet and charged. Asami stepped in front of her cousin, "Kasumi, you're five years older then her."

Kasumi just glared, then stormed back into the living room and dropped onto the couch. Aleksey chuckled, "She is your cousin, right?"

The pony-tailed girl mentioned to Asami, "_She's_ my cousin, the other one's just a pain."

The Russian boy smiled, "She reminds me of the little sister of my girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?"

"_Da._ Do you not have a boyfriend?"

She shook her head, "Nah, never really had time."

"Or anyone interested," Labramon whispered. Yasu giggled in agreement.

Eliane frowned and stared at her hands, where sections of skin were starting to vanish. "Will anyone t'ink I am attractive enough?"

Yasu frowned. "Stop talking like that. Jeeze." She held up her arm, where her own infection had eaten away at her fingers, "See, I'm not any better!"

Aleksey frowned, lightly touching the glass eye that replaced the one stolen from him by the Second Black Death, as well as the fake teeth within his mouth. He did not say anything, as Kasumi began to speak.

"My brother has a fake leg," she said, "My mom too…"

"Does that not make you sad?" the Russian boy asked.

She shrugged. "I don't know, they've always been like that. I guess it's just normal…I don't know…"

Yuki Agumon snorted, "I don't think you humans consider that 'normal'…even digimon don't think missing body part is normal."

Kasumi just made a face, rolling her eyes. Muchomon looked to Aleksey and spoke in Russian, "Weird group of kids."

"Yes, but they're no weirder then us."

"That's not fair," Asami giggled, "We can't understand you."

_"What a flirt,"_ her cousin thought.

The phone rang and Asami answered. "Good evening, Ishida residence…Gabe? How did you know I was here…" She gasped, "Y…yes, I'll be right there."

"What's wrong?" Leormon asked.

111

Yuuji slowed to a stop as she entered the vacated stadium, where her twin brother, along with Kenichi and Sawa, where waiting. "Are they coming?" Shinji asked.

"Yes, twin brother," Yuuji answered, "They have followed just as you said they would."

He grinned, "Excellent."

They watched as Gabe and Joey stepped into the stadium. Joey's Kamemon gasped upon seeing them. "Who are they?"

"Demons," Kotemon replied with a sneer in his voice.

Gabe frowned, "That's Shinji and Yuuji," he mentioned to the two twins standing to the right, "But I don't know who the others are."

Shinji answered, "These are our cousins, Sawa and Kenichi."

"A family of demons, huh?" Gabe said with a snicker, "What do you do at reunions? Dance naked around a golden calf?"

Shinji only smirked. He mentioned to his two cousins, "I know you have been patiently awaiting a chance to fight DATS, would you care to do so now?"

Kenichi grinned, "It would be an honor, cousin."

Joey snorted, "And what are ya gonna fight us with? Your invisible partners?"

Kenichi pointed to the sky, where a bird-man with black feathers drifted to the ground. He had been carrying a demonic fox in a ghastly shade of pink. "Karatenmon," he declared.

"Kyukimon," Sawa smiled.

Kotemon chuckled, "They don't look that tough to me."

Kamemon nodded. "Yeah, I'm with ya." He glanced over at Joey, "Well, are we gonna show them what we can do?"

The son of Dingo and Lynna nodded. "Hell yeah!"

"Kamemon evolve to Gawappamon!"

The son of Michael and Mimi soon joined him, ordering his own partner to evolve.

"Kotemon evolve to Gladimon!"

The two DATS digimon charged forward, but Kamemon pushed ahead of the knight digimon. He was rewarded when Kyukimon charged him, using her head to bat him aside. Gladimon whipped out his sword, but Karatenmon blocked with his own weapon. The two begin a fierce sword fight, each jab, each strike was blocked by the other. They were locked in equal strength, until Karatenmon swiped Gladimon's foot, throwing him off balance. With a simple kick of his foot, the armored warrior digimon flew backwards, smashing into one of the metal posts.

Gawappamon began to fling cd's from a mysterious area in his head. "DJ Shooter!"

Kyukimon held out the blades that acted as her forearms and began to spin forward, like an in-coming tornado, "Blade Twister!"

The cds were deflected in all directions. Gawappamon flipped over as fast as he could, and the Kyukimon bladed-tornado smashed into his shell, nearly cracking the tough shield. Once the Blade Twister was complete, the Deep Saver continued his back-flip until he was close enough to the demon fox. He pulled his fist back, "Gawappunch!" His fist connected with Kyukimon's face, but his arm elongated, putting more force behind the attack. Yet, the fox was easily able to roll with the punch, jumping back on her feet.

"She's not even winded?" Gawappamon gasped, "Oh man!"

"You should give up now," Kyukimon taunted, "You will not defeat me."

The Deep Saver just shrugged, "Yeah, well, I've never been one ta give up!"

He ran forward once more, "DJ Shooter!"

Kyukimon leapt and dashed from side to side, easily avoiding the spinning projectiles. The Deep Saver continued to throw the projectiles, but the fox suddenly increased in speed and in the blink of an eye she was kneeling besides Gawappamon. With a quick swipe of her bladed forearms, she sent the turtle flipping through the air before crashing into the dirt.

Gladimon held his swords perfectly straight, and begun to spin around like a top. "Sword Dancer!"

Karatenmon flew into the air and flung his wings open, sending a barrage of bullets into the bladed-top. They were deflected as well, but Karatenmon twisted through the air before coming down directly over the spinning Gladimon, his sword shinning in the moonlight.

"Gladimon, look out!" Gabe shouted, but it was to no avail. Karatenmon's sword attack threw the spinning top off balance and he crashed into the bleachers.

On the sidelines, the Demons of Decima were watching intently. Yuuji placed a hand on Shinji's shoulder, "Twin Brother, Skull Baluchimon has been watching the perimeter and has just seen more DATS agents arriving."

Shinji nodded. "Then it's time." He watching as Yuuji placed her digivice back onto her belt and removed another object, a golden rope, which she unfurled with a snap.

"What the hell is that?" Joey asked, "A whip?"

Gabe gasped, "Oh shit! That's…"

Before he could answer, Yuuji whipped Gleipnir around Gladimon, Gawappamon and their partners. The Demon girl pulled back and the bonds tightened. "Shit," Gabe growled, "We've got to get out of here!" He flexed his muscles, twisting and moving as best he could, veins tensed and his face turned red.

Joey was watching in shock, "Dude, dude!" he shouted, "I don't think we're getting out ourselves! Didn't you say Asami was commin?"

Gabe sighed deeply, relaxing his muscles. He was not able to break free of Gleipnir's bonds. "Yeah, but she's bringing her cousin with her! I'm _not_ being rescued by her!" His face snarled, "Damn bitch, thinks she's so great just 'cause she's a Yagami! Well, _my_ family's just as powerful!"

Joey shook his head, "Dude, I don't think you've got a choice."

Karatnemon gripped his sword tightly as he held the blade up against Galdimon's body. "Can I kill him, please?" he asked, his teeth gleaming.

Kenichi just shrugged. "If you must."

The bird man positioned his sword over the opening in Galdimon's armor, where his eyes were staring in horror. "Farewell, nothing personal."

"Dino Burst!"

Karatenmon was able to use a quick sword maneuver to dissipate Allomon's energy blast. Shinji grinned as the other DATS agents entered the stadium. Only Yuki Agumon had evolved to her Adult form, the others were still Children. "More DATS?" Sawa asked her cousins, "How many are there?"

"Too many," Yuuji sighed. She turned to Shinji, "Well, Twin Brother?"

"We have already seen the abilities of Yagami, Yamaki and Ishida," he mentioned to Kasumi, Asami and Yasu, "But the other two…"

"I understand." She was still holding tightly to the end of Gleipnir and made a quick flexing of her wrist, and the ropes that were binding Gabe and the others suddenly grew more tendrils which wrapped tightly around the three aforementioned girls and their partners.

"Oh man, not again!" Kasumi exclaimed, trying to break free.

Gabe watched the pony-tailed girl struggling against Gleipnir and snickered. "Heh heh heh…"

Eliane dropped to her knees and was trying to pull Gleipnir away from Yasu. "That's not going to work," Asami said, "We can only get free if _she_ lets us."

Aleksey stared at Yuuji, "So, if we get that rope from her, then you shall be free?" He turned to Muchomon. "Shall we?"

His partner nodded. "I am ready."

Eliane looked to her own partner, "We have to help zem."

Mushmon grinned, "You got it."

"Muchomon evolve to Pteramon!"

"Mushmon evolve to Woodmon!"

"More opponents," Kyukimon spoke, "More opponents who do not realize they are outmatched."

"True," Karatenmon replied, "We should educate them."

The fox grinned. "Yes, we should." She charged at Woodmon, then jumped into the air, spinning into a tornado. Blade Twister!"

The tree digimon fired blades of bark from his arm, "Woody Smash!" However, the Blade Twister simply shattered the projectiles. Woodmon was able to jump to the side, the twisting tornado shot past him, but, to his horror, it quickly changed directions and came heading straight back. Woodmon jabbed his arm into the ground. Shards of wood fired from the ground directly beneath the spinning Kyukimon, The fox was thrown off balance and her twisting ceased.

"Branch Drain!"

Kyukimon saw the elongated branch heading for her. She used the blades on her arms to slash the wood, then charged forward and continued the attack by slicing into Woodmon's side.

"No!" Eliane shouted, "Woodmon!"

Kyukimon hacked off the tree's left limb, then twisted around to slice off the right limb, but Woodmon pulled it back quickly, and the fox completely missed. Once the blade was at a safe distance, Woodmon twisted completely around, slamming his elbow into the fox's side. However, this did little good, as Kyukimon rolled with the jab, then leapt back to her feet. She dove, and slashed with all of her strength directly into Woodmon's side. He yelled in pain, regressing to Mushmon.

"Mushmon!" Eliane cried. She was about to rush to his side, but Aleksey grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back.

"Pteramon!"

His partner swooped in to attack Kyukimon, but Karatenmon appeared in front. He used his sword and slashed into Pteramon's body. The armored digimon flipped around in the air, a gash in his metal chest. "Side Winder!"

A barrage of missiles exploded from beneath his wings, smashing into the demonic bird. Karatenmon used his wings to dissipate the smoke, then shot forward for another attack. Pteramon executed a spin, but rather then rolling to the side, as Karatenmon was expecting, the armored bird rolled to the bottom, missing Karatenmon's jab completely.

Before the demon bird could react, Pteramon had already flipped behind him. "Side Winder!"

Karatenmon was not able to move before the full barrage of the armored digimon's attack. The demon bird twisted around in the air and flew to attack with his sword, Pteramon once move rolled to safety, in a direction that Karatenmon was not expecting.

"He is good, is he not?" Kenichi commented, "Karatenmon is an expert in the air, yet Pteramon is avoiding each one."

Shinji gave an amused smile. "Twin Brother?" Yuuji asked.

"I think I have seen what I need to see," he nodded.

His twin sister flexed her wrist once again, and more tendrils of Gleipnir appeared, wrapping around the remaining DATS agents. "Oh, this is just great!" Gabe snapped, glaring at Kasumi, "Great rescue."

"Fuck you!" she snapped back, "I don't see _you_ doing anything!"

"_You_ were supposed to rescue _us!"_

Asami sighed, shaking her head. _"They argue so much. Why can't they just get along?"_

Karatenmon and Kyukimon ran back to stand beside their partners. The fox mentioned to the golden ropes holding the DATS agents tightly, "I take it this means we are finished here?"

"Yes," Sawa replied, "We have discovered the location for the invasion, and Elder Cousin has finished. Come."

The Demons vanished, and once Yuuji had departed, Gleipnir vanished as well. "Damn it!" Kasumi shouted, stomping her foot, "I'm tired of them always getting away!"

Gabe was helping Asami to her feet. "Are you okay?"

The girl nodded. "Yes, thank you."

Aleksey gently rubbed his hand on the top of Muchomon's head, "So, they were the Demons?"

"Yeah," Gabe frowned, "And there's just more and more of them."

Joey walked over to the American teenager. "Well, I got some good news for ya."

"What?"

"Hold out your hands."

Gabe did as he was told. Joey held his own hand over the American's cupped palms. A drop of water fell from the Australian's hand and when it landed in Gabe's, it splashed with more water then it should have, transforming into a pair of blue metal gloves.

Gabe gasped, "Are these…?"

Joey nodded, grinning. "They're the Gauntlets of Water, and I want you ta have them."

"Me?" he asked, "You want _me_ to…?"

"Yup, Mom told me ta give 'em ta who I think would be best, and I think that's you."

Gabe was admiring them. "Cool…"

Kasumi crossed her arms and huffed. "How come he gets a weapon?" She suddenly gasped and turned to Aleksey, "You've got one, right?"

The Russian paled. "Um, _d…da, _but…"

"But what?" she shrieked, "Come on, can I have it?"

"Kasumi!" Asami said, "He needs to decided _who_ to give it to, right?"

He nodded again. "_D…da, _I do not yet know who to give it to, but it will most likely be one of you."

"Sweet!" the pony-tailed girl grinned.

Aleksey smiled back, "So, I would like to give each of you some of my Wind power. Even without a weapon, it should allow you to evolve your partners to Fully Evolved." He placed a hand on each of their shoulders and closed his eyes. The girls felt energy flow into their bodies, a feeling that was not entirely alien, like they had felt that sort of energy before.

"Wow, that wasn't so bad," Kasumi blinked, "Are you sure you even did anything?"

Aleksey nodded. "But, I did feel like something was calling to me within your bodies, like you already have Wind power?"

"My Mom does," Asami explained, "Your mother gave it to her."

Yuki Agumon tugged on Kasumi's pant leg, "Didn't your Dad say something about that?"

She crossed her arms in thought. "Oh yeah, you're right. My Dad's got a bunch of those powers…four I think." She grinned, "Maybe he gave some to me? I got the X-Antibody from him, right?"

Aleksey added, "Perhaps that means you can use four of those weapons, not just the Claymore of Wind."

She frowned, a sick feeling in her stomach, "Does that mean you're not giving me the sword?"

He hesitated for a moment, "I…um…"

She threw up her hands and stormed away. "Fine, whatever!" Yuki Agumon looked back apologetically, then ran after her partner.

"I just do not think she would be right for it," Aleksey frowned, "But I did give her the Wind power…"

"Don't mind her," Asami sighed, "She's always been like that."

Yasu, meanwhile, was speaking to Eliane. "It's okay," she said, "No one does good their first time."

The French girl frowned, "But…neither Woodmon nor I were any help at all. If zey had not left, zen who knows what could have happened?"

"Don't take it so hard," Labramon shrugged, "Really."

Asami placed her hands on the two younger girls' shoulders. "Come on, we'd better get back."

The DATS agents were not aware of it, but the Demons had not vanished, but were now merely standing on the top of the stadium walls, watching as the teenagers exited the sports area.

"I hope you have discovered what it is you wished to discover?" Kenichi questioned.

Shinji nodded slowly, "Yes, but I think that surveillance is now needed." He turned to the others, "Disguise yourselves and observe them, their physical strength is known to me, but I know more information to discern their weaknesses." He smirked, "All the better to entice them with."

111

Meanwhile, Tsuragi and Ami were standing before a field where stalks of grain and corn stretched to the sky. "The Land of First Grain," he chuckled, "I'm gonna be holding the _Giallarhorn_ by the end of the day!"

To be continued…….

**NAME:** Anna "Danika" Trepov

**GENDER:** Female

**AGE:** 39

**ETHNICITY:** Russian

**OCCUPATION:** Sculptor, Artist

**PLACE OF BIRTH:** Moscow, Russia

**DATE OF BIRTH:** January 9, 1988

**KNOWN RELATIVES:** Aleksey-son, Makar-ex-husband, Arkady-father, Natala-mother, Zilya "Svetlana" Mishca-grandmother (Deceased).

**GROUP AFFILIATION:** DATS

**SUB-GROUP:** Daughters of the First

**EDUCATION:** Political Science

**HEIGHT:** 5' 4"

**WEIGHT:** 145 lbs

**EYES:** Lost

**HAIR:** Blond

**POWER:** Wind

**DIGIMON:** Penmon-Unimon-HippoGryphomon

**WEAPON:** None

**DEGREE OF INFECTION:** Lost eyes

**BIO:** The Daughter of Wind, she was once part of the Russian Chosen team, but when the Second Black Death struck, too many of their team died in the first wave, so the team fell apart. Only Yuri and Anna remained, but Yuri was modified by the X-Antibody, and Anna lost her eyes. She and Yuri were in love, but he was killed while fighting GranDracmon's agents. She has since tried to be a positive role model for the still-emerging Chosen in Russia.

1

**NAME:** Lynna "Jeffry" Hogan

**GENDER:** Female

**AGE:** 38

**ETHNICITY:** Australian

**OCCUPATION:** Model

**PLACE OF BIRTH:** Sydney, Australia

**DATE OF BIRTH:** June 10, 1989

**KNOWN RELATIVES:** Dingo-husband, Joey-son, John-father, Megan-mother, Amanda "Kendra" Chailyn-grandmother (deceased).

**GROUP AFFILIATION:** DATS

**SUB-GROUP:** Daughters of the First

**EDUCATION:** High School

**HEIGHT:** 5'2"

**WEIGHT:** 114 lbs

**EYES:** Brown

**HAIR:** Brown

**POWER:** Water

**DIGIMON:** Gizamon-Ebidramon-Waruseadramon

**WEAPON:** None

**DEGREE OF INFECTION:** Missing arm

**BIO:** The Daughter of Water was not part of the Australian Team, or any Chosen Team. She and Gizamon chose to remain apart from the others, so she was reluctant to trust Dingo and Yamato when she first met them, but after being attacked by Karetu of the Demon Lords, she joined with the other Daughters of the First. She is carefree and energetic, but does have a fiery temper and feels strongly for her friends and family. She has been teaching her son, Joey, how to use his Water powers.


	12. Embodiment of Fire: Chapter 2

_My name is Gabe Barton, and I am a Chosen Child-a member of DATS, I am the son of Michael and Mimi Barton. My partner is Kotemon, who almost evolved to his Fully Evolved form on his own, which is better then that brat, Kasumi Yagami. She thinks that just 'cause she's the daughter of Taichi Yagami, she's better then me, well, I'll show her, my family's just as strong as hers!_

_ Anyway, I met Joey Hogan and he gave me the Gauntlets of Water. And Kasumi wanted the Claymore of Wind, but Aleksey Trepov gave it to Asami instead, heh…heh…_

_Digimon Magog_

_Embodiment of Fire_

_Chapter 2 _

Sora poked her head into the living room, where Piyomon and Yuki Agumon were watching television. "Have you seen Kasumi?"

Yuki Agumon did not answer. Piyomon assumed that she had not heard, so she answered instead, "I think she's in her room."

"Still?" It was Saturday, and they were used to Kasumi sleeping late, but it was past noon, and she had not even eaten breakfast yet. She might not be feeling well, but her daughter would never let that stop her on a weekend, especially not when then weather was so perfect. Kasumi would be playing soccer even with a stomach virus.

Sora walked to the door to her daughter's room and knocked. "Kasumi, are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine," was the response, but her voice was muffled and…quivering? She was crying?

Sora was stunned for a moment, then walked back to the living room. "What's wrong with Kasumi?"

Yuki Agumon hesitated, "She didn't want me to say…"

"What?"

She frowned, "She called Asami to hang out, but she's gonna be with Shiro and Gabe."

Sora nodded. "And she's left out because she doesn't have a weapon?"

The white dinosaur nodded. Sora walked back to her daughter's room and opened the door. Kasumi was lying on her bed, her face buried in her pillows. The middle-aged woman sat down and began to rub her daughter's shoulders. "Honey, do you want to talk about it?"

"Talk about what?" she cried into the pillow, "About how everyone hates me?"

"They don't hate you…"

'They why are they having fun without me?!"

Her mother sighed and continued rubbing her shoulder. "Sweetie, they're practicing with their weapons, they're not ditching you purposely."

"Then how come I don't get one?"

"I don't know why Aleksey or Joey didn't give you a weapon, but it was up to them, right?"

"I guess…but it's still not fair…."

Sora frowned and she sighed once more. "_Ojousan_, you remember us telling you about when the X-Antibody was unleashed, right?"

"Yes…"

"Well, I was the only one from the original Odaiba Team that wasn't modified…who survived the Second Black Death, I should say. Anyway, your father, Mr. Ishida, Dr. Kido and Mrs. Barton were all modified, but I wasn't. I just watched them get stronger because of the X-Antibody, and I was left behind. I tried to pretend that it didn't bother me, but I just kept wondering why I wasn't modified, what was wrong with me? I still don't know…maybe it had something to do with the Fire Powers, but….once I realized I _had_ those powers, then I knew I had something different to offer. Just because you don't have a weapon, doesn't mean you're useless."

"Yeah, and what good am I, huh? I'm not smart like Shiro, I'm not strong like Gabe, I can't heal people like Kenji, I don't have powers like Akira or Yasu….and apparently even _Asami's_ stronger then me! What good am I?!"

"Honey," Sora replied, "Everyone's got something that makes them special." She smiled, even though Kasumi could not see, "And what makes you special, is your determination, you never give up, you keep on trying. It's not like you to get this depressed."

She rubbed her daughter's back some more, "Akira's going to be with Yasu all day, and I was going to see your father, do you want to come?"

Kasumi's sobs slowed, "Just the two of us?"

"Well, with Piyomon and Yuki Agumon. I know you didn't eat breakfast, so we can stop for lunch too…and maybe get some dessert afterwards…?"

"Dessert?"

"Yeah, I thought a hot fudge sundae?"

Kasumi stopped crying. "Really?"

Sora grinned. No matter how much a tomboy, a girl was still a girl, and she would know.

Her daughter sat up in her bed and used her pajama sleeve to wipe her face. "Y…yeah, okay, just let me get dressed…"

111

The Karatsuki Numemon hid as best he could in the sea of the tall stalks of grain and corn stretching to the sky. It was decent cover, as long as one stood in place, which meant that tracking was impossible. Luckily, there were plenty of the shelled digimon scattered within the stalks, positioned around the main path, they were able to watch as Tsuragi and Ami entered the field, making no attempted to hide their presence.

The Karatsuki Numemon nearest to the edge of the field was able to climb back into the grassland without giving any indication. "It's time to tell DATS…"

111

Akira sighed in annoyance as he followed Yasu and Eliane through the mall, his arms full of shopping bags. "How come I got stuck doing this?" he wondered as he followed the two girls into another clothing store.

"And this place sells really cools skirts," the Ishida daughter grinned.

The French girl frowned, "I…"

Yasu grabbed her hand and dragged her into the store. Akira stared inside; mannequins wearing bras, panties and other frilly undergarments. Pink mini skirts hung from hangers, flower-embroidered hip-hugger jeans were on shelves. The walls contained posters of super-models, and white-lacy clothes covered counters that proudly displayed fruity shampoos and perfume, along with giant, silver, girly earrings. The place reeked of femininity; any male who stepped inside would never be seen again…at least, not as _he_ was before…"Um, I'm…uh… just gonna wait out here…"

The two girls took no notice, so he sat on one of the benches, dropping the bags onto the floor. An elderly woman walked past, with her husband trailing behind, carrying a large bag in his arms. When he saw Akira, he paused for a moment, and when he saw the pink and white bags he was carrying, he chuckled. "Trust me, kid, you're going to be doing that for the rest of your life."

"Jirobi!" the woman snapped.

"Right dear, I'm coming," he sighed.

Akira blinked as he watched the old man walk away. "W…what?"

Inside the store, Yasu dragged Eliane to a display of miniskirt. The Ishida daughter grabbed a denim one with a slight frilly bottom. "Here, isn't this one just so cute? Of course my Mom'd never let me wear it," she pouted, "Don't you hate it when your mom doesn't let you wear what you want?"

Eliane opened her moth to speak, but Yasu interrupted. "Oh!" she squealed in girlish delight, "Isn't this so cute!" She grabbed a short pink skirt and trusted it into Eliane's hands, "Here, this is perfect for you! Go head, try it on!"

The French girl sighed deeply, "I do not really wear zese…"

Yasu frowned, staring at her long-sleeved shirt and her jeans. "You're not a tomboy, are you?"

She blinked. "W…what is a 'tomboy?"

The Ishida daughter sighed, "It means you like to act like a boy."

Eliane shook her head, "No, it…it iz not like zat, it…it…" She sighed and pulled up her sleeve, revealing the red spots on her arm where her skin was vanishing.

Yasu gasped, "Oh, um, well, it's not that bad." She pushed her into a dressing room. Defeated, the French girl slowly changed into the skirt. The Ishida daughter threw a tank top over the top of the door. "Here, change into that too."

"But…"

"Come on!" Yasu pressed. She waited patiently until the door opened and Eliane emerged, dressed in the tank top and skirt, which left her arms and most of her legs bare, along with the large red splotches from the BD-2 infection. Yasu flinched slightly. "Um…heh, uh, no problem." She disappeared for a moment, then ran back with a pair of knee-high boots and a pink sweater. "Here." Eliane put on the clothes and looked at her reflection. The sweater covered up her arms and shoulders, and the boots helped to hide her legs. For the first time in a long time, she actually felt attractive. "Wow…"

Yasu grinned, "See?"

The French girl happily paid for her new outfit and once they exited the store, Akira stared for a moment. "Wow…"

Yasu stared at Akira, then threw the bags into his arms. "Here!"

"What's your problem?" he asked.

"Nothing!" she snapped, storming away.

_"Girls…"_ he thought.

111

In the area of Neodigital known as Clotho, that is the area dominated by the power of Light, the three DATS agents were busy practicing with their new weapons. Asami was all smiles as she was staring at the other two. "Wow, this is pretty cool."

Gabe nodded. "Yeah, or it would be if we had the slightest clue how to use them."

"My Dad said that his weapon just worked when he needed it to," Shiro explained, "But maybe if we get used to them now, when we need them, we'll be able to use them properly."

Their partners were resting beneath a tall tree that cast a large shadow onto the ground. "Asami's pretty excited, "Psychemon commented.

"She didn't sleep at all last night," Leormon yawned.

Kotemon only nodded, "I never saw Gabe like that before."

The coat-wearing lizard digimon turned to him, "Didn't you almost reach the Fully Evolved level before?"

He shrugged, "Kinda, I never really evolved or anything like that…"

He was cut off by a burst of energy as their partners called for their weapons: Gabe's Gauntlets in a burst of water, Shiro's Lance in an explosion of darkness, and Asami's Claymore in a whirl of wind. However, the heavy broadsword weighed more then the teenage girl did, and she stumbled about. She gave an embarrassed giggle and struggled to lift the weapon. She was forced to use two hands before she was even able to lift it, but she could not for long and needed to rest it against the ground.

"Okay," she panted, "What are we supposed to do?"

Gabe glanced to Shiro, who, in turn, looked down to the Lance in his hand. "Um..why don't we try to draw up our energy, the kind that they gave to us?"

"You mean the Wind that Aleksey gave me?" Asami questioned.

The blond teen nodded. "Right."

The trio each attempted to draw out the energy they had been infused with. Gabe's Gauntlets began to glow a light blue, while Shiro Lance emanated a black light. Asami's Claymore, however, remained un-illuminated. She gripped the weapon tighter and closed her eyes, struggling and straining, attempting to call upon the Wind power that she knew was there, yet nothing happened.

"Darn," she frowned.

"Hey, no problem," Gabe smiled, "That's why we're doing this, right? You just need some practice, that's all. No worries."

The teenage girl smiled sweetly at him, then looked back to her weapon.

Suddenly, their D-terminals began to sound. Each teenager flipped open the top to study the screen. "Trouble?" Leormon asked, running over.

"It's from Dad," Asami gasped.

Shiro looked to Psychemon, "Tsuragi and Ami and near here."

His partner nodded. "Then let's go, Neodevimon's gonna wish he was never born!"

Kotemon gave a quick laugh, "You sound like Yuki Agumon."

Psychemon just shrugged, "Yeah, well…"

111

When Kasumi and Sora arrived at the hospital, they were disappointed to find out that Taichi was busy with Jyou in an examining room. They needed to make certain that the synthetic artery that Dr. Kido had to use was not being rejected by Taichi's body, as transplants often are. Sora suggested visiting Yamato, but Kasumi did not want to; however, he and Gabumon X were sleeping. So, Sora, her daughter and their digimon partners were waiting in Taichi's hospital room. Piyomon and Agumon X were in the lounge area, enjoying the view of the sun setting behind the Tokyo skyline.

Kasumi was seated in one of the chairs, lazily flipping through the television. Sora glanced up from the book she was reading. "Honey, are you still upset?"

She shrugged, still keeping her attention on the television.

Sora smiled slightly and walked over. "Oh cheer up. Didn't Aleksey say that you already had the powers that your father absorbed in other to form Omegamon X?"

She just nodded.

"So, when we find the Spear of Earth, that will be yours."

Kasumi just nodded again. Sora sighed and walked back to her seat.

"What was she like?"

Sora glanced back up. "Who?"

"Maria Silvano, she had Earth, right?"

Her mother nodded. "Yes." She closed her eyes, "What was she like?" She thought for a moment, "I guess a lot like your Aunt Hikari." She chuckled slightly and closed her eyes as her mind drifted back fifteen years ago, when she and Maria were with Taichi in the former digital city of Nightsun…

_Sora limped into the sitting room of the capital building of Nightsun. She sighed in annoyance as she fell into one of the chairs and she threw her crutches to the ground. "Damn it!"_

_ "Sora?" Piyomon asked._

_ The redhead clenched her fists. "I hate those damn crutches!" She sighed, running her hands through her hair, "And I'm gonna be using them for the rest of my life…if the BD-2 doesn't spread further…"_

_ The door opened and Yuri stepped inside with Maria on his back. When the redhead young woman saw the Latino woman, her heart dropped. She still had on leg left, Maria had none, she would be bound to a wheelchair. And she thought of Anna, who had lost both of her eyes and would be blind forever. How could she be so selfish?_

_ Yuri placed Maria onto the couch and her Patamon fluttered to her lap. "There," the Russian man said, "I shall see you soon, Taichi and I are still working."_

_ "Okay, thank you," she smiled._

_ Sora gave Yuri a smile as well before he left. She limped to Maria's side, "How are you feeling? Do you need anything?"_

_ The younger woman shook her head. "No thank you."_

_ "You were with Taichi and Yuri right?" _

_ Maria nodded._

_ "Is there any hope? Or is Digitalatri going to win?"_

_ She hesitated for a moment. "I…I was never really good at that kind of thing, but Taichi said that we shouldn't give up."_

_ Sora smiled, "Yeah, that's sounds like him." Her smile faded, "I hope we do win, then we can get rid of those religious fanatics."_

_ "You shouldn't talk about them like that," Maria said._

_ Sora stared at her, "W..what? Maria, Miayag took your friends away from you!"_

_ "I know," she frowned, "But, she did heal Tatum and Sam, maybe she was hurting inside too. She can't be completely evil, no one can."_

"Wait a second," Kasumi said, "Miayag is Dad's cousin, right?"

Sora nodded. "Yes."

"How come I've never seen her?"

"Because she just disappeared," her mother replied, "We have no idea where she is. I know Aunt Hikari has tried to find her, but…"

"What was she like?"

Sora smiled, "Like your father and aunt put together."

She chuckled too. "Oh…"

The door opened and Kenji Kido stepped inside. "Kenji, hi," Sora smiled.

"Hi, Mrs. Yagami," he said, "My father sent me to tell you that he's sorry he forgot to tell you that Mr. Yagami has a physical therapy session with my mother right now."

"Oh, um, how long is he going to be?"

"Well, they want to take it slow, so probably just an hour…"

Kasumi took that moment to sneak out of the room. She found Yuki Agumon in the lounge area. "Where are Piyomon and Agumon?"

"I think they wanted to be alone…"

"Oh," she replied. She fell into the chair next to her partner.

"You still bummed?"

She nodded and sighed deeply, "Yeah. Damn it, my father and aunt are both so strong, and my father's cousin was really powerful too, how come I don't get any of that? They were the grandchildren of Yuushi, but I'm the great-granddaughter of Yuushi…and Hidokoro too. How come I'm so weak?" She sighed, running her hands through her hair, "I'm sorry you got stuck with such a lousy partner."

Yuki Agumon sighed, "I didn't really get a choice."

"Thanks," she muttered. She took a deep breath and lend back to her seat, "Oh, this sucks…"

She sat back up in the chair, and as she did, she noticed a female nurse walk past. She was pushing a cart of supplies…yet why was she dressed in a white jacket like the doctors wore…?

Kasumi eyed her suspiciously. Something about her seemed familiar, where had she seen her face before…

She suddenly gasped and jumped to her feet. "What the hell's your problem?" Yuki Agumon exclaimed.

Kasumi grabbed her paw and ran down the hall. "Shut up and just follow me!"

They ran through the halls until they returned to Taichi's room. The mysterious nurse was slowly approaching the door. "Heh, I was right."

"What are you talking about?" her partner asked.

"Just get ready to attack."

The nurse slid open the door and addressed Sora and Kenji. "Hello, I am here to…" She was abruptly cut off when Yuki Agumon's Frozen Wind struck her in the back, throwing her in to the floor. Sora ran into the hall and stared at her daughter and her partner.

"What the hell is the matter with you?!" she screamed.

"It's her!" Kasumi protested, "The one that tried to kill Dad!"

Sora blinked. Her head twisted back to the mysterious nurse. She was slowly rising to her feet. "Not bad, ya' remembered my face after only seeing me once." She twisted around and it was indeed the assassin Artemis.

Sora sighed. "So, you remember that but you can't remember to do your homework?"

Kasumi flinched, "Mom, you're embarrassing me!"

The Hunter chuckled, "Family squabbles, heh heh…"

"What the hell do you want now?" Kasumi snapped, "You're back to kill Dad?"

Artemis smirked, "Ya not as stupid as I first thought."

Kasumi chuckled, "But you're not that clever either! You didn't know Dad was in his therapy session!" Her smile grew, "And you didn't know that Mr. Ishida was going to be with Dad and Uncle Mitsuo when you attacked them!" She pointed her finger at her, "Some hunter you are, you don't know anything!"

Artemis ripped off her nurse's disguise, "Yeah, I remember that, Ishida could've had me, but _you_ screwed that up, didn't you?"

Kasumi clenched her fists. "You bitch!" She charged, but in a quick motion she grabbed the two crossbows from her waist and fired. The pony-tailed girl could only stare as the deadly projectiles flew towards her. Yuki Agumon could not move fast enough.

"Kasumi!"

"Magical Flame!"

A spiral of glowing flame enveloped the arrows, disintegrating them instantly. Kasumi blinked, "Wha-? Piyomon?" She turned and saw Piyomon and Agumon X standing in the elevator. They jumped into the hall and Agumon X readied himself to attack.

"Spitfire!"

Artemis used her arm to block the flame. The X-digimon prepared for another attack, but he suddenly winced in pain. He grabbed his side and fell to his knee. Piyomon ran to his side. "You're still not recovered yet!"

"No, I'm fine!" he protested, trying to stand.

She sighed, "Agumon, you're still hurt!"

The Hunter chuckled and pointed her crossbows at the digital couple. She was about to pull the trigger.

"Hold on, help's on the way!" Kenji shouted as he and Otamamon ran down the hall. Unfortunatly, they slipped on the slick floor and crashed onto their noses.

Kasumi sighed, "What a dork."

Artemis's eye danced from left to right, more Chosen and digimon were entering the halls. "_This ain't goin' well. This was supposed ta be a silent kill, there are way too many of 'em now. This is a DATS hospital, the patients and staff are probably all Chosen. I doubt any of 'em are able to get higher then Adult, but what they lack in power they make up for in sheer numbers. Even I can't handle a hundred Adult digimon."_ Her cybernetic eye focused on Sora, "_But Yagami has Garudamon…"_ She glanced to Kenji, "_And if he gets his father, I don't want to handle a Fully Evolved X-digimon. Any there're aren't any shadows for me to make a quick escape. Damn, gonna have to do this the hard way…"_

She began to chuckle, "Well, it's been enlightening, but, time ta be headin' out." She quickly fired a barrage of arrows in all directions, while Artemis dove into the empty hospital room. Piyomon and Otamamon shielded their partners with their attacks, but Kasumi and Yuki Agumon followed them. The Hunter dove out the window.

"Come on, Yuki!" Kasumi shouted, running to the window, "We've got her on the run!"

"I'm right behind ya!"

Both girls leapt through the window and sailed towards the ground. Sora and the others were following, but stopped short of jumping through the opening. "Kasumi!"

As they fell, Kasumi positioned her partner so that she was directly beneath her. "Yuki Agumon evolve to Allomon!" Now much larger, the dinosaur was able to withstand the fall, landing perfectly on her two feet. Kasumi was safe upon her back, and pointed forward. "All right, let's move!"

"Kasumi Yagami!" Sora shouted from the window, "Get back here right now!"

"Sorry Mom!" she shouted back as Allomon charged through the street. _"She's gonna pay for what she did to Dad, and I'll shut that fucking mouth of her's too!"_

Sora screamed in frustration and pulled a fistful of hair from her head. When she realized what she had done, she stared at hand, where a tangled mess of white hair seemed to be staring back at her. "Oh that's just great! First I've got to dye my hair 'cause it's turning gray, and now I'm losing it!"

Kenji was standing beside her, "Actually, Mrs. Yagami, it's perfectly natural for an older woman to start losing their hair. It's actually more common then…"

She growled at him and the boy fell silent. She clenched her digivice so tightly that she could shatter it, "When I catch the two of them, they're gonna be so grounded! Piyomon!"

Her partner flew through the window as her body began to glow. "Piyomon evolve to Birdramon!"

Sora climbed through the window and onto her partner's back. "Wait a minute!" Kenji shouted, "You can't go alone!"

"All right, climb on," the redhead shouted. Kenji and Otamamon crawled onto the bird's back. Birdramon gave a flap of her wings before taking off.

111

Gabe, Shiro and Asami arrived in the Land of First Grain and began to wade through the sea of thick stalks. The American teenager was singing softly to himself. "_The corn is as high as an elephant's eye…"_

"What?" Shiro asked.

"Nothing," he replied, "Just singing to myself."

Asami giggled sweetly. "You've got a nice voice."

He blushed, nervously scratching the back of his head. "Uh, I…um…"

Shiro did not hear the conversation, as he was too focused on his destination-a tall obelisk which they were fast approaching. "_Tsuragi,"_ he thought, "_I won't you let you get away this time."_

Psychemon began to sniff the air. "Shiro, they're close."

The blond teenager stopped and peered through his binoculars. Through a space between the tall stalks, he was able to see two figures standing at the base of the stone column. The others had caught up to him, and were about to pass, but he held out his arms.

"What?" Kotemon asked.

Shiro pointed to the obelisk, "They're up there. We've got to walk slowly and carefully."

They nodded and slowly moved closer. Tsuragi and Ami were standing side-by-side while their partners circled the towering stone structure. The Demon Chosen crossed his arms. "Any time you're ready!"

Neodevimon stared at him for a moment, then turned back to the obelisk. Through the binoculars, he was able to see that the devil digimon was wearing the mystical _Megingjoro_ around his waist. He crackled his knuckles, then knelt down to grab the base of the structure. He heaved, then lifted the entire stone obelisk.

Shiro narrowed his eyes. "That's what they needed the belt for…"

Neodevimon held the obelisk within his arms, but it proved too heavy for even the mystic _Megingjoro_. He grunted and flung the structure over his shoulder where it twisted in the air before gravity began to pull it directly over the hidden DATS agents.

"Run!" Gabe shouted. The agents dove to safety as the obelisk smashed into the ground, and due to its weight, dug deep into the surface before coming to a stop. The agents and their partners were panting heavily, still in shock from what had just occurred.

Ami's Astamon chuckled, "Looks like you missed."

Neodevimon snarled at her, "You try hittin a target like that!"

"Oh no!" Leormon gasped, "They knew we were here all along!"

"Of course we did," Ami smirked, "Did ya think we were stupid enough not to leave traps?"

Shiro frowned, "I should have thought of that, instead of just marching through the field. Out of curiosity, what was it?"

Ami mentioned to the ground, where strands of wire were attached to stalks, attached to every twentieth or so stalk, stretching from the edge of the field to the Demons' location. "Damn it," the blond teenager sighed, "Sorry guys."

"Don't beat yourself up over it," Gabe shrugged, "We didn't think of it either…"

Shiro sighed, then mentioned to the area where the obelisk once stood. There was a massive hole in the surface, leading to a dark pit beneath the ground. "I take it the _Giallarhorn_ is under there?"

Tsuragi shrugged. "What difference is it gonna make now? Yeah, the horn's down there."

Shiro whispered to the others. "All right, we need to get down there."

"What is that horn for?" Asami asked.

He shook his head, "I don't know, but if they want it, it can't be anything good."

The Demon male, meanwhile, was speaking to his own team. "All right, listen up. Me and Neodevimon'll go down and get the horn, you take care of them."

"Three against one?" Astamon asked, "I don't know, doesn't seem too fair, they'll need a lot more before they could beat me."

"Shove your attitude, and just get the job done," Tsuragi sneered, "Neodevimon, let's go." His partner lifted him onto his back and they descended into the hole.

"Where's he going?" Kotemon asked.

Astamon grinned wildly "Don't worry about him, you gotta get past me first." He whipped out his gun and began to fire. The three digimon pushed their partners to safety before evolving to their Adult levels.

"Leormon evolve to Raiamon!"

"Kotemon evolve to Gladimon!"

"Psychemon evolve to Gururumon!"

Leormon and Gururumon charged at Astamon from either side. The Demon Man leapt into the air, grabbing each digimon by their head and smashing them into each other before throwing them into the ground. He completed his back-flip slamming his foot into the on-coming Gladimon. While the Warrior digimon rolled onto his back, Astamon landed perfectly on the ground.

The Demon Man took out his knife and used it to pick his fingernails. "Anytime you're ready…"

Gladimon held his sword out and began to spin around on his feet. "Sword Dancer!"

Astamon jumped into the air again, but this time shot a stream of fire from his palm which would have enveloped the Warrior digimon if he had not been spinning. His twisting sword blades cut through the flame and continued towards the Demon Man. Astamon used his knife to catch one of the blades, stopping Gladimon's spinning attack. The Demon Man executed a roundhouse, kicking the Warrior digimon four times before finishing his combo with a powerful kick that sent him rolling backwards. He crashed into a row of stalks, flattening them.

"Ten stalks!" Astamon laughed, "I just got a strike!"

"Gladimon!" Gabe shouted, "Are you okay?"

Astamon was laughing. "It's that body ya got. How do you expect to be taken seriously if you look like a balloon that's ready to pop?"

"Astamon!" Ami screamed, "Behind you!"

The Demon Man spun around just in time as Gururumon charged him. "Chaos Fire!"

Astamon swung his arms up, but it was not fast enough, as the wolf's attack ripped across the Demon Man's face. This was followed by Raiamon's Thunder of King attack, which shot a bolt of intense electricity into Astamon's back, flinging him forward, where he crashed into the ground.

"And you need to learn to shut up!" Gururumon snapped, "You're in the middle of a battle!"

Shiro grinned. "Nice job, getting him while he's distracted. Now hurry up and attack before he recovers!"

Gururumon and Raiamon charged at Astamon, who was still lying on the ground. The Demon Man suddenly leapt back to his feet, pointing his gun, "Maverick!"

An explosion of bullets erupted from his weapon, ripping across Raiamon's body. He regressed to Leormon and tumbled backwards, resting at Asami's feet. The girl gave a scream and dropped down to her partner's side. "Leormon!"

Gururumon continued with his attack, Astamon executed another Hellfire technique, but the wolf's Chaos Fire was enough to hold back the force of the attack. Gladimon ran up behind the Demon and prepared to strike, but Astamon leapt into the air, and Gururumon's attack blasted into the Warrior digimon.

"Ah!" Gabe shouted, "What are you doing?"

Galdimon stumbled, but still managed to slice with his sword, cutting a deep wound into Astamon's arm. The Demon Man yelled in anger and fired a barrage of bullets directly into his chest. He rolled back once again, but managed to bring himself back to a standing position. He was panting heavily, but he had not regressed to a previous form.

"Still an Adult, eh?" Astamon chuckled, "You're stronger then ya look, but not strong enough! Hellfire!"

"Gladimon!" Gabe shouted.

"No problem," the Warrior digimon shouted back. He began to spin around once again. "Sword Dancer!" He began to spin faster and faster, moving closer to his opponent. The flames were deflected across the spinning body.

Astamon grinned. "Ya never learn do ya? That didn't work the last time!" He took out his knife and was about to block the swords like he did before.

"Chaos Fire!"

He twisted his head to the side just as Gururumon's energy blast struck him. The force sent him stumbling backwards, directly into the path of Gladimon's attack. The blades ripped across the Demon Man, tearing his suit to ribbons. The Fully Evolved digimon clenched his fists in rage.

"Killer Bite!"

Gururumon's sharp teeth dug deeply in Astamon's side, tearing a section of skin. The Demon Man gritted in pain and held his injured side.

Asami grinned, holding Leormon in her arms. "He actually hurt him!"

Ami stared in horror. "A…Astamon? How did he…?"

The Demon Man screamed in rage. He whipped his gun around and pointed it directly at the wolf's forehead. "Maverick!"

The blast sent Gururumon skidding backwards. He tumbled along the ground before jumping back onto his feet. He stared at the Demon Man, growling, saliva dripping from his teeth. "Do it now!" Shiro shouted, "We've got him, go!"

"Astamon!" Ami snapped, "Don't let that Adult take you down!"

Gururumon and Astamon charged at one another, the Demon Man swung his fist, but the Wolf rolled to the side. "Killer Bite!" He slammed his jaw down on the left arm, biting as hard as he could. Astamon swung his other fist around, but Gladimon grabbed it and pulled.

"Yeah!" Gabe shouted, "Kick ass!"

"We've got him now!" Shiro shouted, "Don't let go!"

"Rip his arms out of his sockets!" Gabe shouted.

Astamon gritted his teeth as Gururumon and Gladimon pulled as hard as they could. "_What's going on?_" the Demon Man thought, "_Why can't I break free?"_ His eyes drifted to Shiro and Gabe, specifically, the Lance and the Gauntlets, "_Of course! Those damn weapons are powering them! If they evolve again, this is gonna get real messy."_

"Stun Claw!"

Gladimon screamed as electricity ripped across his body, the force sent him crashing into Gururumon and both tumbled along the ground before coming to a stop, with the Warrior digimon on top.

Ami twisted around and saw Neodevimon standing beside the giant hole. Tsuragi was on his back, his arm clenching to the digimon's shoulder. "Did you..?"

The Demon Chosen held up his hand to display a golden horn, one that was adorned with jewels and elegant designs. "Yes, the _Giallarhorn!_ Come on, let's get out of here."

She turned to the DATS agents, "What about…?"

He smirked. "Forget them! There's a bigger prize ta get."

She just nodded. Neodevimon grabbed both her and Astamon and flew to the sky.

"They're getting away!" Gururumon shouted, "Gladimon, get off!"

"I…can't…move…" he muttered.

Gabe ran to his partner and tried to push him off of the wolf digimon, Asami and Leormon tried to help. Shiro narrowed his eyes as he watched the them disappear in the sky. "We've got to go after them, we can't let them get away now."

111

Artemis had been jumping along the rooftops since escaping from the hospital. She dropped to the street level and glanced around. The area was a neighborhood area, the streets were deserted. She grinned and wrapped her cloak around her frame.

"Dino Burst!"

She easily leapt to the side as Allomon's attack exploded into the ground. She chuckled as the dinosaur stomped down the street. "Ya should 'ave just stayed behind. Ya got a death wish or sometin?"

Kasumi gritted her teeth while she rode on her partner's back. "Yeah, I _wish_ to see _you_ dead! Allomon, attack again!"

Her partner pulled her head back before whipping it forward, "Dino Burst!"

Artemis spied a shadow to her right, being cast by one of the houses. She dove headfirst, vanishing into the shadow. "What the hell?" the pony-tailed girl gasped.

"Meteor Wing!"

Kasumi ducked as Birdramon's attack flew over her head. She twisted around and yelled at her mother as she rode her partner in the sky. "Mom! What the hell?"

"You almost got attacked by her arrows!" Sora shouted.

Kasumi blinked. "Huh?" She glanced around behind her, but there was nothing but houses stretching towards the horizon. "Where?"

"I don't know, they just came out of no where."

Kenji and Otamamon had been riding with Sora on Birdramon's back, and the Kido son saw the next assault of arrows. "Duck!"

Both digimon dropped taking their partners with them. The arrows sailed over their heads. "What the hell?" Kasumi shouted. She looked spun her head around, but did not see the Hunter anywhere. "Where the hell is she?"

Sora twisted her head around as well, trying not to panic. How could they defeat someone they could not even see?

Another shot of arrows, this time coming up from the ground. Birdramon was able to fly to safety, but Allomon was struck across her body. "Allomon!" Kasumi shouted, "Are you okay?"

The dinosaur roared as loud as she could and began to thrash about, her tail smashing into street lights. "Kasumi, Allomon!" Sora snapped, "Calm down!"

Another wave of arrows, this time striking Birdramon in the wing, sending her into a tail spin. Sora, Kenji and Otamamon held on as tight as they could, and the giant bird was able to regain control. "Damn it," Sora growled.

"I saw it!" Kenji exclaimed.

"What?"

"The shadows! She's using the shadows!"

Artemis's laugh began to echo through the small neighborhood. "So, ya managed ta spot me, but it doesn't matter."

"Where is she?" Kasumi exclaimed.

"There!" Birdramon replied, mentioning with her wing. One of the houses had a pointed chimney, which was casting a long, large shadow on the house adjacent to it. From that shadow, Artemis slowly appeared; like stepping through the surface of a lake, her head and torso quickly appeared. Her waist was still submerged in the shadow, and she was defying gravity as she was standing perfectly perpendicular to the side of the building. She pointed her crossbows at Kasumi.

"I won't miss this time!"

"I don't think so," Kenji whispered to himself. "Otamamon!"

His partner leapt from Birdramon's back and evolved to his Adult form, Shellmon. The aquatic digimon fired his tendrils at the Hunter. She began to sink back into the shadow, but she was not fast enough. Shellmon grabbed her by the arm and flung her into the air. Birdramon began to flap her wings and fired a Meteor Wing attack into the Hunter. Artemis flipped around in the air and began her descent to the ground, but she was too focused on Shellmon and Birdramon, and did not see Allomon rushing up behind her. The giant dinosaur clamped her jaw around the Hunter; only her torso was visible.

"Nice catch!" Shellmon grinned.

"Crush her!" Kasumi ordered. _"They'll never think I'm weak again. Who needs a fucking weapon? I'm strong enough as it is!"_

Artemis managed to free her arm and began to pound into Allomon's jaw. The dinosaur was able to hold out for four punches, but the fifth was too much, and she was forced to release her grip. Artemis fell to the ground, but as she did, her other arm twisted behind her back. The dinosaur chomped down on the limb, and the Hunter screamed in pain. Allomon opened her jaw again and Artemis fell to the ground. Her arm was hanging limply at her side blood and a black substance were dripping to the ground, and bone was jutting through the skin, along with…

"Wires?" Kenji gasped, raising an eyebrow.

Artemis reached for an object on her belt, a ball the size of an apple. She threw it into the ground, where it exploded in a blast of smoke. The DATS team had to shield their eyes, but when it cleared, the Hunter was gone.

"No worries," Allomon chuckled, "She's not far, at this range, I've got her scent."

"Then go!" Kasumi ordered.

111

Only a few bocks away, Artemis ran down the sidewalk, clutching her injured arm. "_Damn her, how the fuck did she hurt me like that? It's impossible!"_ An image of Kasumi's face shot through her mind, "_Those eyes of hers…when's she pissed…just like a demon…."_

**NAME:** Akira Yagami

**GENDER:** Male

**AGE:** 10

**ETHNICITY:** Japanese

**OCCUPATION:** Student

**PLACE OF BIRTH:** Tokyo, Japan

**DATE OF BIRTH:** November 14, 2018

**KNOWN RELATIVES:** Taichi-father, Sora-mother, Kasumi-sister, Mitsuo-uncle, Hikari-aunt, Asami-cousin, Susumu-paternal grandfather, Yuuko-paternal grandmother, Haruki "Yuushi" Makato, paternal great-grandfather, (deceased) Haruhiko-maternal grandfather, Toshiko-material grandmother, Jiro "Hidokoro" Kaji-maternal great-grandfather (deceased)

**GROUP AFFILIATION:** DATS

**SUB-GROUP:** Sons of the First

**EDUCATION:** Elementary school

**HEIGHT:** 4' 2"

**WEIGHT:** 89 lbs.

**EYES:** Hazel

**HAIR:** Red

**POWER:** Fire

**DIGIMON:** Piyomon-Diatrymon-Yatagaramon

**WEAPON:** None

**DEGREE OF INFECTION:** Missing right leg beneath the knees

**BIO:** The only son of Taichi and Sora, he had inherited his mother's BD-2 infection, as well as her Fire Powers. He is a more perfect union of Taichi and Sora, having their bad and good qualities. He does have a temper, and can jump into things without thinking, but he mostly stays calm and tries to think situation through.

1

**NAME:** Yasu Ishida

**GENDER:** Female

**AGE:** 11

**ETHNICITY:** Japanese/Chinese

**OCCUPATION:** Student

**PLACE OF BIRTH:** Tokyo, Japan

**DATE OF BIRTH:** July 20, 2017

**KNOWN RELATIVES:** Yamto-father, Noriko-mother, Takeru-uncle(deceased), Shiro-brother Hiroaki Ishida-paternal grandfather, Natsuko Takashi paternal grandmother Shiguen-maternal grandfather, Jia Li-maternal grandmother, Fai "Daiyu" Shan, great-grandmother (deceased)

**GROUP AFFILIATION:** DATS

**SUB-GROUP:** Sons of the First

**EDUCATION:** Elementary

**HEIGHT:** 4' 1"

**WEIGHT:** 88 lbs

**EYES:** Brown

**HAIR:** Brown

**POWER:** Darkness

**DIGIMON:** Labramon-Dobermon-Tankdramon

**WEAPON:** None

**DEGREE OF INFECTION:** Missing right hand and most of right arm.

**BIO:** The daughter of Yamato and Noriko, from her mother, she inherited the Darkness power as well as the BD-2 infection. She is hyperactive and is easily distracted, while other times she can be moody and spoiled. However, she adores her older brother and tries her hardest to follow in the footsteps


	13. Embodiment of Fire: Chapter 3

_My name is Kenji Kido, a Chosen Child. I may not be the strongest Chosen, but I like to think that power may not be what I have to offer. I'm going to be like my parents, and become a physician, that's how I want to help the other Chosen. They're already letting watch as they heal the other DATS members. And since I am the oldest of the newer Chosen, I'm trying to act like a big brother to them, but Kasumi and Gabe generally don't listen to what I have to say, and Shiro prefers to debate with me, eh…_

_ The hunter that tried to kill Mr. Yagami showed up at the hospital to try again, but Kasumi recognized her. Kasumi, Mrs. Yagami and I went after her, and Allomon actually managed to hurt her. Shiro, Gabe and Asami were practicing with their new weapons when they were sent to apprehend Tsuragi and Ami, who were in the Land of First Grain. Tsuragi found the Giallarhorn…_

_Digimon__ Magog_

_Embodiment of Fire_

_Chapter 3_

Tsuragi and Ami, along with their partners, were charging across a grassy field, the moonlight casting its rays down upon them. "You were careless, ya know," Tsuragi snapped.

His sister flinched, eying her injured partner. Astamon was still clutching his side, pain clearly displayed on his face. "Hey, don't worry about me, I'm fine, really…"

Ami smiled slightly at her partner, then turned back to Tsuragi. "Well, _you_ were too busy searching for that fucking horn!"

"I had to!" he shouted. He sighed, shaking his head, "Just like the orphanage…"

Ami frowned, her memory began to wander…

_The little girl was seated peacefully in the playground area outside the building. The sun was beating down overhead, and while the other children were playing on the jungle gym, or pushing one another on the swings, or even simply running around in hyperactive burst of energy, the girl chose to park herself beneath the large tree. She held a simple doll in her left hand while she used the right to brush through the strands of fake hair. She was happy in her own little world…that it, until she heard twigs cracking. She glanced up and saw a trio of boys standing before her. "Oh, hello."_

_ "Nice dolly there," the leader smirked, "What's her name?"_

_ "Erika," she replied, feeling more at ease._

_ "Can I see her?"_

_ She hesitated, but then agreed. Once the doll was in hand, he broke the legs and arms with ease. The girl felt tears well up in her eyes. "You broke her!" Anger overtook her common sense and she leapt to her feet. She began to pound her fists in to the boy's chest. He easily pushed her back and she tumbled to the ground, rolling in the dirt. One of the boys smirked, "Hey, I wonder if her arms'll do the same thing…"_

_ She turned to run, but they grabbed her by her long hair. Suddenly, they were assaulted by a barrage of stones and rocks. Displaying their true cowardice, they ran in terror. The girl felt herself being hoisted to her feet and was looking at a boy who appeared to be only a few years older then her. _

_ He rubbed his nose, "Those guys are freaks," he spat, "No wonder they never get adopted." He smiled at her, "You okay?"_

_ She nodded slowly, "Y…yeah…?"_

_ He grinned. "My name's Tsuragi, what's yours?"_

_ "I'm…Ami…"_

Amy snarled, "I don't need you to save me, I'm not that little brat anymore! Not since the Gift of Evolution…"

"Then stop acting like it!" he snapped, "You're my sister, I'm just…"

"We're not really…"

"Close enough!"

She just turned away and he sighed deeply, "We've got to keep moving, they're right behind us."

"Still?" Neodevimon asked, "You sure?"

His partner nodded. "They weren't injured, they're followin' us alright." He smirked as he glanced down at the _Giallarhorn_ "The Master'll reward me for this…"

111

Asami panted heavily as she struggled to keep up with the others. She cursed herself; the two boys were wearing sneakers, certainly better for walking over grassy, bumpy terrain then her knee-high platform boots. She did not want to slow the others down, so she kept silent, yet she was becoming tired, and was falling behind. It was not long before Gabe realized that the female member of their team was struggling to keep up with them.

Gabe ran to her. "Are you okay? We can rest if you want…"

She shook her head, "No, we've…we've got to keep moving…"

Shiro stood off to the side while Gabe held Asami's hand so she could rest. He glanced slightly over his shoulder, "We can rest if you need to, but we can't wait for too long."

Gururumon stared at his partner. "What does that horn do, anyway?"

Shiro shook his head. "I have no idea, and that really scares me."

111

Artemis limped along the street, her injuries too severe to even use her shadow-teleportation powers. She rushed past bewildered onlookers, completely ignoring them. The Hunter's mind flashed her an image of Kasumi, her eyes red with rage. "Damn her," she muttered, glancing down at her mechanical arm, hanging numbly at her side, "She shouldn't of been able ta do that, she shouldn't have that much power!"

Her sensors suddenly came to life, a the ground was vibrating. It had to be Allomon, they were following her. With her arm useless, she would be no match for them. She was not worried about Kasumi and Allomon before, but since their last encounter… "Fuck."

She pulled a cellphone-type device from the pocket of her leather pants. "Mixcoatl, this is Artemis, prepare yourselves, you're about to encounter the DATS agents sooner then expected…"

111

Sora was becoming worried. Her daughter was radiating with rage, she could feel it. Kasumi was nearly shaking, "I'll show her," she mumbled, "Her and that fucking mouth…"

The middle-aged woman frowned. She knew what would happen if negative emotions determined the evolution of a digimon partner…that was no doubt why neither Alkesey or Joey gave them their weapons. Besides, if she was too wrathful, she would make mistakes in battle. She took a deep breath, "Kasumi…"

"What?"

"I think you need to calm down."

She blinked, "What?"

Sora sighed again, "You need to control your temper, you're worse then your father."

"I'm not fucking angry!"

"Kasumi Yagami!" her mother shouted, "Watch your mouth! And if you don't calm down right now, I'll send you back home, understand?"

She flinched, "Yeah…" She wondered how easy it must have been for the earlier generations since they did not have their parents to order then around.

Kenji and Otamamon were sitting on Birdramon's back. During the argument, they nervously glanced at each other, and now they shifted uncomfortably. "Should we do something?"

Kenji shook his head, "Let's just stay out of it…"

111

Back in Neodigital, the small DATS team were quickly gaining on the fleeing Demons. "We've got to move!" Tsuragi shouted, " Katsuharu's gonna meet us a few meters from here!"

Ami nodded and followed him closely. They continued through the grassy field until a large clearing could be seen only a few feet in front of them. She grinned, "Kick ass!"

She was about to charge past Tsuragi, when Astamon suddenly leapt behind her and used his arm to bat away a bolt of blue energy. The Demons instantly jumped to attention and watched as the DATS team came charging across the plain. "Damn it!" Gladimon frowned, "That was a perfect shot!"

Gururumon frowned, "Yeah, I know, if he didn't jump in the way like that…"

"Hittin' us from behind?" Tsuragi shouted, "What the hell kinda dirty, underhanded…"

Gabe snorted, "Yeah, like you wouldn't do the same thing to us…"

Ami clenched her fists, "You piece of shit! Astamon's gonna tear you apart!"

Her demonic partner stood loyally by her side. He was about to execute a Hellfire attack, but his injuries shot pain through his body and he winced. Neodevimon saw this. "You better let me take care of this."

Each of the DATS agents summoned their weapons, but once again, as the Claymore of Wind appeared in Asami's hands, it proved too heavy for her, and she teetered forward. Gabe stared at her, then smiled supportively. "Hey, I'm sure Svetlana couldn't use it the first time either." He shrugged, "You'd just better leave it to me and Shiro anyway…"

Asami blinked, then glanced down to where Leormon was standing at her feet. Out of the three, her partner was the only one that was not even in his Adult form, as he had been injured in their previous encounter with the two Demons. "I'm sorry," she bowed her head, "We're such a burden to you…"

"No!" he protested, "No, you're…you're…" He smiled, "You're just waiting for the right time to…"

He stopped was Asami shrieked. He spun around to watch as Neodevimon's Guilty Claw flew towards him. Gladimon leapt in front of him and used his twin swords to bat the elastic arm aside. The Warrior digimon then charged forward, holding out his swords as he began to whirl around in a spinning circle. "Sword Dancer!"

The Fallen Angel leapt aside as Gladimon shot past him, his attack doing little more then cutting the grass. Neodevimon smirked, "Gardening?"

"Chaos Fire!"

The Fallen Angel twisted around and blocked Gururumon's energy blast with his arm. However, this did cause him to wince as pain shot through his limb. "What? That hurt…but how?"

He saw a blur out of the corner of his eyes and quickly dropped to his back as Gladimon's sword cut through the air only inches above his head. He fell onto one of his arms and used that to support himself as his leg swung into Gladimon's feet, knocking him onto his back. Neodevimon flipped back to a standing position, then kicked him as hard as he could. Gladimon once again was sent rolling along the ground.

The Fallen Angel laughed, "Heh heh heh! Ya still got that problem, don't ya?"

He suddenly remembered the tag-team tactics of the two digimon, while one attacked from the front, the other attacked from behind. He twisted around just in time as Gururumon leapt into the air. "Guilty Claw!"

His claw leapt forward like an elastic band, striking Gururumon in the jaw and spinning him around in the air. Neodevimon shot forward and pounded him in the stomach before kicking him as hard as he could with his leg. The wolf tumbled around in the ground before finally coming to a stop.

"Come on!" Shiro shouted, "We can't let them escape again!"

Gururumon jumped back into his feet. "Don't worry," he growled. He took a deep breath, then rushed back into battle. Neodevimon was busy engaging Gladimon, and the wolf executed his Killer Bite, however, all he succeeded in doing was smashing his jaw into the warrior digimon's sword. Both digimon simply regrouped, then mounted another attack.

Neodevimon then executed an attack that he had not used before. He jumped into the air and began to flap his tattered wings, "Deep Sorrow!" A blast of, heavy, thick air smashed into the tag-team, throwing them through the air like rag dolls. Gladimon was the first to regain his footing and readied himself for another assault.

"Gladimon!" Gabe shouted, "Watch out!"

The Warrior digimon twisted around in time to see Neodevimon sail towards him, "Stun Claw!" He jumped to the side, but the Fallen Angel's elastic arm was able to slash across Gladimon's left arm, sending bolts of paralyzing power through the limb. Gladimon's arm dropped and hung useless at his side. The Fallen Angel continued his assault by spinning around, his legs kicking against Gladimon, four times before his final kick. Gladimon fell to the ground, glowing brightly before regressing to Kotemon.

"Kotemon!" Gabe shouted, "Kotemon, are you okay?!"

Asami gasped, "Oh no!"

The digimon could not answer; he was panting too heavily. Tsuragi shouted to his partner, "Hurry up and finish him off!"

Neodevimon stared down at the Child digimon, smirking wickedly. He raised his claw….

"Leave him alone!" Gururumon shouted, charging forward, "Killer Bite!"

The Fallen Angel turned held up his arm, which the wolf eager chomped down upon, his teeth digging into the leathery skin. Neodevimon pulled back his other arm, "Guilty Claw!" His claws tore into Gururumon's side, sending a blast of dark energy whipping through his body. He released his grip on Neodevimon's arm, and the Fallen Angel began to assail him with a combo of punches and kicks, finishing his combo with a devastating uppercut, which sent him flying through the air before crashing into the ground.

"Are you okay?" Shiro shouted, "Gururumon!"

Tsuragi smirked, "That was for Ami and Astamon."

His sister stared at him curiously, but said nothing.

The Demon stared at his partner, "All right, hurry up and finish 'em off before Katsuharu gets here." He smirked, "Plus I'm gettin' tired of dealin' with 'em!"

Neodevimon chuckled, "Yeah, they're startin' ta piss me off to!" He positioned his claws, staring directly at Gururumon, "I'm gonna start with you!"

Shiro's eyes grew wide with horror. Asami's Leormon and Gabe's Kotemon were both out of the battle; his partner was completely vulnerable! The blond boy stared at Gururumon, he remembered when he first received the Digitama that would become his best friend. He was only eight-years-old, and he was always jealous of his parents because they had digimon partners, but when he received that blue egg, he promised to take care of it, to protect it. As they both grew older, they spent nearly every moment together, Psychemon took on some of Shiro's characteristics, and vice-versa. They became perfect partners, two acting as one. Ignoring his common sense, Shiro leapt in front of his injured partner. "Shiro, no…" Gururumon managed to muttered.

"Shiro!" Asami shouted.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Gabe demanded, "You're gonna get killed!"

Shiro stared at the in-coming Neodevimon, gripping his Lance tightly. "No!" his partner shouted, "R…run! Y..you're gonna get hurt!"

"No," the blond boy finally replied, "I'm not leaving you, no matter what, I'm staying right by your side, no matter what happens, we do it together!"

Ami started laughing, snorting through her nose. "I thought you were men! Jeeze, ya sound worse then a bunch of little girls, what a bunch of pussys…"

Asami glared at the other girl. "What you would know? You don't act like a girl! Did you even have a mother to teach you properly?"

She flinched, memories of the orphanage flooding through her mind once more,

_An image of the little girl standing in the multi-bedded room. There were at least a dozen boys running around in hyper-energetic screams. She nervously clutched her doll, while the social worker sighed deeply. "I'm sorry, but this is the only bed we have free. You're just going to have to try and get along."_

"Leave her alone!" Tsuragi shouted, "You have no fucking idea what we've been through!"

Ami smirked once again. "It's all right, those Ishidas and their canine partners have nothing on us! Your mother's nothing' but talk, your sister's a spoiled fucking princess, and your father hates his family so much he spends months away from home! And you…'heh' you can't even get angry enough to fight properly!"

Shiro narrowed his eyes. She was right, he was not one to become angry easily, but now…now anger building inside him. The Lance of Darkness began to glow with an intense black light. The weapon had been charged by Yasu and Noriko, and was now more then ready to fulfill the reason for its creation. Gururumon slowly raised his head, the light was healing his injuries; with his new-found sudden burst of power, he rose back to his feet, eyes narrowing at Neodevimon.

**"Garurumon evolve to…"**

** Shiro's digivice turned a dull blue as it fire a blast of energy into the Lance of Daiyu. The energy continued through the weapon, now a bright black color. The energy continued into the air before it exploded, showering Gururumon. The Beast digimon jumped onto his hind legs, his back readjusting into a new shape, and his front paws twisted into fists. A pair of pants appeared around his legs. He began to kick and punch into the air. **

** "Weregarurumon!"**

Gabe and Asami were in shock. "He evolved?" Kotemon mumbled, still injured, "N..no fair…"

The Demons were surprised as well. "Evolution?" Astamon gasped, raising his eyebrow.

Ami snorted, "Weregarurumon? That's his father's Ultimate digimon. Jeeze, is it gonna be that predictable? Come on…."

Tsuragi was oddly silent, but Neodevimon was smirking. "This just got in'erestin'…"

Shiro was staring at his evolved partner, then at his lance, then back at his partner. He grinned, "All right, are you ready to show them what the Ishidas and Canine digimon can really do?"

Weregarurumon nodded. "Oh yeah." He crackled his knuckles, "I'm ready."

Neodevimon laughed, "All right, let's go!" The Fallen Angel charged forward, his claws primed for action. The wolf man ran forward as well, his own claws ready. The two met in the center of the battlefield, Neodevimon swung first, but Weregarurumon batted the arm aside but executed a back flip to avoid the Fallen Angel's other arm. Once he was back on his feet, he used a roundhouse to slam his heel into Neodevimon's side, throwing him off balance. The wolf man continued his assault, with roundhouse after roundhouse before leaping into the air and ripping his claws into the Fallen Angel's shoulders with all of his weight.

Neodevimon whipped his arm out. "Guilty Claw!"

Weregarurumon winced in pain as the Fallen Angel's attack struck him directly in the chest. He stumbled back and Neodevimon began his own assault. "Guilty Claw!"

The Wolf Man leapt to the side, the devil's attack clipping his left ankle. He executed a handstand, then landed on his remaining leg, then jumped again to avoid the devil's next jab.

"Damn it!" Tsuragi swore, "He's too damn fast! Neodevimon, you've got to get him to stand still!"

The Fallen Angel nodded and raised his claws. Weregarurumon charged at his opponent, his own claws glinting. Neodevimon shot his arms forward, "Stun Claw!"

The wolf man dropped to the ground, the elastic arms shooting over his head. He jumped back to his feet, and before the Fallen Angel could react, he swung his leg around, "Full Moon Kick!"

His energy-enhanced foot smashed into Neodevimon with such intensity, that the devil tumbled backwards, coming to a stop in front of the other Demons. Tsuragi jumped to his partner's side, "Get up!" he screamed, "Come on, this isn't going to stop you, right? You can't let a freak covered in fur and leather pants stop you!"

Neodevimon struggled to rise, but he could not. Tsuragi blinked, "N…neodevimon? C..come on…get up…"

Shiro clenched his fist in joy. "We've got him now!"

Weregarurumon held his fist back, then swung it around, sending a wave of energy crashing through the air. "Kaiser Nail!"

Tsuragi twisted his head to watch as the wave of energy came flying towards them. Suddenly, Ami leapt in front of him, but she was then protected by Astamon, who leapt in front of her. In his weaken state, the demon did not have enough strength to withstand the attack. Ami watched in horror as her partner began to glow brightly, then transformed into a smaller form, a teddy bear with a large head and small body.

"Phascomon…?" she asked, her voice quivering.

Her partner slowly opened his eyes. "A…Ami…are you okay?"

"Oh Phascomon," she cried, clutching him tightly.

"Are the others okay?" he asked.

She gasped and twisted around. Tsuragi was panting heavily, still standing beside the fallen Neodevimon. "Phascomon," he said, "T…that was amazing, thanks, buddy."

"No problem," the small digimon replied, chuckling slightly.

The DATS agents were shocked as well. Asami was blinking, certain her eyes had been tricking her. "They…they jumped in front of them, they were going to save them…"

Gabe just nodded. "Uh uh…." He was too surprised to even speak.

Shiro and Weregarurumon were only staring, their mouths open wide. The wolf man was gasping, "I…I…"

Suddenly, a blast of wind shot through the air. The grass began to move like the ocean waves, Asami's long hair whipped around her face. She struggled to push it aside and stare into the sky. A massive digimon was hovering over them; a body shape like a zeppelin, with two arms hanging from the front, and a cabin hanging from beneath. This digimon dropped lower to the ground, and the force of the wind grew with such intensity, that Asami was nearly thrown onto her back. Once the digimon was low enough to the ground, a door opened in the side of the small cab and a teenage boy with brown hair and dressed in the same yellow and bronze colored-clothes of the Uni Clan appeared in the doorway.

Tsuragi exclaimed, "Katsuharu! 'Bout fucking time you showed up!"

Katsuharu stared down at the Demons, "Fuck, what the hell happened to you two? You look like something the fucking cat chewed out…"

"Shut up!" Tsuragi snapped, "Just get us the hell out of here!"

The other boy nodded, and helped carry Neodevimon into the small cab. Ami carried Phascomon and jumped inside. Tsuragi gave one last look at the DATS agents, before jumping inside as well. "All right, Blimpmon," Katsuharu order.

The massive digimon floated into the sky once again and began to disappear in the sky. Shiro sighed, "And we can't follow…" He smiled and turned to Weregarurumon, "But you did a great job…"

His partner frowned, "But…"

He just nodded. "Yeah, I know." He sighed deeply, thinking of Ami and Astamon willing to sacrifice themselves for Tsuragi and Neodevimon. He sighed deeply, "Something to think about later…"

The others walked over to them. "What do we do now?" Leormon asked.

Gabe shrugged. "I guess we'd better call for a pick-up?"

Shiro nodded. "Yeah…" He thought about Ami and Astamon once more, "…yeah…"

111

Artemis panted heavily as she smashed through the doors of the building that was resting on the Tokyo Bay waterfront. The inside of the room contained a variety of mechanical equipment, computers, processors, hi-tech digital scanners. In the center of the room was a larger scanner, using lasers to scan the pages of a book resting on a white table. Standing around that table was a group of four figures, all males, the youngest had to be around ten, while the oldest looked to be around 20. They were all dressed in the dark jackets and the deer-headed armbands of the Hunters. They were also each wearing metal masks that covered their faces. The oldest also had a metal gauntlet around his arm.

The youngest one gasped when he saw Artemis. "Are you okay?"

She ignored him and addressed the oldest one, "Is the scan complete?"

He looked to the laser scanner, then back, "Yes. Where are DATS?"

"They'll be here," she replied, "Are you ready?"

He nodded. "Yes."

The teenage boy dressed in robes approached her, "What about…" He mentioned to the scanner.

"Destroy it."

"What?" he gasped.

She shrugged. "It's already in the system, right? Get rid of it before DATS gets it!"

Before anyone could respond, the ground began to shake. "Earthquake?" the oldest one gasped.

"No," Artemis replied, "It's Allomon…"

The door flew open and Kasumi, Sora and Kenji ran inside. The teenage girl snorted, "Oh, look, she found some friends."

Kenji focused on the armbands, "They're all Hunters!"

Sora addressed the group," I am a representative of the Japanese government, and I am placing you all under arrest."

Artemis laughed, "Oh, how cute, she thinks we're actually gonna listen."

"Nothing but a sell-out," the oldest one replied.

"What?" Kasumi snapped.

He mentioned with his hands, "You turned your backs on everything you were fighting for and became the lap dogs of the government!"

The teenage girl narrowed her eyes, "I am _no one's _fucking lap dog!"

Artemis snickered, "Well, I see you guys don't need me stickin' 'round. Later." She dove for a shadow being cast by one of the processors in the corner. Before she did, however, she fired a barrage of her arrows into the mysterious book, ripping it into pieces.

While Artemis vanished into the shadow, Kenji was staring curiously at her target. _"Why did she do that?"_

Kasumi did not take notice, she was too busy glaring at the oldest of the four. "So, you're protecting her? The coward…"

He crossed his arms, "She's not a coward, wait until you see her mad."

"Known each other for a while? What is she, your mom? Your older sister?"

At the mention of that word, he grew angry. "We are Hunters, we're closer then family!"

"Listen," Sora said, "I don't know what kind of relationship you have with everyone, but, please, if you surrender now, I promise I'll do what I can to…"

"We're not surrendering!" he shouted back, "My mission is to kill…her!" He pointed directly at Kasumi, "…and him!" He then pointed at Kenji.

"The kids?" Sora gasped, "Just like she was supposed to kill Taichi, your target is…our children?"

"Yes," he answered.

She narrowed her eyes, "I won't let you touch a hair on my daughter's head!"

Kasumi sighed, "Mom, you're embarrassing me!"

The oldest one began to chuckle, "You certainly haven't changed…"

Sora blinked, "W…what?"

"I know you…or rather, _knew_ you, but I'm different then I was before, I'm not the same person you once knew…"

The redhead shook her head, "What are you talking about?"

The oldest one ignored her and cracked his knuckles, "All right, let's get this started." He mentioned to the boy wearing the robes.

That same boy introduced himself, "Bolade."

The other boy continued, "I am Ines."

The youngest boy smiled slightly, "My name is Adan."

"And you can call me Mixcoatl," the oldest one concluded, "And now it's time to meet our partners."

"Partners?" Kenji gasped, "You Hunters have…partners?"

"Yeah," Adan replied, "All of the Hunters were Chosens."

Mixcoatl cast him a glare, "Be quiet!" He turned back to DATS, "If you'll look outside…"

The trio glanced at each other, then ran back onto the dock. Allomon, Birdramon and Shellmon were staring down four digimon that had appeared as soon as the DATS Chosen entered the building. The Hunters ran to the respective partners: Ines with Mekanorimon, Bolade with a four-legged, fur-covered mammal called Grizzmon, Adan with a Monochromon, and Mixcoatl with a Kentarumon.

"Why do you want to kill us anyway?" Kasumi asked, holding up her arms in exclamation, "What'd we ever do to you?"

"_You_?" Mixcoatl replied, "Nothing, but your parents have a lot to answer for."

"What?" Kasumi's mother demanded, "What do we have to answer for?"

He closed his eyes and began to speak, as if reading from an invisible rap sheet, "Fraud, treason, and murder."

"Murder?" Kenji and Kasumi both gasped, staring at Sora.

The redheaded woman was shocked, "M…murder? What are you talking about?"

"Find out in hell!" he screamed. Kentarumon charged past him, the barrel of his cannon appearing in his palm was pointing at Sora. Suddenly, Allomon appeared in front of him, knocking him aside with a swing of her tail.

"Yeah!" Kasumi shouted, "Go, go, go!"

Allomon and Kentarumon began to battle, the other Hunters and their partners stared at the remaining DATS agents. Ines nodded at Bolade, then looked at Adan. "You should handle Kido, we will face Sora Yagami.

The younger boy nodded nervously. "O…okay." He stared at Kenji, his hands shaking as he held his digivice. His Monochromon stood by his side. Kenji and Shellmon stared back.

"Kenji?" his partner asked.

The teenager studied the young boy curiously, he did not seem too eager to fight. "Don't do anything yet."

Sora, meanwhile, was giving Ines and Bolade once more plea. "You don't have to do this. Don't make a mistake you'll regret for the rest of your lives."

Ines sighed. "Regret or no, we must follow Mixcoatl's orders."

"What do you mean?" Birdramon asked.

Bolade answered, "We are not soldiers, I am a scholar, it gives us no pleasure to fight your, but we must."

Ines ordered his partner, "Mekanorimon!"

The mechanical digimon fired a beam of energy from the red jewel on his chest, whipping towards the hovering digimon. Birdramon flew into the air to avoid the energy blast, while Sora shoved her digivice into the air.

"Birdramon evolve to Garudamon!"

The Fully Evolved digimon executed her Shadow Wing, firing a blast of energy through the air. Grizzmon leapt into the air and fired a crescent beam from a tattoo on his forehead. "Crescent Dawn!"

Mekanorimon fired another Twinkle Beam, and the two attacks mingled together, proving enough to disrupt Garudamon's attack, and the two exploded in a blast in the sky. The Machine digimon flew to the Bird Man. He began to spin around very quickly, his claws cutting into Garudamon's chest. The bigger digimon slammed her fist into Mekanorimon, easily throwing him spiraling to the ground. Grizzmon fired another Crescent Dawn attack, clipping Garudamon's ankle. She instinctively turned her head to her injured limb, but this left her open for Mekanorimon's attack.

"Twinkle Beam!"

The Bird Man was struck directly in the chest, but she was easily able to withstand an Adult's attack. "Garudamon!" Sora shouted, "You've got to attack him down here!"

Her partner nodded and flew down to assault Grizzmon on the ground. However, that was what he was waiting for, and he jumped to meet her half-way. "Maul Attack!"

Much like Gururumon's Killer Bite, Grizzmon's jaws chomped down onto Garudamon's arm, gripping tightly. The Bird Man winced, and whipped her arm about, trying to throw him to the ground. Mekanorimon fired another Twinkle Beam, hitting the Bird Man in the same spot on her chest. The pain was becoming worse, but she did not let up. She whipped her arm around as hard as she could, and Grizzmon was thrown from her limb, taking a chunk of flesh with him. The Beast digimon bounced along the ground before jumping to his feet.

Sora stared with horror at the hole in the side of her partner's chest. "Garudamon!"

Grizzmon spit out the piece of Garudamon's skin, which vanished in a burst of data. "She's strong."

Mekanorimon nodded. "Yes, we may have to use our secret technique…"

"No," Ines answered, "We can't, not yet."

Adan and Monochromon continued to stare at Kenji and Shellmon. The DATS agents remained calm and patient. "Are you sure you even want to do this? You don't seem like you even want to."

"No!" Adan snapped, "I…I have to, I…"

Kasumi and Mixcoatl, however, were more then willing to fight. Kentarumon fired from his Hunting Cannon, hitting Allomon in the side. She winced, but continued to charge at her opponent, "Dino Burst!" However, the centaur digimon was far more nimble then the dinosaur, and was able to leap to the side with ease.

"Is that the best the Yagami's can do?" Mixcoatl sneered.

Kasumi growled, clenching her fists. "You fucking bastard! I bet we're stronger then you! And _I_ don't have to hide behind a fucking mask!"

The boy and girl glared at one another with such rage that bolts of lightning seemed to leap from their eyes. They each pointed at their partners and shouted in unison, "Show them how strong we really are! Kill them!"

Both digimon ran forward, fully intending to carry out their partners' wishes. Allomon roared loudly, snapping her jaw at Kentarumon's head. He ducked and pointed his Hunting Cannon at the dinosaur's side. He fired, ripping a hole in her leathery skin.

"Allomon!" Kasumi shouted. Her partner, despite the pain in her side, whipped her tail into the centaur's side, knocking him over.

"Hell yeah!" the pony-tailed girl cheered, "Take that, yeah!"

Mixcoatl narrowed his eyes, "Don't think you've beaten us! You talk so much shit, it's unbelievable! You're all talk, nothing but a way to hide your weakness!"

Kasumi felt a cold pang in her heart, a pang that quickly turned to rage. She screamed, which began to power her partner. Allomon bashed her head into Kentarumon, clawing and snapping at the centaur; it was with such intensity that he could not fight back. The dinosaur finished her assault with her Dino Burst, which sent the injured digimon tumbling to his partner's side.

Mixcoatl glared at Kasumi, who was cheering and jumping in the air. "I've got to summon the…"

Suddenly, the area became surrounded with digimon: Ladydevimon, Diatrymon, Woodmon, Dobermon and Tylomon X, the partners of DATS agents, Noriko Ishida, Akira Yagami, Eliane Debre, Yasu Ishida and Jyou Kido. "Mom!" the redheaded boy exclaimed.

Sora waved at her son, then looked to Jyou and Noriko. How did you know…"

Jyou mentioned to his son, "He called for backup."

The Hunters glanced at one another, then at Mixcoatl. He frowned in thought, "_This is not good. This isn't how I wanted to face them…this is only because Artemis couldn't handle it! I could use my weapon, but…Yagami and Ishida I could probably handle, but Kido's got Gomamon X. I doubt even my partner could handle that…"_

He addressed his soldiers, "All right, retreat…for now."

Noriko snorted, "What makes you think you're leaving?"

Mixcoatl raised his foot, then slammed it into the ground, sending a barrage of stones into the air. Once the rocks were high enough, they flew back to the ground, covered in flames. DATS was forced to shield themselves, and when they looked back, the Hunters were gone.

"What the heck was that?" Yasu gasped.

Her Dobermon nodded, "Like shooting stars…"

Jyou frowned, "More like brimstone…"

Ladydevimon frowned, "Whatever it was, I'm getting tired of everyone always doing that. We've got to be the only team without some way to leave like that!"

Eliane looked everyone over, "Iz there anyone hurt?"

"I think we're okay," Sora replied. She turned to her daughter, "Did he say anything else about who he was?"

Kasumi shook her head, "No. But what did he mean that he knew you?"

She shook her head, "I don't have any idea."

The pony-tailed girl turned to her partner, "Well, we showed him, didn't we?"

Her younger brother had joined them. "I don't know," he said, "I think he could have creamed you."

She curled her nose in anger, "How would you know? You weren't even here!"

"They were Hunters!" Diatrymon snapped.

"Hey!" Allomon snapped back, "We kicked Artemis's ass!"

Kenji, meanwhile, had dragged his father into the building, were the teenager began to gather up the portions of the scattered book. "She wanted it destroyed," he told his partner, "IT's got to be important. We need all the pages."

Jyou nodded and began to gather up the pages as well. Only a few pages were whole, but many had been ripped to shreds. He found one piece that nearly caused his heart to stop. Written on that paper were the words, "_Digital Codex: The Book of Tatsuyo Juro."_

_Next: An Invitation from the Demons!_


	14. An Invitation from the Demons: Chapter 1

_            My name is Akira Yagami, and I'm a Chosen child.. About 18 years before I was born, a disease attacked the Chosen population, the Second Black Death, BD-2. It infected my mom, she lost her leg and eye. After a few years, the virus disappeared, I guess, but it was part of Mom's DNA, so it passed to me. I was born with it. It's not spreading or anything, but my legs don't go past my knees. My shins and feet are prosthetics, really advanced, but…I do get jealous, when I see other kids playing sports, running around and having fun. I can run and walk and stuff like that, but kicking a soccer ball, or dodging around playing basketball…But. I guess I got the power of Fire from my mom too. I think it's like a trade, I have the power of a First Chosen, but I had to loose my legs to get it. I just hope that it was worth it._

_            Anyway, Shiro, Gabe and Asami had to fight Tsuragi and Ami, but they were too strong. Shiro was able to evolve Gururumon to Weregarurumon, but the two Demons got away. Mom and Kasumi had to fight another group of Hunters lead by someone called Mixcoatl, who said that he knew Mom._

_Digimon Magog_

_An Invitation from the Demons:_

_Chapter 1_

            The Demons were once again assembled in the main room of their base. Tsuragi and Ami stood to one side, while Shinji and Yuuji stood on the other. The two Uni Demons were both bandaged heavily, Ami even had a broken arm. Yuuji snickered, "Tell me, Ami, have you actually been fighting?"

            She sneered at her. "I'd rip out your fucking tongue, but I'm not even gonna be able to move my arm in at least a week!"

            "Enough!" the voice of the Demon Master sounded as he entered the room with his demonic beast digimon snarling at his side. "Excellent work on obtaining the _Giallarhorn._"

            He grinned, "Of course, but, Master, what does it do?"

            "You will discover that in time," he replied, "Now, are we ready for the acquisition?"

            Shinji nodded. "Yes, Katsuharu and Blimpmon will attack the center of Tokyo, drawing the DATS agents there. Meanwhile, Chiaka and Locomon will use the hidden DATS railway system to approach the building undercover. If everything goes as planned, Blimpmon will destroy a major power facility, cutting off the electricity to DATS, and we should be able to walk right inside."

            The Demon Master nodded. "And what of Asami Yamaki?"

            Shinji smirked, "Do not fear, I will take her."

111

            "Shiro, what's up?" Kasumi exclaimed as she entered the homeroom. The blond boy was in his usual desk in the classroom. She sat next to him, dropping her school bag onto the floor. "Did you hear? I took down a Hunter yesterday!"

            He gave her an odd look, "I thought he ran away."

            "Yeah, 'cause he knew he couldn't beat me!"

            "Maybe he ran because he couldn't stand your mouth?"

            Kasumi spun around and saw Gabe enter the classroom. He was dressed in the white shirt, gray pants and black blazer of the Shinjuku High School…of course, the girls wore skirts instead of pants. "W…why are you dressed like that?"

            He stared at her as he sat in the desk in front of Shiro, "We're going to be here for a while, so my parents didn't want me to miss school. Jeeze, my family only moved into that rental house yesterday, but I was _living_ with you for a few days, don't you pay attention to anything?"

            She smirked, "Well, the schools in Japan are harder then in America."

            "I'll take my chances, thanks," he replied.

            "Anyway," she said, turning to Shiro, "Me and Yuki beat that Hunter…"

            Gabe smirked slightly and turned to the blond boy as well. "Hey, did you tell her about taking down Tsuragi with Weregarurumon?"

            The pony-tailed girl felt her blood turn cold. She stared at her friend, her jaw dropping. "You…have a Fully Evolved?"

            Shiro hesitated, then shrugged sheepishly, "Um…uh…"

            "I don't fucking believe this!" she shouted as loud as she could, her rage overtaking her. Unfortunately, the class turned quiet. Kasumi blushed fiercely.

            "Miss Yagami!" the teacher frowned, "Outside, now!"

            The teenage girl was soon in the hall, holding two buckets of water in her hands. "Shiro's got a Fully Evolved? That's not fair! Damn it!" She sighed, hanging her head low, "Okay, okay, so, Mr. Ishida _is_ pretty strong, but so's my Dad! This isn't fair!"

111

            In the fifth grade, Akira was sitting in his homeroom, tapping his pencil as he stared out the window. "Bored?"

            He turned to see Yasu standing next to him. "Yeah, I want to go on another mission, not be here."

            The girl giggled, "You sound like your sister."

            He glared, but suddenly noticed another girl standing behind her. "Eliane? I didn't know you were going to be here. I mean, I knew the others were going to be attending, but…"

            The French girl was wearing the same blue sailor uniform as Yasu. "Well, I am going to be ztaying here for a while yet…"

            "You are?"

            She nodded. "_Oui,_ my mother wants me to learn how to use my Chosen powers, zo…" She shrugged, "T'ink of it like a student exchange program."

            "That's great!" he grinned. He noticed Yasu staring at him, and he began to blush, "Um, yeah, that's…that's good."

            She shrugged as she sat down in the seat next to him. Yasu grumbled to herself as she sat in the seat in front of Akira. She was forced to turn around, but because the seat was connected to the desk by a metal bar, she could not turn around all the way. She frowned as she turned back around, staring at the front of the classroom.

            "You two were able to Jogress evolve, right?" Eliane asked, excitingly.

            He nodded, "Yeah, but, we don't really remember it…"

            "But it still happened, right? That iz zo cool!"

            Yasu just frowned, crossing her arms.

111

            Kasumi did not usually enter the apartment building through the car garage on the first floor, but today she did. She and Shiro usually walked home together, as their apartments were in the same direction, but with Gabe practically hanging onto the other boy's arm, she knew he would be walking with them. So, she walked home in the opposite direction, which brought her to the back of the apartment building, where the car garage was located. So, walking through that garage, she peeked over to the spots assigned to her apartment, her father's car was there-(not like he could drive it anyway, he was still in the hospital,) but so was her mother's. So, when she opened the door to her apartment, she shouted out, "Hey Mom."

            "Hi honey, how was your day?" Sora's voice echoed.

            Kasumi walked into her mother's office. Sora was seated behind her artist's easel. The pony-tailed girl glanced at the paper on which her mother was drawing. "What are you doing?"

            "Oh, just finishing a shirt design," she answered. She showed her daughter the image on the paper, it was a spaghetti-strap shirt with a frilly design, "Do you think girls will wear this?"

            She shrugged, "Yeah, I guess."

            Sora sighed, then looked at her daughter. "We're going to see your father tonight, since we didn't really get a chance last time."

            Kasumi frowned, remembering how they had to stop Artemis from assassinating Taichi. "Yeah…"

            "So if you want to take a shower, you'd better do it now, once your brother gets home, we're leaving."

            "Yeah, okay."

            She walked into her room, where Yuki Agumon was once again playing the video game system. "Ya know, if you keep playing that, your eyes are gonna rot."

            The dinosaur snorted, "You sound like your mother."

            Kasumi did not answer as she grabbed her robe and walked into the bathroom. She shed her school uniform, and stepped into the water. After drying herself, she pulled on her robe, but stopped as she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror. She sighed as she stared at her naked body and frowned. She did not want to admit it to anyone, but she was jealous of more then one person: everyone pretty much knew about her rivalry with Gabe, but she had hidden jealousies that no one, even Yuki Agumon, knew about. One of those hidden jealousies was her cousin, she was jealous of Asami.

            Her cousin was only one year younger then her, they were practically the same age, but physically they could not be more different, Asami was far more attractive then her older cousin, she had a perfect hourglass figure, perfect breasts, everything about Asami was perfect, and Kasumi felt like the 'unattractive' one.

            She sighed, then pulled the robe around her body and walked to her room.

111

            Once Akira came home, Sora forced him into the shower as well. After he was dressed, she forced them into her car and hurried to the hospital. The digimon were even forced along as well. "Why don't you just calm down?" Kasumi asked.

            "You're father doesn't know where coming," Sora replied as they stepped onto the hospital floor where Taichi's room was located, "Now, shh."

            The Yagamis were silent as they approached the door, it was open a crack, so Sora guessed that Taichi was not sleeping. She nodded at her children and jumped into the room. "Surprise!"

            Taichi was lying in his bed, watching television. Agumon X was in his car. Both of them jumped as their family came running inside. "Guys, what are you doing here?" Taichi asked.

            "It's surprise," Sora grinned as she kissed him on the check, "We tried to see you the other day, but…."

            Taichi nodded. "Right, Jyou told me about the Hunters."

            Kasumi nodded eagerly, "Yeah, and Yuki really hurt Artemis!"

            "You did?" he asked with a slight smile at the white dinosaur.

Before she could respond, Kasumi answered. "Yeah, don't worry, I'll make her pay for what she did to you."

            He gently hugged his, "Hey, your desire to avenge me is great, but don't get 'avenge' and _revenge,_ mixed up, okay?"

            She blinked. "Uh…?"

            He smiled again, "Just be carefully and don't let your anger get the better of you."

            She sighed, rolling her eyes. "You sound just like Mom…"

            Sora grabbed her daughter's shoulders, "And what's so bad about that?"

            "Uh…nothing…" she replied quickly.

            "That's what I thought," Sora said, hugging her tightly.

            "So what's up with you guys?" Agumon X asked.

            "Michael and Mimi moved into a hotel room," Piyomon answered.

            "What?" Taichi asked, "Why?"

            Sora shrugged. "They felt like they were crowding us. I tried to stop them, but they insisted."

            "Kinda like when you forced them in there in the first place," Kasumi muttered.

            "Excuse me?" Sora asked.

            Before an argument could start, Akira exclaimed to his father, "Do you know that Shiro has a Fully Evolved partner?"

            Kasumi shot her younger brother a glare, but no one saw it. "That's great," Taichi smiled, "And if Asami and Gabe can get their weapons to work too, they might be able to evolve to the Mega level." He sighed, "They'll sure come in handy with those Hunters and Demons running around."

            Kasumi knew that he did not mean it to be an insult, but she still felt like he had stabbed a knife into her heart. "Y..yeah, it's great…" She sighed, "I…um…should go back home…"

            "What?" Sora asked.

            "Yeah," the pony-tailed girl replied, "I…uh….have a lot of homework to do…Come on Yuki."

            Her partner looked at Agumon X and Piyomon, then shrugged and followed the teenage girl out of the room. The others stared at each other. Akira's Falcomon snorted, "I don't think she's even seen the inside of one of her school books."

            Akira frowned. "Something's bothering her…"

111

            Kasumi exited the hospital and wandered down the sidewalk; Yuki Agumon was trailing behind her. "Why'd we have to leave so soon? I wanted to talk to Agumon…"

            "Then go back!" she snapped.

            "Hey!" the white dinosaur shouted, "Don't yell at me!"

            Kasumi sighed, "All right, I'm sorry, I'm just…I've got a lot on my mind."

            "Like what? You've been acting weird all day! Jeeze, I know you want me to evolve to Fully Evolved, but…"

            "It's not just that," she muttered.

            "What?"

            Her partner mumbled something low that Yuki Agumon could not hear. "What?"

            "I'm jealous of Shiro, all right?"

            Yuki Agumon blinked. "You are?"

            "Yes, I am, okay?" she snapped, "I'm jealous of Shiro because everyone likes him, and he's really smart, and everyone asks him for advice. And now he has a Fully Evolved partner!"

            Her partner just blinked. "I…"

            Kasumi threw her hands into the air, "Wanna hear about my other insecurities? Huh? I'm jealous of Gabe because of how strong and powerful he is, I'm jealous of Asami because she could be a fucking supermodel, and if I was a guy, _I'd_ fuck her, I'm jealous of Akira and Yasu because even five years younger then me, they're still stronger! I don't have a weapon, and I'm so fucking weak, _you_ can't even evolve to Adult without straining yourself! I'm Taichi and Sora Yagami's daughter, why didn't I get any of that power? Everyone else is going to be heroes, and I'm just gonna end up in the background! I hate my life!"

            Yuki Agumon was in shock. She had never seen her partner act like this before, maybe her anger was only just a way to mask her insecurities and low self-esteem. She raised her claw, but before she could speak, a wind blew through the alley, a wind that was so cold, it caused both girls to shiver.

            Kasumi blinked, "It's almost summer, there can't be wind that cold, right?"

            "See?" Yuki Agumon pressed, "You're smart."

            A voice echoed through the buildings, "In regard to your fist question, no, that wind was caused by me, as for the second statement, just because you can spot something out of the ordinary, isn't an indication of intelligence. Heh, heh, heh…"

            Kasumi growled, clenching her fist, "I know it's you! I'd never forget your voice, why don't you just fucking show yourself, Shinji!"

            The Demon Chosen of the Decima Clan stepped out of the shadows and into the moonlight, "Again with the cursing, nothing but a way to make yourself appear more threatening then you really are."

            "I'll show you how 'threatening,' we really are!" She grabbed her digivice, "Ready, Yuki?"

            The white dinosaur ran forward, "Oh yeah! Yuki Agumon evolve to…"

            Once again, nothing happened, Yuki Agumon remained in her Child form. Shinji sighed deeply, "I do not wish to fight you."

            Kasumi smirked, "Great, then this'll go a lot easier. Yuki!"

            The dinosaur clenched her fists and concentrated as hard as she could, "Yuki Agumon evolve to Allomon!"

            Shinji sighed once more and waved his hand; Skull Satamon emerged from the shadows. "Defeat, but not harm."

            The skeleton digimon nodded. "As you wish."

            Allomon charged as Skull Satamon, who only smirked. "I've watched your battles you know," he commented, "And we've already seen your problems. The first…" He jumped into the air just as Allomon whipped her jaw at him. He flipped over her head, "…you always initiate the fight by charging, but an agile digimon can just do this…!" He landed behind the dinosaur, and whacked her leg with his bone club. She winced, and whipped around, trying to get him with her tail, but he ducked, and the rear appendage flew over his head.

            "Number two," he stated, "You have a tail, anyone behind you knows that you can use that as a weapon."

            "Shut up!" Allomon roared in rage. "Dino Burst!"

            Skull Satamon whipped around the Golden Fleece he was wearing, which absorbed the energy blast. "Third, if you know an attack isn't going to work against an enemy, why use it? I've had this Fleece since we first fought, you know that energy attacks are not going to work against me. Nail Bone!"

            The dinosaur was struck in the chest and stumbled backwards. Skull Satamon leapt to her head and began to pound her with his fists. She attempted to dodge each jab, but could not. "Accept it!" he grinned as he continued to assault her, "You are not fast enough to dodge me, nor are you powerful enough to overcome that weakness. You must accept it, you are bulky and slow, any one with even a hint of speed can easily overcome you!" With a final punch, Allomon regressed to Yuki Agumon and fell to the ground.

            Kasumi ran to her partner's side and glared at the Demons. Shinji waved his hand, and Skull Satamon vanished into the shadows once more. The Demon Chosen approached Kasumi, "I had only wanted to speak to you, that humiliation wasn't necessary."

            "Fine, what the hell do you want?" the teenage girl spat.

            Shinji placed his hands behind his back and began to pace the ground. "I've come here to offer you a proposition."

            "What?"

            He sighed, "A proposition is an offer…"

            "I know what that means!" she snapped, "What is your 'proposition?"

            He smiled slightly, "I didn't mean anything against your intelligence." He sighed, "Let's be frank, okay. I know of your problems-you cannot evolve your partner to Adult without much strain, Full Evolved would no doubt bring you to near death, and Mega would be impossible."

            Kasumi blinked, "Near death…?"

            Shinji nodded. "Yes, you have the ability to reach Fully Evolved, but at your current state, you would no doubt be killed, that is why you cannot, it is a…preservation instinct."

            "What? I…I don't…"

            He nodded. "You are no doubt aware that certain Chosen have different abilities and levels of abilities. Your father, and Yamato Ishida, have the strongest abilities, this you know, and while Hikari Yamakai, Jyou Kido, and Michael and Mimi Barton are strong, they are not as strong as your father and Ishida. Likewise, Shiro Ishida and Gabe Barton were simply born with more power then you, no amount of training or battle-experience will change that."

            Kasumi just snorted, "Right, so you're telling me that I didn't get any kind of power from my father?"

            "You did not let me finish. Yes, you did receive power from your father, but you also have a unique genetic condition, a…lock, if you will, you cannot access that power without an external force, once upon a time, they were called…crests."

            "Or a weapon?" she asked.

            He shrugged uncertainly. "Those Weapons of the First work with physical might, fire, water, light, but there are only a set number of weapons, and no one will trust you with their weapon, right?"

            She winced, remembering Aleksey, the Son of Wind, giving the Claymore of Wind to Asami, not her. "Yeah, so what are you getting at?"

            He grinned at her, "I can give you the ability to evolve to Fully Evolve."

            She rolled her eyes, "Out of the goodness of your heart, I'm sure…"

            He continued, "The only thing I need from you, is your allegiance. You must join the Demon Generals."

            She stared at him for a moment. "All right, let's just pretend I'm interested, how?"

            He began to pace the ground once again, "All Demon Chosen, excluding the Great Demon Lords that were created by GranDracmon, those that are, symbolically and spiritually, our ancestors, were once human Chosen, that were given the Gift of Evolution, or the Gift of Demons. "

            "How does it work?"

            "We of the Demon Chosen look to the homunculus Great Demon Lords are ancestors because they personified the traits that we embody: pride, wrath, lust, greed, sloth, envy,  and gluttony. These are the _true_ human emotions, all other emotions are artificial and conditioned, forced into your brain by your parents, who were conditioned by _their_ parents, a vicious cycle, all to impose a false conscious onto them. All human behavior, the most basic of human motivations, are derived from these emotions. The desire to help others is only to get some reward in the end, there is no love, only lust, people would rather force others to do their work, people hunt those that have wronged them not for justice, but only to inflict the same amount of _wrongess_, people always want what others have. You, Kasumi Yagami, embody wrath, envy, and the greatest trait, pride."

            He pulled from his pocket a small, hand-sized, silver pyramid, "This is the Decima's Gift of Demons, the Uni Clan has it's own version. Use this, and it will destroy your false emotions and your pride, your envy, your wrath, will come forth, and that will give you the power to overcome the genetic block on your powers!"

            Yuki Agumon, who had remained silent, now spoke, "Kasumi, I…I don't know. I mean, I want to beat Kotemon so badly, but…"

            Her partner nodded, staring at Shinji. "I don't know either," She shook her head, "No, I do know…" She took a deep breath, "I want to beat Gabe, I want to prove myself against Shiro and Asami, so…" She rose to her feet and stared at Shinji. Kasumi looked distressed and uncomfortable, "I…         

            The Demon General grinned with anticipation, "Yes, my dear…"

            Her face turned into a snarl, "Fuck off!"

            He blinked in surprise, "What?"

            "You really think I'm stupid enough to accept your fucking offer?" she screamed, "Maybe everything you said was right, but you know what, I'm not gonna sell my soul just for power!"

            She lifted Yuki Agumon into her arms and turned around to walk away. Skull Satamon once again appeared from the shadows and stood in front of her. She spun around and saw Shinji walking towards her, "You misunderstand, you _will_ become a Demon General, your wrath and envy will make you one of the strongest Demons. I only offered you the chance to do so willingly."

            Kasumi's eyes darted from side to side, Skull Satamon and Shinji blocked them on either side, and the alley was narrow, she could not escape by running left to right either. However, Shinji was standing close to the right wall, if she dove to the left, she might be able to run past him. She took a deep breath and charged. However, as soon as she past by the Demon Chosen, he easily grabbed her by her long pony-tail and whipped her into Skull Satamon's arms; the skeleton digimon held both human and digimon tightly.

            "Let me go right now!" Kasumi shouted, struggling against his arms, but they were like metal vices. Yuki Agumon wanted to attack, but all of her special techniques came from her mouth, and Skull Satamon was holding her directly beneath her neck, forcing her to point upwards at the night sky. She could not attack with any certainty at all, they were trapped.

            Shinji calmly walked over and grabbed Kasumi's flailing right arm. "Let go of me right now!" she screamed, trying to pull her hand from Shinji's grip, but he held tight. She could only watch in horror as he held the silver pyramid in his hand, the top point directly over Kasumi's open palm. He slammed it into her hand, the point digging deep. It began to glow brightly, then merged into her skin, disappearing.

Skull Satamon released his grip, and the teenage girl fell onto her knees. She stared at her hand in shock. "That's…that's it? I don't feel any different."

Shinji just smiled. "It won't activate until your next battle, when your desire to evolve to Fully Evolve will be the greatest."

            She stared at her palm. "Well, what if I don't want to evolve next time?"

            He smirked. "You will, you won't be able to resist it. So, either accept your fate, or never engage in battle again…" His smile grew, "I wonder which one you'll be able to do…heh, farewell, for now."

            He and Skull Satamon vanished, leaving the two girls alone.

111

            Kasumi ran back to the hospital and tried to play it off as it the entire incident had not been that big of a deal, but she could not help it, she was scared, as scared as she had ever been. She was now in an examination room, her hand beneath a large magnifying glass through which Jyou was examining her infected limb. He sighed deeply, frowning.

            "Well?" Sora asked, nervously.

            Jyou sighed again, staring at Kasumi, "I'm afraid we'll need to amputate."

            "What?" they both exclaimed.

            The physician chuckled. "I guess it wasn't a very good joke, huh?"

Before he could continue, the door opened and Taichi and Akira came inside, Taichi was in a wheelchair. "Kasumi, are you okay?"

            She nodded. "Yeah."

 Well," Jyou sighed deeply, "I really don't see anything, which really has me worried. I'm going to have to do some tests, and then we'll see if I can find anything."

            "What exactly happened?" Taichi questioned.

            She took a deep breath, "He wanted me to join the Demon Generals, I told him I wouldn't, but he forced that…that pyramid thing into my hand."

            "Why did he want you to join them so badly?" her father asked.

            Kasumi hesitated. She did not want to say that it was because of her negative qualities, her envy and wrath. "Um…I don't know, but he did say that when I fought the next time, it was going to activate."

            Taichi sighed deeply. "Well, I guess then…you're just not going to be able to fight."

            "What?" she gasped, "Dad, come on!"

            He shook his head, "No."

            "But…"

            "Don't make me take your digivice away, 'cause I will if I have to."

            The teenage girl sighed and leaned back in the bed. Jyou chuckled. "Well, the good news is, I think you should stay in the hospital so I can keep my eye on you. That means you'll need to miss school."

            Kasumi's face brightened. "Well, I…I guess if I _have_ too…"

            Sora smiled, "I'll make sure Shiro brings you your homework."

            She frowned again. Taichi chuckled. "Hey, no worries, we can share a room."

            That caused the teenage girl to smile again. Whenever Sora went on business trips for her fashion designs, Taichi usually let Kasumi and Akira stay up as late as they wanted, and they could eat pizza and frozen desserts. "Sure!"

            Taichi returned the smile, but as soon as Jyou's back was turned, he whispered to his daughter, "Just to warn you, the food's terrible."

            She paled. "It is?"

            He nodded again. "Yeah, the cook's some woman named Izumi and she's got a Mama Burgermon as a partner, in fact, her entire staff's Chosen with Burgermon partners."

            Agumon X shivered, "Yeah, and you can probably guess, they're only good at making burgers."

            Kasumi snickered. "I bet Mr. Ishida's loving it, since Mrs. Ishida doesn't let him eat it."

            Her father nodded. "Yeah, I can practically _hear_ him grinning from down the hall."

            His daughter just laughed.

111

            After Sora and Akira had left, the hospital staff moved Taichi and Agumon X into a room with double beds, so they could be with Kasumi and Yuki Agumon. The two girls were eagerly awaiting their night of fun and excitement, but this was soon cut short when one of the nurses poked her head inside the room. "Sorry to bother you so late, sir," she said, "But Commander Yamaki wants to speak to you and Colonel Ishida."

            Taichi nodded. "Sure, but where?"

            "There is a conference room on the top floor," she replied.

            He nodded again. "Sure." He turned to Kasumi, "I'll be back in a bit, okay?"

            The teenage girl just nodded. "Yeah, sure."

            The nurse helped Taichi into the wheelchair, his body was still weak from the attack on his heart and they made their way to the top floor conference room, where Yamaki, Reika, Yamato and their partners were waiting.

            "Hello Minister," Reika nodded, "How are you feeling?"

            He mentioned to his chest, "Still a little sore…" He mentioned to Yamato, "But at least I can still talk normally, eh?"

            The blond man glared at him and said in his voice, made raspy because of the artificial breather shoved down his throat, "You think it's so funny getting stabbed in the lungs?"

            "All right," Yamaki said, raising his head, "You wanted an update on that book…"

            "You've got it reconstructed already?" Gabumon X asked with surprise.

            Reika shook her head. "No. I'm not sure if Kenji and Dr. Kido were even able to get all the pieces, but with computer technology, we were able to scan most of the pieces and reassemble at least a portion of the book, enough to at least _gleam_ what it's about."

            Taichi nodded. "Go head."

            Reika continued, "Well, it refers to itself as the Digital Codex, as opposed to the Machina Codex, which you and Colonel Ishida found. Uh, there is another title, it refers to itself as the Book of Juro."

            "Juro?" Yamato asked, "The same guy that nearly killed me and Taichi."

            "He did kill us, remember?" Taichi asked, shivering slightly.

            Reika continued, "Tatsuyo Juro was the Tenth First Chosen, and the First Chosen of Chance, and wielded the Flail of Chance, which was sealed away by the other First Chosen after he rebelled against them. When the Demon Lords destroyed the original Digital World, those weapons fell to Earth. And unfortunately, that's all we know about him."

            "And that book tells more?"

            "So far, no, but we only started. It seems to be a…a non-canonical text. It says that before the angels ruled the original Digital World, they fought against a group for control, the text only says this group were 'Gods." Twelve in all…"

            "Like that church we saw," Taichi said.

            Reika nodded. "Yes, now, that was only one completed section, and as I've said, we haven't reconstructed it, so the next section we completed enough to read spoke of another group called 'Royal Knights." She took a deep breath, "Now, it says that these were protectors of…something, we haven't found that piece yet, but they were like an order, like the Knights Templar or something."

            "Or the Digital World's version of it," Agumon X added.

            Yamato looked to Taichi. "Didn't GranDracmon say Omegamon X was a Royal Knight?"

            Taichi nodded. "Yeah, and if I remember correctly, he was pretty freaked out about it." He frowned, "So we're a Royal Knight, huh? What does that mean? And why was it in a book about Juro? And why the hell did the Hunters even have it? Damn it! I hate it when we're out of the loop!"

111

            At the Yagami apartment, Sora was in the living room, intently watching television. She was worried about her daughter, so worried, that she could not sleep. Piyomon was actually sleeping, but she knew that it took her a while to do so, being worried as well. Not wanting to wake her, the red head sat on the couch in her silk nightgown, staring at the television, trying as hard as she could not to think about her daughter. "It's okay," she told herself, "Jyou'll know what to do, he always does."

            Akira and Falcomon were not sleeping either. The redheaded boy was tossing and turning, while his partner was attempting to sleep, but with every move, the bunk beds shook. "What's wrong?"

            "I'm worried about Kasumi," he replied.

            Falcomon blinked. "Really, you are?"

            "Of course I am!" he snapped.

            "Sorry," he replied. He then sighed, "I didn't want to say this but, I'm worried too."

            His partner nodded. "In all those anime and magna and video games, you're not supposed to make deals with the bad guys!"

            "How do you know she made a deal with them?"

            "Well they wanted her for some reason, right? She must have promised them something…" He sighed again, "I can't believe she did this!"

111

            When the other DATS chosen heard about Kasumi's problem, they were less then thrilled. When Akira informed them the next day, Asami dropped her school bag (they had just come from school,) "W…what?"

            Akira nodded at his cousin, "Yeah."

            Gabe was sneering. "That little bitch!"

            "Hey!" Akira snapped.

            Lizzie smiled warmly, "I'm sure she was telling the truth. Why would she want Dr. Kido to get rid of that pyramid thing if she didn't want it there?"

            The young boy was silent for a moment. "I…I guess that's…"

            Eliane placed a hand on his shoulder, "_Oui_, I would not be too worried."

            Yasu placed her hand on his other shoulder, "Yeah, she might be a jerk sometimes, but she wouldn't go with the bad guys, right?"

            On their walk home, Gabe and Lizzie were alone on the sidewalk. "What's on your mind, big bro?" Lizzie asked.

            "Kasumi," he replied.

            "Oh," she frowned, "Well, she'll be fine."

            "I don't think so," he replied.

            "What?"

            "Oh come on, you honestly believe she didn't _want_ to take that deal?"

            Lizzie stopped walking and dropped her school bag. "You better not be thinking what I think you're…"

            "She wanted Shinji's deal, she accepted it."

            "Then why would she want that power gone?"

            He shrugged. "Probably because she's just a coward at heart, I don't know, the point is, can we really trust her?"

            His sister just shook her head and walked past him. "She's a DATS agent, and Mr. and Mrs. Yagami's daughter, I don't think she ever would! Think about that!" She stormed away. Gabe sighed.

            "Great, now _she's_ pissed at me…"

111

            Kasumi was bored out of her mind. It was fun at first, at least she was excited the night before, but after spending the morning in different rooms in the hospital, drawing blood, or attached to some kind of machine, or having her entire body beneath some kind of space-age x-ray machine…do this, lift that, does this hurt, this won't hurt…she just about had enough, when Jyou let her go back to her hospital room. Her father was not even there, he was in therapy with Kiku. Agumon X and Yuki Agumon were off somewhere-she was angry at her partner at first, but had to remind herself that Agumon X was the closest thing Yuki Agumon had to a father. She was reluctantly watching television, when Kenji walked inside.

            "What's up?" the teenage girl asked.

            The teenage boy shrugged, "Just wanted to see how you were doing."

            She shrugged, "Bored, but otherwise…"

            He nodded, "So, um, how's everything in your life? I mean, are you stressed about anything?"

            She frowned, "You just want to find our if I really said yes to him, aren't you?"

            He sighed, "It's just that I know how you're temper gets the better of you, and you don't even know what you're really doing…"

            "You think I'm lying?" she exclaimed, "Why the fuck would I come back here to get rid of it?" She shoved her infected palm in his face, "Huh?"

            "Well…"

            She just shook her head, "Well, whatever…"

            He looked at her sternly, "No 'whatever,' this is important. If he did force you, then why you? Shiro's got a Fully Evolved, why go after you?"

            She did not answer, so he continued, "I think because they know they can control you. Face it, you're like a time bomb. You get angry over the littlest thing, and you get so violent. They just need to set you off and point you in the right direction."

            She opened her mouth to protest, but before she could, he raised his hand, "Just remember, you don't get something for nothing, there has to be a price for power." With that, he left.

            "What the hell is he so worried about?" she grumbled.

            "Hi, honey."

            She glanced back to the door and saw her mother, her brother, Noriko and Yasu entering the room. Sora embraced her daughter tightly and brushed a strand of hair out of Kasumi's face. "How are you? Are you okay?"

            She shrugged. "I guess."

            Piyomon pushed around Sora, "You're not hurting anywhere, are you?"

            She shook her head, "No, not really?"

Sora rubbed her daughter's arm,"How'd you sleep? Did your father snore too loud?"

            Kasumi made a face, "I thought those were trucks on the highway."

            Sora gave a chuckle, "Yeah, it sounds like a helicopter's landing on the roof of our bedroom."

            Noriko joined in the laughter, "You should hear Yamato…"

            Yasu and her Labramon were staring at Kasumi with wide eyes. She stared back, "What?"

            The girl shrugged, "Uh, n…nothing!"

            Kasumi sighed deeply, "I'm still me!"

            Yasu rolled her eyes, "Yeah, I'll say…"

            Noriko grabbed her daughter's shoulders, "Do you think that was nice?"

            "But Mom," she protested, "_You_ were the one that was asking…"

            Noriko pushed her elbow into Yasu's side. "Ow!"

            "Sorry," the middle-aged woman replied, "My arm slipped."

            Yasu rubbed her back, but secretly was grinning. Noriko looked to the bed-ridden girl, "Are you feeling any better?"

            "Yeah, I guess."

            Akira was glaring at her, "What?" she finally asked.

            "What did you promise him?"

            The room fell so silent that a pin drop could be heard like an atomic bomb, "What did you promise to do?"

            Kasumi finally had enough. "I didn't promise him anything!" she shouted. She glared at the others, but it appeared that she was addressing her mother primarily, "That's all you came here for, isn't it? You think I'm gonna give up my soul to a bunch of fucking demons? You always think the worst of me, all the time!"

            "Kasumi," Sora said in a soft voice, trying to calm down her daughter, "We're just worried about you…"

            "Worried I sold out, you mean!" she snapped back. She jumped out of the bed, "I told you, I didn't promise him anything! You don't trust me and think I'm just a…a…a selfish bitch! Well, fuck all of you!" She pushed past them and ran into the hall.

            Yuki Agumon and Agumon X had been in a small arcade type room a few doors down, and came to investigate when they heard the argument. They were both surprised to see Kasumi marching down in the hall in just her hospital gown. "Kasumi?" Yuki Agumon asked.

            "We're leaving!" she shouted, walking past her. As she did, the gown flew open slightly in the back, giving a perfect glimpse of her white panties and bra strap.

            The white dinosaur quickly tied the strings tight, "But…aren't you gonna change first?"

            She did not answer, for once again, her temper was in control, and rational thought was beyond her.

111

            It was another few blocks before Kasumi had begun to calm down. She was standing on the sidewalk, leaning against the pole for a streetlamp. She was breathing heavily, "It just really pisses me off, ya know?"

            Yuki Agumon, who had, thankfully, remembered to grab her coat disguise before leaving the hospital, looked up to her, "What?"

            "I told them what happened a million times, and they still think we let Shinji put that thing in me on purpose!"

            Yuki Agumon sighed, "Well, we can be a little…you know…"

            "What?"

            "Thick-headed, I mean both of us _do_ have a temper, and we _do_ get jealous easily."

            The teenage girl sighed deeply, "Yeah…yeah, I know, I know." She took another deep breath, staring at the hospital gown, "I guess my temper really took control this time, eh?" She blushed slightly as a group of teenage boys walked past her. They gave her a curious glance, but continued walking. She frowned, "I bet if _Asami_ was here, they'd be falling on their hands and knees!"

            "We probably should just go back," the disguised dinosaur suggested.

            She sighed deeply, "Yeah, let's go."

            The two girls twisted around to begin the walk back to the hospital, but as they turned, they nearly collided with a figure who had mysteriously appeared in front of them-a figure with a dark jacket and a metal mask. There were three other figures standing beside him.

            Kasumi blinked, then recognition dawned on her. "You, Mixcoatl!"

            The Hunter gave a slight bow, and mentioned to the other members of his small squad, "I'm sure you remember Adan, Bolade and Ines."

            "Yeah, yeah, yeah," she grumbled, "I guess we gotta fight now, huh? Well, I'll be sure to clean your clock just like I…" He hand reached for her digivice, which was clipped to her belt, "…like I…" Of course, she was wearing only the hospital gown, so she did not feel any belt around her waist, "…like I…" She realized with horror that her digivice was back in the hospital room, along with her D-terminal and cellphone! She could not evolve her partner, and she could not call for help.

            Mixcoatl smirked, "Like what?" he asked.

            Kasumi stumbled backwards, "I…um…uh…"

            "Brother," Adan called. Mixcoatl glanced to him, the younger boy was pointing over his shoulder, and he followed his gaze.

            "Well, it looks like the Calvary has arrived."

            "Calvary?" Kasumi asked. She peered over their shoulders: her mother, her brother, and the Ishida females were running towards her. Her mother was carrying a pile of clothes in her hands. When they saw the Hunters, they slowed to a stop.

            "Welcome," Mixcoatl said with a slight wave of his hands. He stared at Noriko, then back at Sora, "I see that both of you are here this time."

            Noriko leaned to whisper into her best friend's ear, "Is that the one…?"

            Sora nodded. "Yeah, that's the one."

            Noriko took a deep breath and stepped forward, "So, we're supposed to know you, huh?"

            "That's right," he replied.

            While Noriko and Mixcoatl spoke, Kasumi and Yuki Agumon attempted to sneak around Bolade and Ines to reach her daughter, but they spotted her. "You might as well just go," Ines said, "It's not going to make any difference whether you stand by them or not."

            The pony-tailed girl and the white dinosaur just ran past them in order to stand by the others. Sora handed her the clothes that were in her arms, her jeans and sneakers. "You're the best, Mom," Kasumi grinned, slipping into the pants.

Sora smiled, "I figured you were going to need your digivice."

Kasumi stared at the device on her belt. She grabbed it in anticipation, "But how did you…?"

             Her mother sighed, "Because every time you run off by yourself, you usually end up in trouble."

            "Thanks," she muttered, pulling on her shoes.

            Mixcoatl stared at the DATS agents, "I think it's time we got started, you are our targets for termination."

            Yasu shivered slightly. "It's okay," Akira said, "Don't be scared."

            "I'm not scared," she quickly replied, "There was just a breeze…"

            "Why do you have to terminate us?" Noriko's Plotmon asked.

            "It's orders," Mixcoatl replied, "From our master. I would like to say that it's not personal, but it is."

            "What did we ever do to you?" Sora exclaimed.

            "You abandoned me!" he shouted back. He pointed to Adan, "You abandoned him!" He pointed at Ines and Bolade, "You abandoned them!"

            "What are you talking about?" Noriko shouted, "We don't remember any of you!"

            "Really?" Mixcoatl snapped. He reached up and began to finger latches on the side of his metal mask, "Well tell me..." He suddenly ripped the mask away, reveling his face, "Recognize me now?"

            Both middle-aged women stared at him. He had straight brown hair, brown eyes, and slightly tanned skin. They had seen that face before, and as they struggled to remember, their minds suddenly provided the answer. Their memories flashed them images of a funeral, a procession of a sad, distraught family, in particular, one little boy, barely five-years-old…

            "No!" Sora shouted, "No, it…it can't be…."

            Mixcoatl grinned, "You do remember me, huh?" He pointed his finger at her, "I am Lino Silvanio, and I am Maria's half-brother!"

            The other hunters removed their masks as well. Mixcoatl pointed to Adan, "This is my brother, Adan of Earth."

            Bolade nodded slightly, "I am Bolade Jelani of Forest, and I am Keeya Genet's niece."

            Ines sighed slightly, "And I am Ines Pedro of Metal, and I am Iduia Ramiro's cousin."

            Piyomon and Plotmon turned to their partners, "The…" Piyomon stared.

            "…Daughters that died…" Plotmon finished.

            Noriko and Sora were silent, their minds still swimming from the revelation. Finally, Noriko was able to speak in a slow, soft voice, "So…you're going to get revenge on us for your sister?"

            Mixcoatl smiled slightly. "No, my family understood that Maria died to save this world, we knew that she gave up her life heroically and for the most noble reason."

            Mrs. Ishida shook her head, "Then I don't…"

            "You haven't been listening, have you?" he snapped, "You…abandoned…us!" He clenched his fists, "Where were you when I received my Patamon partner, but didn't have the slightest idea how to properly care for him? Where were you when my brother Adan, began to display the power of the Chosen of Earth? Where were you when we almost killed our family, destroyed our homes, because we didn't have the slightest idea how to use our powers? Where were you when our government tried to turn us into weapons of war?" He pointed at Ines, "Where were you when _her_ government turned her into a lab rat?" He then pointed at Bolade, "Or _her_ government nearly killing her to prevent another BD-2 epidemic? Huh? Where were you when we needed you?"

            The DATS agents were silent, amazed, and shocked. No words seemed to come to their mouths, no words could be said.

            Mixcoatl continued, "I'll tell you where you were, you were too busy playing lap dogs to the Japanese government! Too busy selling yourself to the highest bidder, too busy turning your backs on all the reasons my sister…" He pointed at Bolade, "..her aunt…" He pointed at Ines, "…and her cousin, sacrificed their lives! That's why we hate you, that's why you've got to be terminated, because you turned your backs on all the ideals you once stood for!"

            "That's not true!" Sora finally shouted, "We're able to help so many Chosen now, because of the funding from the governments…"

            "And what will you do when they make you fight in their wars?" he asked, "'Cause that's what's gonna happen. The Chosen weren't meant to answer to _any_ government except their own!"

            Noriko snorted, "Yeah, like the Chosen Council wasn't a complete failure either…"

            He stared at her, "It was closer then following orders from _non­_-Chosen! You all follow Taichi Yagami, a great leader, I'll give you that, but how much of a leader can he be, if he's got a collar around his neck, that's being pulled by the Japanese Government!"

            He smiled, "My master, the one that rescued me…rescued _us_, taught us our powers, made us see that Chosen aren't meant to be ruled by anyone but themselves. They need to be destroyed, along with all the other governments of the world."

            "World domination, again?" Noriko chuckled, "Jeeze, why doesn't anyone come up with anything original?"

            Kasumi was shaking with rage, her blood had begun to boil when he insulted her father. She pointed her finger at him, "Well, your 'boss,' is gonna have a hard time destroying DATS, 'cause we'll fight you to the end! My father'll never stop fighting you, and, besides, if you're the one he sent to kill us, then you've got a big problem, 'cause I beat your ass last time!"

            "I let you win that one," he simply replied.

            She rolled her eyes, "Yeah, that's another real original comeback."

            "No," he replied again, "I did, and you're about to see…why…."

            He held his open palm over to the side. Suddenly, the ground around him began to shake slightly, and small slivers of dirt defied gravity and collected into a ball in his palm. Once it was large enough, the ball of dirt exploded, transforming into a large, brown spear. He twisted the weapon in his hand before pointing it at the DATS agents.

            "The Spear of Earth?" they all shouted at once.

            "My weapon," he grinned, "Powered up by my brother." He mentioned to Adan before throwing his arms open, "Now, come out, digimon!"

            High above them, watching from a rooftop, was Shinji and Yuuji of the Decima Clan. "How interesting," the male demon chuckled.

            "A group of those Hunters," Yuuji added, "This could prove a problem to your new recruit, Twin Brother."

            "Not to worry, Twin Sister," he replied, grinning, "This may just prove the incentive for her to use my gift. Besides, this way we won't have to get our hands dirty ourselves."

            Back down below, the digimon partners of the Hunters squad appeared: Grizzmon for Bolade, Mekanorimon for Ines, Monocromon for Adan and Kentarumon for Mixcoatl. However, the last Hunter held his Spear of Earth towards his partner, who began to glow with a brown color.

            "He's evolving!" Yuki Agumon exclaimed.

            Kentarumon stood in place as his body began to expand, growing larger and larger. "Kentarumon evolve to Mammon!"

            Mixcoatl turned to the female members of his group, "Now."

            They both nodded, "We do this reluctantly," Bolade said, "Please believe that."

            Bearmon and Mekanorimon both began to glow brightly. "Bearmon…"

            "Mekanorimon…"

            "…Jogress evolve to…Deramon!"

            "Another Jogress?" Yasu gasped. She stared at Akira, but he was in as much shock and surprise.

            "_They combined together,"_ he thought, "_And those two are descended from the First Chosen, just like me and Yasu. Does that mean we all can do that?"_

            Sora turned to the others, "Evolve, now!"

            They quickly grabbed their digivices, but she shook her head when she saw her daughter grabbing hers as well. "No, Kasumi."

            "What?" she snapped, "Oh, come on!"

            "No. That thing in your hand will activate, remember? That's what you said."

            She flinched, clutching her device, "But…"

            "We'll do this," Akira said, "Just…please…."

            The pony-tailed girl stared at her younger brother. "Yeah…yeah, okay…"

            The DATS digimon evolved to their highest forms, Akira's Falcomon to Diatrymon, Yasu's Labramon to Dobermon, Sora's Piyomon to Garudamon and Noriko's Plotmon to Ladydevimon. Before the Hunters even had a chance to prepare themselves, Garudamon shot forward, slamming her fist into Mammon's head, the force was enough to send him skidding backwards. Deramon flew to dive bomb Ladydevimon with her beak, but the devil woman ducked, and the plant digimon shot over her head. Diatrymon and Dobermon then joined together to charge at Monocromon, but the ground digimon rolled out of the way and the two digimon flew right past. Yuki Agumon reluctantly stood on the sidelines.

            Garudamon flew high into the sky before shooting back down, her leg pointing out before her. Once she was in range of Mammon, she executed a combo of attacks, "Eagle Claw!" She kicked the mammoth digimon with her outstretched leg, before using the talons on the other to slash a tuft of skin and fur from Mammon's side. The mammoth digimon whipped his tusk, bashing into the bird man's side. She landed on her one foot and stumbled before regaining her balance. This did not save her from another tusk whip, this time into the side of her head. As she fell, she managed to spin around quickly, reaching out her hand.

            "Crimson Claw!"

            She grabbed Mammon by the trunk and whipped him down the street, thankful that when the battle had begun, the pedestrians had fled to safety. The mammoth digimon tumbled in the street before returning to his feet. He roared loudly, firing torpedoes from his tusks, "Tusk Strikes!"

            "Garudamon, look out!" Sora shouted.

            Her partner flew higher into the air, but the missiles followed her. She executed a quick motion with her feet, kicking both projectiles into a tail spin further in the sky. They both exploded harmlessly, far above the city. Garudamon fired a silhouette of energy towards her opponent, "Shadow Wing!"

            "Tusk Strikes!"

            The mammoth's projectiles flew straight through Garudamon's energy attack. Both digimon blinked in surprise, and that split-second was enough, as the attacks smashed into their intended targets, but while Garudamon was clearly injured, Mammon appeared to be completely unharmed. He used his trunk to whip a car at the hovering digimon. Garudamon instantly dodged the projectile, but stared in horror at her opponent. "What if there were people inside?"

            "There weren't," he replied, "They fled when we began our battle. I would not have thrown it if there were, nor would we have fought at all. I'm only interested in killing you DATS digimon."

"Well, that's a relief," Garudamon muttered.

The bird man flew back down, ready to continue with another Eagle Claw, but the mammoth whipped his trunk into her face, "Tundra Breath!"

            A blast of cold air shot into her chest, spreading rapidly. "I've got you now," Mammon chuckled, "No one can escape from that! It will spread and completely trap you!" He sighed, "Well, on second thought…Tusk Strikes!"

            He fired his missiles once again, this time they impacted directly into her ice-covered chest, at point-blank range. She fell to the ground and rolled through the mess of abandoned cars before coming to a stop.

            Ladydevimon was having a difficult time to keep from laughing as she stared at the bird digimon with the plume of leaves and twigs. This Deramon may be larger then a normal Deramon, but she was still only an odd mismatched bird/plant. "So," the devil woman snickered, "Are you going to fly or sprout from the ground?"

            "Don't laugh at our partner," Bolade replied, her eyes narrowing.

            "What's he gonna do?" Noriko asked, "Wave that giant tail of his at us?"

            Deramon glared, "I am a female!"

            Noriko and Ladydevimon blinked, then started to laugh. "Hey, it's like Birdo came to life!"

            Ines clenched her fists, "I won't have you insult us any longer!"

            Noriko stopped laughing, "Okay, okay, seriously. Look, don't shit me, okay? Why do you seriously want to kill us so badly? I knew Iduia and Keeya, and I'm sure they wouldn't want you to…"

            "Our reasons, are our own," Bolade replied, "But we do this because we must. Deramon, attack!"

            The Wind Guardian shot forward at incredible speed. Ladydevimon braced herself, but suddenly, her opponent vanished. She spun around and found that Deramon was hovering behind her. "Royal Smasher!" she shouted, bashing her beck repeatedly into the devil's face, much like a woodpecker. Ladydevimon pushed her off of her and she pressed her left hand against her eye.

            "You fucking little..!" she snapped. She held up her right arm, which transformed into a pointed weapon, "Darkness Spear!"

            She slashed at Deramon, but the Wind Guardian dodged, the blade harmlessly cutting through air. "You shouldn't have insulted and underestimated me," she replied. She pulled her head back, ready for another attack, "Gorgeous Beak!" This attack was once again centered around her sharp mouth, but this one was a more powerful attack which was enough to send Ladydevimon careening back to the ground. She managed to stop herself with a flap of her wings and flew back into the air.

            "Darkness Wave!" she fired a barrage of bats from her hands, which surrounded the Wind Guardian and began to gnaw at her feathers, "Ha!"

"Royal Smasher!" Deramon screamed, and her head began to shake back and forth, her beak striking each one of the bats until they had vanished. Before Ladydevimon could respond, Deramon displayed another burst of speed and was in front of the devil woman. "Royal Smasher!"

            Once again, her beak bashed into the devil woman's head, until the force of the trauma caused her eyes to spin in her head. Deramon finished with a Gorgeous Beak to Ladydevimon's forehead, and the devil fell onto her back, unmoving.

            Yasu, Akira and Adan were doing more talking then actual fighting. "How old are you?" the Ishida daughter asked.

            "13," he replied.

            "You're 13?" she gasped. She looked to Akira, "Well, I guess he _is_ older then us."

            "I know," Adan replied, "I know everything about you. Yasu Ishida, born July 20, 2017, 88 pounds, favorite color, yellow. Akira Yagami, born November 14, 2017, 90 pounds, favorite color, orange."

            "So?" Yasu asked, "You could have found that out anywhere."

            "That's what we did," he replied, "We looked everywhere. We had to know everything about you, so that we could become the perfect killers…" He sighed deeply, "Killers. You're younger then me, and I'm supposed to kill you."

            Akira glared at him, "Well, if you don't want to kill us, then don't!"

            "It's not as simple as that," he replied, "I have to, my brother wants me to."

            "You have to do what he says?" Yasu snapped.

            "Do you do what your brother wants?"

            She flinched slightly. She adored Shiro, and always tried to follow in his lead. "Yeah, but…he wouldn't want me to kill anyone…"

            Adan stared at her, "But if he did, would you?"

            She did not answer. Her opponent nodded, "Yeah, you see? I'm sorry, I really am, but I have to do this. Monochromon, attack!"

            The Armored Digimon charged forward, his head swinging from side-to-side, "Body Blow!"

            He bashed into Yasu's Dobermon, tackling him into the ground. "Schwarz Strahl!" the dog cried, firing a mighty blast of energy into the Armored Digimon. Monochromon only winced as the energy attack impacted against his shoulder.

            "Come on, Dobermon!" the Ishida girl shouted, "Fight, finish 'em off!"

            Her partner charged at his opponent, executing another Schwarz Strahl attack. Monochromon weaved out of the wave before spitting a fireball from his mouth, "Volcano Strike!"

            Akira's Diatrymon leapt in front of Dobermon, "Destruction Roar!" he screamed as loud as he could, the mighty sound waves dissipating the flames. The Ancient Bird galloped forward and body-slammed into the Armored Digimon, "Mega Dash Impact!"

            "Body Blow!" Monochromon shouted, executing his own tackle attack. Both digimon were pressing into each other with all of their might, and that struggle may have continued for hours yet, but Dobermon rushed into to help his fellow DATS member.

            "Grau Realm!" he roared. Suddenly, Monochromon's attack was canceled, and Diatrymon knocked him over.

            Adan shouted to his partner, "Dobermon's attack can stop you from using yours! Take him out first!"

            "Right!" Monochromon shouted back as he jumped back to his feet. He whipped his head at the Demon Beast, "Volcano Strike!"

            Another blast of fire scored the ground, forcing Dobermon to retreat slightly. Diatrymon was coming to attack Monochromon's side, but the Armored digimon dashed forward, and speared the Demon Beast with the horn on his head.

            "Dobermon!" Yasu screamed as her partner fell to the ground, a massive wound in his side.

            Akira clenched his fists in rage, "Diatrymon!"

            "Destruction Roar!" his partner screamed, the sound-waves knocking into Monochromon. He rushed to execute his Mega Dash Impact, but Monochromon knew about the Ancient Bird's combo attack. He jumped into the air, then slammed into the ground will all of his weight, causing a small tremor-small, but enough to knock over Diatrymon. The Armored Digimon then used his Guardy Tusk technique to spear the Ancient Bird, just as he had Dobermon.

            Akira's scream was heard by Kasumi. She had stood on the sidelines, her body twitching as she watched the others battle. She wanted to fight so badly, but she knew that she could not. However, now, watching as her family and friends were defeated, she gripped her digivice tightly.

            Yuki Agumon looked at her with anticipation, "Kasumi?"

            The pony-tailed girl was staring at the battle before her, yet her mind was focusing on a scene that happened only an hour ago…

            _Akira was glaring at her, "What?" she finally asked._

_            "What did you promise him?"_

_            The room fell so silent that a pin drop could be heard like an atomic bomb, "What did you promise to do?"_

_            Kasumi finally had enough. "I didn't promise him anything!" she shouted. She glared at the others, but it appeared that she was addressing her mother primarily, "That's all you came here for, isn't it? You think I'm gonna give up my soul to a bunch of fucking demons? You always think the worst of me, all the time!"_

_            "Kasumi," Sora said in a soft voice, trying to calm down her daughter, "We're just worried about you…"_

            "They were worried," Kasumi said, "They were just worried about me…"

            "Kas?" Yuki Agumon asked.

            "They're gonna kill them," she said, staring at the defeated Sora, Noriko, Akira and Yasu. The Hunters were surrounding them, the DATS team was helpless. "They're gonna kill them if we don't do something!"

            "Call for help?" Yuki Agumon suggested.

            "No one'll get here in time," she said, "It's got to be us!"

            "But…!"

            "Remember what Kenji said?" Kasumi asked, "There's a price? Well, if it means saving _them_ then I'll take that price!"

            Yuki Agumon was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Our family and friends are in trouble, who cares what happens to us!"

            Kasumi took a deep breath, and clutched her digivice in her infected palm. "Now, evolve!"

            "Yuki Agumon evolve to Allomon!"

            The DATS team heard the white dinosaur declare her evolution, and spun to stare at her. They all stared at Allomon, then turned to Kasumi. "No!" Sora screamed, "No!"

            Yet, it was too late. Kasumi's infected palm began to glow a silver light. That same light soon began to spread through her body via her veins-the spider-web like weave of the small arteries were clearly visible, as they glowed in the same silver light. The pony-tailed girl was twitching, she was clearly in pain.

            However, all of their eyes turned back to Allomon. They knew she would soon evolve, and they wanted to know what type of demonic beast their friend would become.

**"Allomon evolve to…"**

**Kasumi's digivice fired a silver color into the air before exploding, showering her partner. The large dinosaur curled into a ball, with only her head sticking out. Her legs and arms split into two, and her two pairs of legs and two pairs of arms grew longer, twisting and curling around one another, before transforming into metallic heads. Her main head turned a dull black, her eyes an evil yellow.**

**"Orochimon!"**

The newly-evolved Demon Digimon growled slightly, salvia dripping from her mouths. High above them, Shinji and Yuuji were watching with fierce interest. "Behold," the male Demon Chosen said with a grin, "The true soul of Kasumi Yagami, a demonic, vampire snake, squeezing the life out of all those around her." His smile grew, "She possess each of the Deadly Sins, some more then others, but she has experienced all of them at one point or another, and now, she possess a digimon, with a head to represent each sin." His smile grew even more, "Truly a powerful Demon, even _I_ did not forsee this."

            "What should we do?" Yuuji asked, holding up the golden _Gleipnir._

            "Not yet, I would like to see her power."

            The DATS team could only stare, but the Hunters displayed their surprise. "What the hell?" Mixcoatl gasped, "This…this isn't in any our files! She shouldn't be able to…"

            "And that silver light," Bolade added, "Her evolution color should be…"

            Before she could finish, one of Orochimon's head shot towards her, its neck growing longer and longer. The Child of Forest braced herself, but the deadly head flew over her body and wrapped around Deramon. Two more heads shot towards Mammon, wrapping tightly around him, while another did the same for Monochromon. These heads easily lifted the three digimon into the air, where Orochimon began to squeeze as tightly as she could.

            "Brother!" Adan shouted, running to Mixcoatl's side, "You've got to save them!"

            The Hunter nodded, numbly. He was in complete shock, and perhaps fear as well. He spun his spear around in the air, gathering up a collection of stones and small rocks from the ground, which he then fired into the air above the Demon Digimon. He swung his spear down, and the rocks began to fall as well, bursting in flame as they fell. "My fire and brimstone'll do the trick.

            Orochimon's main head looked to the falling firebombs. "Sake Breath!" She exhaled a blast of black smog from her mouth. Her breath was so foul that it caused the stones to disintegrate into nothing.

            "Eww!" Yasu exclaimed, holding her nose, "It smell's like Mommy's breath after her box of _sake._"

             Orochimon's remaining heads continued to squeeze, tighter and tighter until all three digimon regressed to their Child forms and fell to the ground. She sent them flying back to the Hunters with a flick of her tail, and the humans ran to the side of their partners: Bolade to Bearmon, Ines to Hagurumon, Adan to Gotsumon and Mixcoatl to a Patamon.

            "What should we do?" Ines asked.

            "Retreat," Mixcoatl replied, his eyes narrowing at Kasumi and Orochimon, "Even _I'm_ not a match for that girl."

            The Hunters grabbed their partners and quickly fled, but DATS was too focused on Orochimon and Kasumi. The pony-tailed girl was now on her knees, the silver light flowing through all of her veins. After it reached her shoulder, it flowed down her body, passing through her torso and legs down to her toes. The light also began to flow up her neck, through her cheeks until it surrounded her eyes and continued to her hair line. A blast of silver light flowed from her eyelids, covering her eyes, transforming her brown orbs to a bright blue. The silver light flowed through her hair, turning it to a bright blond. She arced her neck back and screamed into the sky.

111

            Somewhere, a boy with messy brown hair suddenly glanced around. He looked to his companions. "Did you…feel that?"

            The middle-aged woman nodded. "Yes, Masa,  I did."

            "Mother, what was it?"

            "Someone of our bloodline is mixing with the…" She was cut off as another sensation shot through their bodies.

111

            Somewhere, the Demon Master sat upon his throne, his snarling digimon at his side. His eyes were closed, but they suddenly jarred open. "So, Shinji, this was your plan, was it?"

111

            Asami nervously tapped her foot as she sat on the couch in her living room. Her father was sitting next to her. "Something bothering you?"

            His daughter shrugged, "I just want to see Kasumi." She hands hugged a plate of brownies that were in her lap, "I know these will make her feel better. I just wish Mom would hurry."

            "I know," Yamaki replied, "But she just got home from work, let her shower, and then we'll…"

            Asami suddenly shivered so violently, that she dropped the brownies onto the floor.

111

            In another area, Orion of the Hunters was standing in an office room, specifically, in front of a desk, where a man with broad shoulders and a metal plate over half of his face was sitting. "…and Artemis will be repaired shortly, but we have reason to believe that DATS will be able to reconstruct the Digital Codex…"

            The man shrugged. "Even if they're able to read it, they won't know what it means. We had to decipher it before…"

            Suddenly, a slight rattling sound was heard. Their eyes drifted to a dinner dish-sized pocket watch that was resting on the edge of the desk. The minute and hour hands were spinning rapidly around the center. Orion glanced to the man with the half-metal face, "Sir?"

            "Something is happening," he replied, "Something that this Timepiece of Asuka did not foresee…"

111

             Back on the battlefield, Sora and Akira were staring at the transformed Kasumi. She looked the same, except she now had blond hair and blue eyes. "K…Kasumi?" Sora asked, slowly approaching her, "H...honey? It's…it's Mom…"

            Her daughter turned to her, a vacant expression in her eyes. Sora felt tears began to well up in her own, "Don't you know who I am?"

            Suddenly, gold bands erupted from the sky, wrapping around the DATS team, binding their arms and legs tightly to their side. "Yuuji!" Noriko exclaimed.

            The female Demon was indeed standing over them, as her twin brother approached Kasumi, his eyes darting over to Orochimon, who was standing perfectly still. "Not a complete transformation yet," he commented, "Their minds are still adjusting to the change…"

            "Change her back right now!" Akira screamed, struggling to break free of _Gleipnir's_ bond, "Or you're gonna be sorry."

            Shinji just stared at him, "Be silent, you brat." He turned back to Kasumi, admiring her hair, "The physical changes are complete, however." He grinned wickedly, "Welcome to Decima." He turned to his sister, "Let's go."

            She mentioned to the DATS team, "What about…"

            "Stun them, I don't want them following us."

            She nodded, "Right."

            "No!" Sora pleaded, tears in her eyes, "Please, take me, I'll…I….I won't even try to escape, I'll do whatever you want, just…please…don't take my little girl…"

            "I'm sorry, but she's not your little girl anymore, she's ours. There is nothing to change that now, she is, body and soul, a Demon." He sneered, "I will, however, let you live for now, only so Kasumi here can kill you later." He licked his lips, "The thought of the betrayal and horror you'll feel at seeing your daughter murdering…it is like honey to me. Twin sister!"

            Yuuji made a motion to the rope in her palm. A blast of electrical-energy flowed from the handle of _Gleipnir_ and through the tendrils that were holding the DATS team. They each winced, but their bodies could not handle the overload of energy and they began to pass out, one by one. Sora's eyes remained on her daughter until her eyes closed tightly.

            "Kasumi…"

To be continued….

Author's note: Birdo, what an obscure reference…

Maria mentioned her half-brother in Chapter 26 of Apocalypse.

It's going to be a few more chapters before Masa fully returns.

Is all hope lost for Kasumi, well, you'll just have to keep reading to find out. I'll just say that there's a lot more story for her to come.

And in case anyone's wondering, the person Orion was speaking to was the same person that menaced Masa in the first two chapters, and he's the leader of the Hunters.

I know there are a lot of characters, but I wanted this story to be, well, bigger. But, at lot of the characters are kind of like the 'digimon of the day,' in the anime: the enemy that only lasts until the end of the episode. So, remembering key fact about them aren't really that necessary. The Hunters are going to slip into the background for a little bit as the Demons are going to be the main threat for a little while yet.


	15. An Invitation from the Demons: Chapter 2

Author's note: Never say that I don't listen to the reviewers, I decided to bring Masa in earlier then planned.

_My name is Yasu Ishida, and I am a Chosen Child, and I'm a 'Daughter of the First, too, I guess. My Mom's the Daughter of Darkness, 'cause my great-grandmother was Daiyu, one of the First Chosen. And my Daddy's Yamato Ishida, the strongest Chosen, like, ever! My Oniichan, is really strong, too, and he's got a Fully Evolved partner! He's so cool!_

_            My best friend is Akira Yagami, and his family's…'sigh' His sister, Kasumi, I never really liked her all that much, she was usually mean to me, but…we've been fighting these Demon Chosen, and Kasumi joined them! Her partner, Allomon, evolved to a hideous snake digimon, Orochimon!_

_Digimon Magog_

_An Invitation from the Demons:_

_Chapter 2_

            Tsuragi and Ami could not believe their eyes as they saw Kasumi Yagami standing with the Decima Clan. She was dressed in the same gray fuku as Yuuji, with the same blond hair and blue eyes. "How?" the male Demon Chosen asked.

            Shinji chuckled as he walked around the transformed Chosen. "She is a Demon, don't you see that? She was filled with rage, jealously, pride, _all_ of our celebrated traits."

            Ami shook her head, "But, why did she…?"

            He grinned, "I just gave her the right incentive…" He placed a hand on her shoulder, but her hand whipped up and grabbed it. She squeezed hard before throwing it back down.

            "Don't touch me!" she snapped, her now-blue eyes glaring.

            Shinji only grinned as he rubbed his hand, "Of course, my dear, of course…"

            She flicked back her blond hair, no longer bound into a pony-tail but flowing freely around her shoulder. "I'm not your 'dear,' I'm here to kill DATS!"

            "You are?" Ami asked, "But…you _are_ DATS!"

            "I hate DATS!" she screamed at the other teenage girl, "They humiliated and ditched me! All of them, I just want to kill them all!"

            Tsuragi was about to respond, when the door to the room opened and the Demon Master walked inside. The Demons quickly stood at attention while their master focused on Shinji and Kasumi. "The Daughter of Taichi and Sora Yagami? That is who you converted?"

            He nodded, "Yes, Milord. You see, I…"

            He cut him off, "Can she be controlled?"

            "No," Kasumi sneered.

            Shinji sighed, "No more than any other Demon."

            "Touché," the Master replied, running a hand through his messy hair. He stared at Kasumi curiously, "Tell me, if I can promise you the opportunity to kill the DATS, will you serve me?"

            She sneered, "I'm not serving anyone, but I won't try to kill ya or anything like that."

            He simply nodded. "Very well…for now." He addressed the others, "Now, Tsuragi and Am, as you are still injured, I am giving command of the acquisition to Shinji."

            "What?" Tsuragi snapped, "That was my mission!"

            His Master glared at him. "This mission is far too important to leave to you in your current state! Shinji will lead this mission."

            The member of the Decima Clan smiled at him, "I'm sure to do a better job anyway."

            Tsuragi clenched his fist tightly. "That fucking little…" he muttered.

            "Easy," Ami warned.

            The Demon Master was staring at them. "Is there a problem?"

            "No, sir," Tsuragi replied through gritted teeth.

            "Excellent," the Demon Master replied, "The mission will begin in a few days. In the meantime, why don't you have some…fun…"

            "Yes," Shinji answered, turning to Kasumi, "I think we'd all like to see exactly what you can do."

            The teenage girl grinned, "Hell yeah!"

111

            The Yagamis were in complete distress. Sora was hysterical as she sat in one of the chairs in the DATS main control room. Tears were pouring down her face, and she was violently shaking. Megumi Onodera placed a blanket around her shoulders and her PawnChessmon placed a cup of tea in front of her.

            "You should drink that," Megumi said, "It will make you feel better."

            "Feel better?" she gasped between sobs, "My daughter is a Demon! How's this supposed to make me feel better?!" She suddenly gasped, and sobbed even louder, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

            The other woman simply nodded and began to rub Sora's back.

            At the main command area, Reika was busy typing into the computer, and Yamaki and V-mon were staring up at a holographic, 3-D image of Neodigital. The globe continued to spin and twist, a glowing circle present on the map stayed in place while the water and continents moved. "Nothing yet?" the DATS commander asked.

            Reika shook her head, "No."

            Yamaki sighed, "I don't understand this, we should be able to track her digivice!"

            "Well, sir, they're probably in an area that's shielding them from our scanners…if they're in Neodigital at all. Of course, they're not stupid, they probably know we can track them."

            He sighed deeply, "Yeah, I know." He ran his hands over his face, "What the hell are we going to do? My niece is out there…." He slammed his fist into his circular desk, "Damn it!"

            Reika jumped slightly, then sighed. "I'll find her, don't worry."

111

            Inside his hospital room, Taichi was tapping his fingers against the rail of his wheelchair while Agumon X was pacing the floor. This Ishidas were there as well, Noriko was on her cellphone, and Yamato was in his own wheelchair. "Okay…okay…right, alright." She put the phone into her pocket, "Okay, Sora and Akira are at DATS, Hikari is bringing Yasu and Eliane there to keep him company, and she's going to look after Sora."

            Taichi just nodded, staring numbly into space. Yamato sighed deeply, "Taichi…" he said through his still-weak-voice, "…I can only imagine what you're going through, but she didn't do it on purpose."

            "How do you know that?" he asked.

            Yamato smiled, "Because, she's your daughter, and no matter how thick-headed, or angry she can be, she would never turn her back on you."

            He nodded, "Yeah, I know." He sighed, "But…she's still…" He sighed again.

            "Don't worry," Noriko said, "We'll get her back, we will." She mentioned to Yamato, "We've both been tempted by that kind of power, and we both managed to break free from it…" She smiled, "And she's stronger then we are, she'll find her own way back."

            Taichi just nodded.

111

            Michael and Mimi had to return to America to resume their jobs: Michael's production company was close to completing a major business deal, while Mimi needed to start shooting another round of her cooking show. They left their children in the care of the Yagamis, so Hikari brought them to DATS as well. The two siblings were soon standing in the main control room with Shiro, Yasu, and Eliane. The older boy was pacing the floor, while the two girls were trying to comfort Akira, who was seated in one of the chairs; he was clearly in distress.

            "It will be okay," the French girl said, "Do not worry."

            The red-headed boy shouted out, between tears, "She…I can't believe it! Why did she do that? I…I…"

            Yasu rubbed his back, like she had seen her mother do to her father, "It's okay…its okay…"

            Shiro was literally jumping off of the walls. He became energetic and restless whenever he was in deep thought, the movement helped him think. "So…so…she…she used that Gift of Demons when you were in trouble, right?"

            Akira nodded.

            "And…and after she transformed, she only fought the Hunters, right?"

            Again, Akira nodded.

            "So…So maybe she did it just to save you?" he suggested.

            Akira stared at him, hope was in his eyes, "R…really?"

            "Sure!" Yasu exclaimed, "Sure she did, right guys?" She looked to the others.

            Eliane joined her father, "_Oui¸_ she did it to zave her _frère plus jeune."_

            Lizzie knelt down so she could stare at him at eye-level, "Yeah, your sister really loves you, she gave up everything to save you." She cast a glare at Gabe, "_Right?"_

            He nodded quickly, "Y…yeah, she's right."

            Akira stared at them, "Then why does she always tease me?"

            Lizzie smiled slightly, "That just what big sibling do. Gabe used to pull my hair and rip my stuffed animals all the time."

            Her older brother frowned and rolled his eyes, sighing deeply. He suddenly blinked, "Hey, where's Asami?"

            "She's upstairs in the bedrooms," Yasu replied, "I guess she wasn't feeling well."

            Gabe narrowed his eyes, "_Because of Kasumi, or something else? With her cousin turning on us like this, you'd think she'd want to be down here with us…"_

            On the other side of the room, Sora and Hikari were seated at the table. The red-headed woman had a blanket draped around her shoulders, and Megumi's PawnChessmon had brought both women tea and cookies. "It will help with the pain," he suggested.

            Hikari was embracing her sister-in-law, "We'll find her, don't worry."

            Sora sobbed, "But…she's…she's…"

            "And we'll turn her back to normal," Hikari added quickly, "Mitsuo and Jyou will save her, they can do anything."

            Sora did not respond, only continued to cry.

111

            In Neodigital, a once-peaceful forest was no longer peaceful, and it was not going to be a forest for much longer. The Kunemon and Kokumons that once lived there were now running for their lives as the trees were destroyed one after the other. One of the Kunemons used his silk thread to leap from tree to tree, staying ahead of the destruction. His luck soon ran out, and when he landed on the next tree, it exploded from beneath him. He fell to the ground and twisted around; he gasped loudly as a massive snake head slowly erupted from the ground. He gave one final scream before the head swallowed him whole.

            That head was one of eight other heads, connected to a central sphere that acted at the body. The two heads on both sides were acting like legs, moving the entire creature forward. On the center, black head, stood a teenage girl, wearing a gray sailor uniform, her skirt and blond pony-tailed hair were whipping around her as her partner annihilated the forest before her.

            "This is fucking unbelievable!" she screamed, "I've never felt anything like this before! Orochimon, destroy everything!"

            As the massive snake digimon continued its path of destruction, high above was SkullBarukimon, on whose back sat Yuuji and Shinji. The male Demon Chosen was watching with fierce interest.

            "Well, Twin Brother," Yuuji questioned, "Is she was you wanted?"

            "Oh yeah," he snickered, "Everything, a true Demon, heart and soul."

111

            "I've got her!" Reika shouted.

            "Where?" Yamaki gasped, staring up at the holographic image of the Digital World. The globe begin to twist and spin until the glowing circle rested on the continent of Verdani, the Land of Forest. "That's where the Demon's Base is?"

            Reika continued to enter commands into her keyboard, "No, that's…." She trailed off.

            "What?" Yamaki demanded.

            She sighed, "That's where she's…" She lowered her voice, "Where she's destroying the forest and killing Kunemons and Kokumons…"

            She had wanted to lower her mouth so Sora would not hear, but she did, and the redheaded woman began to sob even louder. "My baby girl!"

            Yamaki turned to his wife, but she was already gently lifting Sora out of the chair. "Come on," she said, "There are beds on the top floors…"

            "I know that!" she snapped, "I've been here a million times before!" She suddenly gasped, then sobbed even more, "Hikari, I'm sorry…"

            The brown-haired woman just nodded as she led Sora from the room. Plotmon X and Piyomon followed, but luckily the bird walked out under her own willpower, because the small Mammal would not be able to carry her.

            Yamaki turned back to Reika, "You've got a lock on her position?"

            She nodded, "Affirmative sir."

            He nodded as well. "All right, Reika, you're in command while I'm gone."

            She gasped, "You're going yourself sir?"

            He nodded once more. "Yes."

            The teenage Chosens ran to his side, but he shook his head, "No."

            "You were going alone?" Akira gasped.

            "Are you insane?" Yasu shouted, "Mr. Yamaki, she'd kill you!"

            "You can't come!" he snapped, "It's too dangerous!"

            He turned to leave, but Shiro appeared before him, "Mr. Yamaki, who were you planning to bring along? Just you and V-mon? I know that he can reach the Fully Evolved level, but only with that 'Mega-digivice,' you created, and the side-affects aren't even known. Mrs. Yamaki's probably going to be with Mrs. Yagami for the rest of the night, Mr. and Mrs. Barton, Alkesey and Joey and their families went back home, there's really no one left. My partner can reach Fully Evolved, you have to at least take us."

            "And us," Gabe said, mentioning to Kotemon, "We have the Gauntlets of Water. Maybe your daughter should come too, because of the Claymore of Air."

            Yamaki shook his head, "She's not feeling well, I'd rather just let her rest, but…" He sighed deeply, "You do bring up a good point, all right, you two came come."

            "I'm coming too!" Akira shouted, "She's my sister!"

            Yasu stepped closer to him, "If he's going, then so am I!"

            "Me too!" Eliane exclaimed.

            Yamaki sighed, "All of you can't come!"

            Lizzie placed her hands on the girls' shoulders, "Why don't we just stay here, okay? They can handle it just fine without us. We can even go keep Asami company, okay?"

            Yasu frowned. "Okay…"

            As the two preteen girls made their was out of the room, Yamaki whispered to Lizzie, "Thank you."

            She shrugged, "No prob, I baby-sit all the time. Just be careful, okay?" She stared at her brother, "And _you_ be nice, got it?"

            "I'm always nice," he replied curtly.

            She was going to respond, but Yamaki cut her off, "We've got to go."

            The males ran out of the room to where the main Digital Gate was located. Lizzie ran to the door and watched them charge down the hall. "Good luck…"

111

            When they arrived in Neodigital, they were horrified to see the trail of destruction leading through what was left of the forest. Akira could not believe his eyes, "K…Kasumi did all of this?"

            "And Orochimon," Falcomon reminded him, sadly, "Yuki…"

            Gabe turned to Yamaki. "Well, where is she?"

            The blond man used a pair of binoculars to survey the destruction. "Well?" V-mon asked.

            "It's like a blast zone," he commented, "She could be anywhere…"

            Shiro turned to his partner, "Can you find their scent?"

            Psychemon began to sniff the air, "I think….wait…wait…got it!"

            "Where?" Kotemon gasped.

            He sniffed again, "Close, real close…" He suddenly gasped, "Move, now!"

            The DATS team leapt to the side seconds before a snake head erupted from the ground. This head was joined by six others, and the seven heads positioned themselves on the dirt while the rest of Orochimon pulled herself out of the newly created hole. Sitting on the center head was Kasumi, dressed in her Decima uniform.

            "Oneechan!" Akira shouted, hoping the more familiar form of 'big sister,' would reach something within her.

            Unfortunately, it did.  She waved her hand, and one of Orochimon's heads slithered towards him at breaking speed. Thankfully, Falcomon was able to push him out of the way.

            "Damn it," Kasumi snapped, "She almost had you." She smiled sinisterly, "But I'll get you, don't worry…"

            Shiro exclaimed, "Don't you even know who we are?"

            "Of course I know who you are!" she shouted. She pointed at him, "You're my so-called 'friends,' who never believed a word I ever said!"

            "Mostly because you _were_ lying," Falcomon mumbled.

            She either did not hear him or did not care. "You all put me down, made me feel worthless!" She smiled slightly, "Let's see who's worthless now."

            "Kasumi," Yamaki called out, "You're not worthless. We're your family and friends, don't you know that?"

            She glared at him, "Don't talk to me like I've got some kind of fucking mental disorder! I just want to pay all of you back for making me feel like shit!"

            "Are you fucking insane!" Gabe snapped, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

            "Nothing's wrong with me!" she snapped back, "I'm finally all right, I finally feel all right!"

            He blinked, "What?"

            She laughed, "Don't you get it? I always knew I was smarter then you! This is the _real_ me! I've finally got my real power, the power that's rightly mine!" She pointed her finger at him, "And I'm gonna make you pay, I'm gonna have my revenge for you looking down your fucking nose at me all the time!"

            Shiro jumped in front of him, "Kasumi! Stop this!"

            She stared down at him, "And you, you were supposed to be my best friend" She clenched her fists as her face twisted with rage, "And you humiliated me like the rest!"

            Her eyes moved to Akira, "And my little brother, the lucky one. You were born with all the power from Mom, I didn't get any of it! I'm the oldest, but you're fucking a thousand times stronger then me!"

            Her eyes danced from left to right, "I don't see my slut of a cousin here…"

            "And what did she do to you?" Yamaki snapped, angry over the negative term attached to his daughter, "Huh?"

            Kasumi sneered, "Asami…the _pretty one,_ everyone loves her, everyone thinks she's so cute and perfect, and I'm just the …'other girl,' the 'yeah, she's okay,' girl, the one everyone just looks over!"

            Shiro simply stared at her, "Kasumi, I don't think you've ever shown any interest in any guy…"

            "Shut up!" she screamed, and Orochimon's heads began to squirm. "You don't know anything about me! Orochimon, kill them!"

            The Demon Dragon roared with such intensity that the ground shook. All of her heads, except for her center head, erupted forth, smashing into the ground missing the DATS team by inches. The humans dove for safety while the digimon prepared to evolve.

            "Falcomon evolve to Diatrymon!"

            "Psychemon evolve to Gururumon!"

            "Kotemon evolve to Gladimon!"

            "V-mon evolve to…" But, as he began to evolve, Yamaki's experimental 'Mega-digivice,' began to shimmer and quake, "…Lighdramon!"

            The armored canine blinked in surprise, "Lightdramon…_Lighdramon?"_ He twisted to stare at his partner, "What the hell is going on? Every time I evolve, it's to a different form!"

            Yamaki began to shake his Mega-digivice, "What the hell is wrong with this thing?"

            "You did test it out before you used it on me, right?"

            "Er…well…"

            Lighdramon suddenly tackled his partner to the ground seconds before one of Orochimon's heads shot from beneath the ground. The spikes on the Beast digimon's back began to crackle with blue energy, "Blue Thunder!"

            The lightning bolts struck Orochimon's head in an explosion of smoke. The head was unharmed, so Lighdramon began to run up the slithery neck, running towards the main body, his eyes focused on Kasumi. "I'll drag you back if I have to…"

            Another head whipped around, bashing into him and throwing him into the ground. He twisted around and was back on his feet as the head came back to continue its assault. It swam through the air like a fish, then struck like a shark. Lighdramon managed to roll to safety, but the head followed, knocking into him at full force, sending him into a rolling tumble before he smashed into a tree. He was able to run to safety before the head smashed through the tree, turning it into splinters.

            Gururumon was dodging the two heads that were chasing him. He was hesitant about attacking, but he knew that he would have to, Orochimon had every intention of killing him. If he did not fight back, he would be dead.

            "Chaos Fire!"

            The flames leapt across the slithery skin of the necks, dissipating harmlessly. One wrapped around his legs, while the other head wrapped around his feet. They hoisted him up into the air and began to pull, tighter and tighter…

            "Gururumon!" Shiro screamed.

            The large wolf fought past the pain and managed to twist his head around to chomp his jaw down on Orochimon's head, and the Demon Dragon was force to release her grip. Once Gururumon was on the ground, he charged at the snake digimon, "I'm sorry, Yuki Agumon," he huffed, "Killer Bite!"

            His jaw snapped down on Orochimon's neck, and he felt the head quiver under his bite. That attack cost him, however, as the other head hit him as hard as it could, throwing him into a tumble.

            Gururumon slowly rose to his feet, panting heavily. "We're going to halve to go to Fully Evolved."

            Shiro hesitated, "I…um…she's still…"

            Before he could finish, Orochimon's head dove for Gururumon, and the wolf leapt back into battle.

            Galdimon was dealing with two heads as well, but using his twin swords, he was able to hack and swipe at Orochimon. One head struck from the side, and he whacked it away with his sword, the other head came from behind, and he elegantly twisted around, swiping with his swords.  Both heads came at him at once; he held out his swords and began to spin in place, "Sword Dancer!" Both heads were hit by the blades and sent spinning backwards.

            Diatrymon was staring down two heads as well. They were both jabbing and slashing at him, but he was only dodging each assault. He wanted to fight back, he truly did, but only one thought was on his mind, "That's still Yuki Agumon, the closest thing to a sister I've got. I can't fight her…I just can't…"

            His passive stance left him wide open, and one of the heads eventually caught him. It erupted from the ground and wrapped around Diatrymon's legs and whipped him into the air. The other head begin to pound and punch, bashing him repeatedly.

            "Diatrymon!" Akira screamed. He twisted to stare at Kasumi, who was laughing in glee, "Stop this! Oneechan!"

            "Stop calling me that!" she screamed, whipping her fist around. One of Orochimon's heads whipped around, heading straight for him.

            Gabe spotted this. "Akira!" he gasped, "Gladimon!"

            His partner rolled through the attacking heads and ran to intercept the head that was about to attack Akira. He slashed with his sword, pinning the head to the ground inches before it would have tore through the redheaded boy.

            The head that was holding Diatrymon threw the Ancient Bird into the Warrior digimon. When the two were tangled together, four heads came together to slam down on the two digimon with all of their weight.

            "Oh shirt!" Gabe gasped.

            Lighdramon and Gururumon had decided to team up together to assault the Demon Dragon, but as they ran forward, two heads erupted from beneath them, throwing them into the air, while the third head whipped around, knocking the two canine digimon into the ground along with Gladimon and Diatrymon.

            The four digimon all jumped back to their feet, and even Diatrymon, ran to attack. They did not make it far, as all seven of Orochimon's bashed into them, whipping and throwing them about before they crashed into the ground.

            Kasumi was having the time of her life. "Kill them, kill them all!" she screamed. As her partner attacked the DATS team, the teenage girl appeared to be moaning to herself.

            Shiro stared at the former brown-haired girl. "This is like an aphrodisiac to her! Fighting us is turning her on, she's getting aroused by this!"

            Gabe ducked to avoid Galdimon flying over his head. He snorted, "Yeah, well, with how badly she's kicking our ass, her panties are probably soaked!"

            Akira and Diatrymon stared at him, "Eww!" they both exclaimed at once.

            "Kasumi!" Yamaki shouted, "We're trying to help you."

            "I don't want your help!" she screamed, "I'm gonna _kill all of you!"_

            Orochimon's heads roared to the sky. The four digimon mounted a final attack, charging at Orochimon. The Demon Dragon lifted her tail into the air, "Gathering Clouds of Heaven!" Her tail smashed into the ground with the explosive force of lighting, the force of which turned the four digimon back to their Child froms, and they landed next to their partners.

            Kasumi was roaring in ecstasy. She stared down at her defeated enemies, Orochimon's heads were hovering over them, waiting for the order to kill…

            …but, the demon girl just shook her shoulders, "Let's let them live for now…" Her grin grew, "If they're still alive, they'll come back to fight again, and then…" She licked her lips, "Let's go."

            Orochimon's heads began to dig through the ground and she slithered into the hole, her last two heads piling dirt back into the hole before sinking through the surface. The DATS team slowly began to rise back to their feet.

            "That was a disaster," Gabe muttered.

            "Orochimon's really strong," Kotemon frowned, "She got _that_ much power from the Demons?"

            Yamaki nodded, "She's stronger then us now, that's for certain. Unless Taichi and Yamato gets involved, I don't think we're gonna be able to stop her."

            Akira looked sadly at the ground, "There's no one that can stop her…"

111

            The Man with the Half-Metal Face  was standing behind his desk, and raised his head when the door opened. A teenage boy with a head of messy brown hair entered.    The man smiled slightly, "Ah, Masahiko, good day."

            He sighed, "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Orion said you wanted to see me?"

            "Yes," the man said, walking around from behind the desk. He placed his hands behind his back, "A problem has arisen, that I would like you to take care of."

            He raised an eyebrow. "Problem?"

            "Yes."

            Masa crossed his arms, "Really? Something your Hunters couldn't take care of?"

            "Something I don't _want_ my Hunters to take care of, this is something _you_ need to do."

            "And what if I don't want to, huh? What then?"

            He smiled a sneer, "I think you know, and it concerns the middle-aged woman in the cell.."

            Masa winced, "All right, fine.

            He grinned, "As I thought. Now…" He mentioned to the large clock on his desk, "The Timepiece of Asuka has become disrupted, and I can no longer see the future…"

            Masa just blinked in confusion, "W..what?"

            "Your mother never told you of Asuka?"

            He shook his head.

            "Well, the First Chosen were not the only humans that were called into the Digital World during their adventure; three human girls were brought there as well. There was an ancient kingdom in the early Digital World, called Ferranti, which was ruled by Pharaohmon. He was the first enemy faced by the First Chosen, but he had captured three human females that had mistakenly entered the Digital World, Sachi, Sophie and Asuka. All three had the gift of prophecy, Sachi became the wife of Hidokoro and Sophie became the wife of Lucien, but Asuka had the greatest ability, but both Yuushi and Juro loved her. When she couldn't stand being fought over anymore, she put all of her power into this timepiece, before killing herself. So, it has the ability to tell the future."

            "And?"

            "And…someone has appeared that shouldn't be, and I would like you to deal with it."

            "I don't understand…"

            "Fight, apprehended or destroy."

            Masa narrowed his eyes, "I'm _not_ a Hunter!"

            The Man with the Half Metal Face chuckled, "Did I mention that this someone is a Demon?"

            The teenage boy blinked in surprise, "A Demon? T…There's no such thing…"

            "Yes, there are, your mother should have told you that, but, she didn't tell you a lot of thing, didn't she?" He grinned, "The enemy of my enemy…I don't want this Demon screwing up my visions of the future, and you certainly wouldn't want this…this unstoppable force dilling innocent lives, right?"

            Masa just stared at him. "Fine," he spat, "But I'm _not_ doing this for you!"

            "Of course…of course…"

111

            Jyou did not want Taichi to leave the hospital, he had just recovered from a major wound, and he did not want him to leave just yet, even for a DATS meeting. So, Jyou used the conference room in the hospital to set up a teleconferencing meeting. Taichi, Yamato, Noriko, and Jyou were in the hospital side, while Yamaki, Sora, Hikari, Shiro and Gabe were in the DATS side.

            Taichi asked, eagerly, "So, what happened? Did you find her?"

            Yamaki sighed deeply, "Yes, we did."

            He did not say anymore, so Taichi asked, "And…?"

            Shiro sighed this time, "She…beat us…all of us."

            Gabe nodded in response, "Yeah…"

            Sora stared at them eagerly, "She…fought you?"

            Her brother-in-law nodded. "I'm sorry, Sora."

            The redhead began to cry into Hikari's shoulder. The brown-haired woman shook her head, "But…she fought you all?"

            Shiro nodded, "Psychemon and the others are still recovering, she didn't just beat, she…she was going to kill us."

            Sora sobbed again.

            "Kill you?" Taichi gasped, "But…can't we save her?"

            "I don't know," Yamaki responded, "But, is the power making her acting like this, did it corrupt her, or…did she _get_ that power _because_ she's now ready to…"

            "Get revenge on us," Gabe finished.

            Yamato shook his head, "There has to be a way to save her…there always is…"

            Noriko gently placed her hands on her husband's shoulders.

            The meeting feel into silence until Jyou began to rub his chin. "Actually…"

            Taichi twisted to him, "What?"

            The physician cleared his throat, "Well, as you know, Chosen have a large amount of data in their bodies, it helps them to better connect with their partners, but, my studies indicate that this data has a profound impact on the biological functions, in fact, it could easily be said that a Chosen is actually a hybrid of data and DNA, and data is basically information that can be read by a certain device." He took a deep breath, "I've developed such a device, which might let us read Kasumi's data. I call it the Digital Encephalon Reader, or DER."

            "Meaning what, exactly?" Taichi asked,

            "Her biological functions, and…theoretically, her…her inner thoughts, her mind."

            "What?" Sora snapped, glaring at him through the telecommunications apparatus, her eyes stain with tears, "You're gonna…read my daughter's mind?"

            He hesitated, "If we can…you know…_see_ inside her mind, maybe we can figure out how to save her…"

            Sora shook her head fiercely, "You…you can't just…you can't just _invade_ her mind like that!"

            Taichi sighed deeply, "W…what exactly do you plan on doing?"

            "Well," Jyou explained, "I'm not really sure. I've never tested it on humans, but on certain rats, it worked really well…" He gave a slight smile, "Not that their minds were really _worth_ reading…"

            "Hold up," Gabe said, "You built a _mind-reading device?"_

            He hesitated. "Theoretically, yes, but it only works by reading the data, not the actual mind itself. So it might only read memories, not really the thought process. So, I guess, yes it's a _mind-reading_ not _mind-controlling._"

            Taichi hesitated for a moment, "What could go wrong?"

            He thought for a moment, "I can't really see something going _horribly_ wrong. Um…Oh! Think of it like a DVD, you can watch it on a DVD player, but you can't change the information on that DVD. We would just be watching Kasumi's memories, her inner personality, so then we might be able to…you know, figure out what her…." He hesitated, "Her mental problems are, and cure her of them…hopefully…"

            "How does it work?" Taichi asked.

            "What?" Sora screamed, "Taichi, you can't be seriously considering…"

            He ignored her and stared at Jyou, "How does it work?" he asked again.

            "Well…this device goes around the head, and attaches its meant to attached to a monitor or screen."

            "Like a t.v. or something smaller?"

            "I guess it could be smaller…"

            "Wait," Shiro said, "It attaches to the head?"

            Jyou nodded.

            "How are we going to get her to wear it? We couldn't even get closer to her."

            "What about us?" Hikari spoke up, "If me, Jyou, Michael and Mimi joined together, maybe we could…"

            "Do what?" Yamaki asked, "To be honest, I don't think that would work either. I mean, Orochimon defeated us, and not with difficulty, she really beat us, very quickly too. I don't think Fully Evolved would do much better." He eyed Taichi and Yamato, "Unless you two were to fight her, but, she's not going to give up easily, Wargreymon and Metalgarurumon might end up…killing her. We have to think of another way."

            Jyou had an answer to this as well. "Well…a magnetic field might be enough to…trap her in a place long enough…"

            "A magnetic pulse?" Sora gasped, "You want to use an emp? But…but that's…that's like a nuclear bomb for us!"

            "I know," Jyou replied, "But, the right intensity…"

            Taichi sighed, "Worst-case scenario?"

            "I'm going to say this simply, because I don't know how else to, she could die, but if it's too low, it won't have any affect."

            Taichi sighed deeply, "Do it."

            He could not look at his wife as she cried hysterically.

111

            Masa entered the 'apartment,' that he was sharing with his mother. Of course, unlike a typical apartment, they did not have the choice to move: it may be a two bedroom dwelling, with a kitchen, a bathroom, even a television and computer-no internet connection-it may be an elegant living space, but it was a prison cell, they had been trapped there for the last five months, they were not even sure where the Hunters complex was located. Masa had left on Hunters missions before, but it was only to Neodigital, and then to Earth. He knew how to get back via the digital planet, but not through Earth.

            He entered the apartment and his mother embraced him instantly. She had been standing in the kitchen area, most likely pacing the floor. "What happened?"

            He sighed, "He wants me to go on another mission…"

            His mother frowned, "Another one?"

            Masa nodded, "Yeah."

            "To do what, exactly?"

            He sighed, "He wants me to get rid of a demon."

            "Demon?" his mother's Plotmon gasped. She glanced at his mother, who glanced back.

            Masa stared at his mother, "You _do_ know something about Demons, don't you?" He narrowed his eyes, "Or is something _else_ you lie to me about?"

            She sighed, "There were a group of demons, the Great Demon Lords, that terrorized the X-Chosen fifteen years ago. They were the agents of an evil devil named GranDracmon, who we discovered, too late, was the supposed god that I chose to worship."

            He gasped, seeing the expression on his mother's face. That was why she was not eager to tell him, "Oh, I…I'm s…sorry…"

            She just smiled, "The mistakes of my past are not your sin, but why did you agree to fight this demon?"

            He shrugged, "I know demons are evil, so he's probably hurting innocent digimon and people...The Enemy of my Enemy is my Enemy…"

            His mother shook his head, "No, the Enemy of my Enemy is my _Friend."_

            He cast her a glance, "Really? Oh…" He forced a smile, "Well, like I'd want to be friends with a Demon anyway, heh…" He mentioned to his partner, who was sitting on the couch, "Come on, Dorumon."

            The small, beast like digimon jumped off of the furniture and stood by his side, hunched over on his hind legs. "Another mission, huh?"

            Masa gently rubbed his partner's head, "Yeah."

            His mother held her hand near her chest, "Good luck, and come back safe."

            He gave a slight smile, as he ran a hand through his messy hair, "No worries. Just one more mission until I figure out how to escape."

            His mother only nodded, he had said that before, even though they both knew they were probably trapped for life, they could not give up home, "Yes, yes…"

111

            Hikari did not want to leave Sora or Akira home alone, they might have their partners with them, but Piyomon and Falcomon would no doubt act similarly to their human partners. She forced them to spend the night at DATS command, where they could keep their eye on them. Hikari stayed in the room with them until they finally fell asleep. Akira and Falcomon were tired from his battle earlier, and Sora was exhausted from crying. Piyomon was the only one that felt she did not need to sleep, but Hikari forced her to lie down, and she soon drifted off as well. With the Yagami family taken care of, the brown-haired woman found a private room, collapsed to the ground, and began to cry as well. She thought of her niece and Yuki Agumon, thought of them when they were younger-an image of Kasumi's seventh birthday party appeared in her mind, the young girl was playing soccer with Shiro, and Koromon and Tsunomon were chasing around them. Now, those two had nearly killed their family and friends.

            After a good cry, she calmed herself, remembering that her own daughter was here as well. She dried her face, then walked to another room in the DATS building, where Asami was lying in the bed, Plotmon X and Leormon were standing by her side. When the Mammal digimon saw Hikari enter, she ran to her side, "How are they?"

            "Finally asleep," she sighed. She turned her attention to Asami and gently moved a strand of hair away from her face, "How are you feeling?"

            "Okay, I guess."

            Hikari smiled slightly, "Your father said you just didn't feel well?"

            She shook her head, "I don't know what it was, but earlier today, it was like…like I just got lightheaded and fainted. I don't know why."

            Plotmon X blinked, "Hey, when did you feel like that?"

            She thought for a moment, "I don't know, maybe later in the afternoon, why?"

            The Mammal digimon looked to Hikari, "That was the same time that…you know…"

            "What?" Asami asked, "The same time Kasumi turned into a Demon?"

            They both blinked in surprise. The brown-haired girl sighed slightly, "Please don't treat me like a child."

            "I'm sorry, honey," Hikari replied, "Yes, Plotmon thinks it's the same time as when Kasumi turned into a Demon, so maybe you felt that."

            "Really?"

            She nodded. "Which makes me wonder _why_ you felt it."

            "You used to feel thinks like that too," Plotmon X added.

            The middle-aged woman nodded. "Yes, but that power had to be Fate…" She turned to her daughter, "I wonder if you have some Fate power too…"

            Leormon shook his head, "I don't understand all this Fate power, but does that mean Kasumi has some power too?"

            Hikari shrugged, "She might, Taichi did have Fate power, but it only allowed him to open Digital Gates without a digivice, so it's possible he passed it along to Kasumi, like the X-Antibody…and maybe that power was calling out when the Demon power mixed with it?"

            "I don't know," Asami frowned, "But…she's in pain, I know she is. I want to help…"

            Hikari forcefully kept her daughter in the bed, "It's very late, and there's nothing you can do right now." She sighed deeply, "And…and your father doesn't want you to get hurt…"

            She furrowed her brows, "Momma, please…"

            "I'm not treating you like a child," she clarified, "Your father said that…" She hesitated, "…that Kasumi wants to…hurt you…"

            "Me?" she blinked, "W…what did I ever do to her?"

            Hikari shook her head, "We think that Kasumi's not really acting like herself, she may not be responsible for her actions, so she doesn't hate you, it's just the Demon power making her say that, but, even if that's the case, she'll come right after you if you come, so just stay here and let your father handle this."

            "But…"

            "Please?" her mother snapped, "I…I don't want to think about what will happen if I lose you…"

            The teenage girl reluctantly nodded, "Okay…"

111

            Kiku found her husband in the hospital lab. "What are you still doing here?" she yawned, "It's past midnight, aren't you going to come home?"

            "Not now."

            She sighed and approached him, Jyou was hunched over one of the tables, a pile of electronics scattered over the surface. She peered over his shoulder and saw him soldering wires inside of what appeared to me a metal headband. "Is that your DER?"

            He nodded, "Yes, I just had to wire it so that our portable DVD player would be able to operate with it."

            She blinked, "Why?" Suddenly, she gasped, "You're going to use that on Kasumi?"

            He nodded again, "Yes."

            She could not believe it. "Have you lost your mind? You haven't tested that out on humans at all! Just a bunch of rats you injected with data!"

            "I know," he replied, "But…what else can we do? We need to figure out what's going on inside of her head before we can cure her."

            "Listen to yourself!" she screamed, "You're not even going to _try_ reasoning with her?"

            He remained calm as he continued to work, "Mitsuo and the others said that when they fought her, she was completely out of control. We won't be able to reason with her unless she's sedated, and sedating her might be easy, but what could we use on her partner? We could knock them both out, either by fighting them, or using a EMP with such intensity to knock them, but that could easily kill them. So, we want to save her, we're going to need to try this!" He took a deep breath, "No one wants to hurt her, this is the best way I can think of."

            Kiku shook, "But, you don't know what will happen!"

            "I know, that's part of being a doctor, there are times when treatment is well established and has a nearly 100 percent chance of working, and then there are the times when a patient has a disease or condition or problem that is so under-studied, you have to try things that are out of the box. I truly believe that this is the safest way to save Kasumi, without causing her harm, or having her do something she may later regret."

            She sighed deeply. "And Taichi approved of this?"

            "I don't think he really "approved," but, yes."

            "And what about Sora?"

            He did not answer.

            She gently hugged him, "I just hope this works."

            "So do I…"

111

            The next morning, the newly-formed team of Jyou, Gomamon X, Shiro, Psychemon, Gabe, Kotemon and Kenji and Otamamon waited nervously in the DATS command room, while Reika attempted to find Kasumi in Neodigital once again.

            The younger Kido was glancing at his father. The older Kido seemed apprehensive, "Are you okay?"

            He gave a slight smile, "Yeah, I'm fine."

            "Are you sure?"

            Jyou hesitated for a moment, then forced a smile, "Yeah, just a little nervous, that's all."

            Gomamon X snickered, "That's the Jyou I remember, you're not acting any different, I don't know what Kiku's so worried about."

            He glanced at him, "She talked to you too, huh?"

            The small digimon nodded. "Yeah, well, she was worried."

            "Worried about what?" Kenji asked, glancing at his father and Gomamon X.

            "Nothing," Jyou answered.

            Kenji sighed, "Really, what?"

            Gomamon X answered, "Your mother was worried that he was jumping into using the DER without testing it."

            "The DER?" Kenji gasped, staring at his father, "_That's_ your plan for stopping her? You didn't even test it on humans!"

            "That's nothing," Otamamon said, "Mr. Yamaki used an experimental digivice on his own partner."

            "I heard that," the DATS commander spat.

            "Kenji," his father snapped, "This may be the only way, understand?"

            The teenage boy had never seen that expression on his father's face before. He only nodded slowly. "Yes."

            Jyou nodded. "Good."

            "Dad?"

            "What?"

            "Do you think it's going to work? Can we save her?"

            "…I don't know."

            Shiro was pacing the floor, his usual means to deal with stress. Gabe was sitting in one of the chairs, while the blond boy continued to walk in front of him. The American boy had his arms crossed and his head hanging low, his was of dealing with stress. Shiro continued to pace the floor, right to left, right to left, right to left, right to left…

            "Would you please cut that out?" he snapped, "You're driving me nuts!"

            The room fell silent and everyone, even Reika, stared at him. "Sorry," Gabe said, waving his hand, "I've got a lot on my mind right now."

            Shiro gave a slight smile, "Yeah, I know what you mean. I'm worried about her too."

            Gabe stared at him, then glanced back at the floor. _"She nearly killed us, and they still want to save her…"_

            Reika's computer terminal began to beep. She spun back around in her seat, "I've got them!"

            They stared eagerly at the holographic image of Neodigital, and a circle appeared in the Verdani once again. "They didn't go far," Kotemon commented.

            "Why are they there anyway?" Psychemon questioned.

            "Who cares?" Gabe exclaimed, clenching his fists, "Let's go!"

111

            Masa surveyed the thick forest stretching before him. It was early in the morning and the sun was just rising over the horizon. He took a moment to allow the sunlight to wash over him and the morning breeze flowed over his face.

            Dorumon stood by his side. "Masa?"

            "Sorry," he replied, smiling at the Beast digimon, "We've been trapped inside and only come out for these missions. It's nice to just _be_ outside."

            His partner nodded. "Yeah, I know. This is beautiful and peaceful."

            The ground suddenly began to shake as the trees toppled in the forest below. "Damn," Masa frowned. He grabbed a helmet from the ground and pulled it over his head, flipping down the visor. He was able to see the world clearly, a circular mouse-like pointer, which moved from object to object, displaying lines of information along the left side. As he focused on the forest, his monitor told him what he was wondering.

            "It's him. Let's go."

            Dorumon evolved to Dorugamon. Masa jumped onto his back and they charged into the forest.

111

            They found Kasumi once again annihilating a section of a forest-so far, the only mission she seemed to have from the Demon Master. The DATS team was watching from a safe distance behind. "What's the plan?" Gabe asked Jyou.

            The digital doctor produced his DER device in one hand, and a small black box in the other, "This is the magnetic grenade, it will give off a magnetic pulse, so we need to be careful too. We need to place three of these around Kasumi and Orochimon, and, once activated, hopefully it will knock both of them unconscious, and then we can use the DER."

            The team nodded. "And we need a distraction."

            "No problem," Gabe grinned, "Just leave that to us. Let's go, Kotemon."

            His partner nodded and charged after him. "Kotemon evolve to Gladimon!"

            The Demoness and her partner were aware of the evolution and twisted to encounter the threat. "You're back again?" Kasumi exclaimed, "I didn't think you were that fucking thick headed!"

            Gabe clenched his fists, hate mirrored in his eyes. "I'm gonna take you down!" he shouted, "You traitor! I never liked you, but I never thought you'd do this!"

            She smirked, "I did this 'cause of you!" Orochimon's heads shot towards him like a bullet. Gladimon jumped in front of him and used his blades to deflect the snarling snakes.

            "Sword Dancer!" His spinning form sent the heads deflecting into a spin, tangling on one another.

            As Orochimon and Gladimon battled, as Kasumi and Gabe shouted taunts at one another, the remaining three teams of DATS agents slowly snuck around the battlefield. Kenji placed his E.M.P. grenade on the right side, while Shiro placed his on the left. They eagerly watched Jyou as he slowly moved into place.

            "Come on, Gladimon!" Gabe shouted, "You can do it! Fight, _fight! _Show that spoiled-ass, fucking traitorous bitch!"

            Gladimon swiped his sword at one of Orochimon's heads, taking a chunk out of her lip. He ducked to avoid another one and twisted around to slash another head.

            Kasumi was growling-almost snarling as she stared at her opponent. "Orochimon, kill him! That fucking little jack-ass! He comes here and everyone falls in love with him! Fucking…usurper!"

            Shiro sighed, "Why'd did I teach her that word?"

            The Demoness and the DATS agent stared at one another, "Traitor!" he shouted.

            "Usurper!" she shouted.

            Bolts of lighting seemed to fly from their eyes, crackling as they met. Gladimon charged at Orochimon, and her heads whipped around, attacking him from all sides. He used his Sword Dancer once again to deflected the teeth-filled mouths in all directions.

            "I keep kicking your ass with this attack," the Warrior chuckled, "Your Fully Evolved form isn't any stronger or smarter then your Adult form."

            Orochimon screamed, all eight of her heads whipping around in the air. She launched headed limbs to attach, but as she did, she saw Jyou behind Gladimon and Gabe, placing a black, boxed device onto the ground. Kasumi suddenly gasped, as she instantly recognized the device, "An emp!"

            Orochimon instantly twisted and saw the other two emp devices on either side. She roared loudly.

            "Oh shit!" Shiro exclaimed, "She's seen us!"

            Gabe twisted around to face Jyou and Gomamon X. "She _knows_ about it?"

            Jyou nodded. "We've used them before to contain other digi…" He was abruptly cut off when Gomamon X shouted out to him.

            "She's coming right for us!"

             Jyou shouted to Kenji and Shiro, "Activate your emps!"

            Each male jumped forward and slammed their fists onto the red button on the box. A beam of glowing light flowed from each box, hovering only a few inches above the ground. Once the circle was complete, the Demoness and her partner remained perfectly still.

            "Is it working?" Gladimon shouted.

            Kasumi and Orochimon suddenly started screaming, their bodies shaking with intense spasms. The Demon Dragon's heads were flailing wildly, a loud-defining roar exploding through the forest. Kasumi was screaming as well, clenching the sides of her head as she roared. The DATS agents, even Gabe and Gladimon, found they could not watch, and had to twist their heads to the side. Once the screaming had stopped, they turned back to see Kasumi and Orochimon were lying motionless on the ground.

            Psychemon nervously stared at them. "Are they…?"

            Jyou shook his head as he approached, "They should still be alive, just unconscious." He removed the DER from his backpack and cautiously approached the ring of electromagnetic energy. "The field is still in place, so be careful when you turn off the system."

Orochimon and Kasumi suddenly leapt back onto their feet. The Demon Dragon slammed her heads into the ground before the boxes. The quake sent the three black cubes twisted around, the beams of electromagnetism followed, striking into the DATS agents. Digimon and human alike got a full blast of the energy waves, but fortunately, not enough to kill, unfortunately, enough to stun. They fell motionless to the ground, unable to move. The DER device was flung from Jyou's hands.

            Kasumi snickered as she stared at her fallen opponents. "I'm so much stronger then you now, it's not even funny." She began to laugh, "Wait, I guess it is." Her grin grew even wider, "Kill them, starting with…" She pointed at Gabe and Kotemon,"…them!"

            One of Orochimon's heads hovered over the paralyzed DATS agents, jaw opening, ready for the kill…"

            "Power Metal!"

            That same head was assaulted by a large metal ball that pounded her in the side. Kasumi twisted her head and watched with confusion as a Beast digimon galloped into view; a teenage boy was on his back, wearing a motorcycle-like helmet, shielding his entire head.

            Kasumi's eyes narrowed as she stared at the strange boy. "So, who the fuck are you?"

            To be continued………

111

**Demons**

            Not much is known about the Demons, but it has been hinted that the age they appear is not the age they truly are, but whether this means they are younger or older remains to be seen. They work in teams of two, one male and one female. These two teammates refer to one another as siblings, and the other teams are cousins. They gain their power through a mysterious Gift of Demons, which was given to them by their Demon Master.

**NAME:** Shinji

**GENDER:** Male

**AGE:** Unknown, appears to be 15

**ETHNICITY:** Demonic

**OCCUPATION:** None

**PLACE OF BIRTH:** Unknown

**DATE OF BIRTH:** Unknown

**KNOWN RELATIVES:** Yuuji-twin sister-UNCONFIRMED

**GROUP AFFILIATION:** Demons Generals

**SUB-GROUP:** Decima Clan

**EDUCATION:** Unknown

**HEIGHT:** 5' 9"

**WEIGHT:** 154 lbs

**EYES:** Blue

**HAIR:** Blond

**POWER:** Gift of Demons

**DIGIMON:** Skull Satamon

**WEAPON:** None

**BIO:** Not much is known about the Demons, but at some point the Demon Master approached Shinji and offered him the Decima Gift of Demons. He became the unofficial head of the Decima Clan, but unlike his rival, Tsuragi, Shinji prefers to bid his time and work in the shadows, using others to further his own goals. He forced Kasumi Yagami to become a Demon because he wanted a powerful Demon in his Decima Clan, to counter the grower strength of the Uni Clan.

1

**NAME:** Yuuji

**GENDER:** Female

**AGE:** Unknown, appears to be 15

**ETHNICITY:** Demonic

**OCCUPATION:** None

**PLACE OF BIRTH:** Unknown

**DATE OF BIRTH:** Unknown

**KNOWN RELATIVES:** Shinji-twin brother-UNCONFIRMED

**GROUP AFFILIATION:** Demon Generals

**SUB-GROUP:** Decima

**EDUCATION:** Unknown

**HEIGHT:** 5' 2"

**WEIGHT:** 102 lbs

**EYES:** Blue

**HAIR:** Blond

**POWER:** Gift of Demons

**DIGIMON:** Skull Barukimon

**WEAPON:** None

**BIO:** Yuuji is Shinji's supposed twin sister, and she shares many of his sinister qualities. She is devoted and loyal to him.


	16. An Invitation from the Demons: Chapter 3

Bonjor_, my name is Eliane Debre, I am ze neice of Catherine Rupert, and as we share ze same ancestor, her grandfather, my great-grandfather, Duval Rupert, ze First Chosen called Lucien of Light, we have ze same Light powers. My aunt was killed fighting GranDracmon, zo am I determined to take her place and help ze X-Chosen as much as I can. I only meet zem a few months ago, but Yasu Ishida and Akira Yagami have become my new best friends. _

_Akira's older sister, Kasumi, was transformed into one of our enemies, ze Demons, and her Yuki Agumon partner is now ze terrifying Orochimon! A team of DATS went to try to stop her, but she was far too powerful. Zey had an idea to use a special weapon to stop her, but she beat zem again, but just as she was about to kill zem, a mysterious fighter arrived…_

_Digimon Magog_

_An Invitation from the Demons:_

_Chapter 3_

Orochimon and Kasumi suddenly leapt back onto their feet. The Demon Dragon slammed her heads into the ground before the boxes. The quake sent the three black cubes twisted around, the beams of electromagnetism followed, striking into the DATS agents. Digimon and human alike got a full blast of the energy waves, but fortunately, not enough to kill, unfortunately, enough to stun. They fell motionless to the ground, unable to move. The DER device was flung from Jyou's hands.

            Kasumi snickered as she stared at her fallen opponents. "I'm so much stronger then you now, it's not even funny." She began to laugh, "Wait, I guess it is." Her grin grew even wider, "Kill them, starting with…" She pointed at Gabe and Kotemon,"…them!"

            One of Orochimon's heads hovered over the paralyzed DATS agents, jaw opening, ready for the kill…"

            "Power Metal!"

            That same head was assaulted by a large metal ball that pounded her in the side. Kasumi twisted her head and watched with confusion as a Beast digimon galloped into view; a teenage boy was on his back, wearing a motorcycle-like helmet, shielding his entire head.

            Kasumi's eyes narrowed as she stared at the strange boy. "So, who the fuck are you?"

            The boy did not answer. He was too busy staring at her through his helmet, the pointer device on the monitor of the inside visor was centered directly on the former brown-haired girl, while lines of text appeared on the side.

            "This is her," he whispered to his partner as he began to read off the information displayed to him, "Demon, Clan Decima, by her blond hair and blue eyes. They wear Japanese school uniforms, colors are gray and silver. They tend to speak in a more formal tone then the Uni Clan."

            "Masa, it's a girl?" Dorugamon asked.

            He mentioned to the gray fuku she was wearing, "Yes…I'm just guessing by that skirt..."

            His partner frowned, "Yeah, well, I wasn't expecting a girl."

            "Neither did I…a Demoness. Well, it doesn't matter, she's the one all right."

            Kasumi was becoming irritated. "If you won't answer, then I'll make you answer! Orochimon!"

            Her partner fired her head forward, but Dorugamon easily maneuvered between them. He landed on one of the heads, then ran towards the main body. Another head whipped to knock him off, but he jumped onto that head and continued up the neck. Another head attack, and he leapt onto _that_ one. This pattern continued until Dorugamon was close to the main head, and the Decima Demon. The Beast digimon leapt to tackle Kasumi, but at the last second, Orochimon's tail dove down from the sky. Dorugamon had to jump to the side to avoid it, which left him open for an attack from all four heads on the left side, bashing him four times in succession, throwing him to the ground. Masa flew from his partner's back and tumbled along the ground. His helmet altered him to Orochimon's snake head, and he rolled to safety. He jumped back to his feet and stared as Dorugamon and Orochimon continued to battle.

            The seven heads came twisting and snarling towards the Beast digimon. He jumped into the air and fired balls of metal from his mouth, seven in all, each one striking the drooling snake heads. This did not stop them, however, and they continued to fly forward, ready to tear through Dorugamon. The Beast digimon continued to fire his Power Metal, but he soon could not keep up with the assaults, and was forced to retreat.

            "Damn," Masa swore, "This is gonna be harder then I thought." He grabbed his digivice.

            Dorugamon felt the familiar burst of energy, "Dorugamon evolve to Dorugremon!"

            Kasumi blinked in surprise. "How were you able to do that without a weapon?"

            This time, Masa blinked in surprise, although Kasumi could not see it beneath his helmet, "W…weapon? What do you know about the weapons?"

            She narrowed her eyes. "What do you?"

            Neither one answered, instead, they both ordered their partners to attack.

111

            Hikari yawned as her eyes slowly opened. She blinked for a moment, realizing she was not in her bedroom; she was sitting in a large desk chair with a blanket covering her body. She was in her husband's office in the DATS building. Her memory returned to her and she frowned; she had fallen asleep there because she was spending the night, waiting for any news about Jyou, Kenji, Shiro and Gabe's mission to bring Kasumi back and since no one had woke her, there probably was not any news.

            She left the office and wandered into the main control room, where Yamaki and Reika were fast asleep at their stations. She smiled slightly and gently placed her hand on her husband's shoulder. He jarred awake. "Hikari?" He blinked, "Oh shit, I feel asleep!" He looked over to Reika, who was snoring loudly, "Lt. Ootori!"

            The woman jumped awake, her fingers returning to the keyboard, "Yes sir!"

            "It's the morning, has there been any word?"

            She checked the monitor in front of her, "Nothing, sir. There are no alerts or emails from any of the D-terminals…but there is a message from Lt. Onodera."

            "What?"

            Reika's eyes read the text displayed on the screen, "She thinks she's found the Hunters. She's in Lab 5."

            Hikari and Mitsuo quickly ran down to Lab 5, where the lieutenant was seated at one of the tables where an uncovered computer processor was resting. "Sir, Mrs. Yamaki, good morning."

            Mitsuo just nodded. "Yes, yes, you've found something?"

            "Maybe," she replied. She mentioned to the processor, "This was taken from the warehouse where we found the Book of Juro."

Hikari interrupted, "Where they were scanning the book or something, right?"

She nodded. "Yes,  Um, the entire hard drive was empty, a worm program was designed to send all the data to another location, then erase the memory. However, through some divine intervention or pure luck, the receiving unit's I.P. address was still there! I traced it to an address here in Tokyo, it's an office building in Nakano."

Mitsuo blinked, "Are you serious?"

            She nodded. "Yes, and with any luck, those processors should still be there. Maybe we can find out what they were looking for in that book."

            He grinned, "All right, let's put a team together."

            "I can go," Hikari volunteered.

            Mitsuo looked at his watch, "But you've got work, right?"

            She fidgeted, "…yes, but…"

            "It's okay," he assured her, "Sora or Noriko can lead the team…" He trailed off, "Wait, I'm getting ahead of myself. I'll send Noriko to stake the place out, then she can report back. By the time we're ready to go, the other kids should be out of school."

            Hikari placed a hand on her husband's shoulder, "But, what about Jyou and the others? They've been gone for hours."

            He sighed, "I just hope they're okay…"

111

            The missing DATS members were still suffering from the effects of the EMP shield, and were completely paralyzed as they watched Orochimon and Dorugremon battle. Three of Orochimon's heads snarled and twisted as they flew to attack the Beast Dragon. He expunged three massive metal balls from his mouth, "Metal Meteor!" The three balls smashed into the heads, twisting them back, but four more whipped around to attack from all sides, but Dorugremon executed a perfect display of agility and twisted through them, all the heads became twisted and tangled.

            Kasumi sneered as she stared at the boy wearing the helmet. "Why the hell are you even fighting us? We don't know who the hell you are!"

            "You're a Demon, that's reason enough."

            The blond-haired girl snorted, "So I'm a Demon, that's the best you've got? Hah! What are you, some kind of…" She trailed off when she noticed the emblem on the side of the boy's helmet, "You're a Hunter?! You're with that pussy Mixcoatl and that freaking bitch, Artemis."

            Dorugremon gasped and turned to stare at his partner. The boy in the helmet was beginning to shake, "I don't know how you know about the Hunters, and while I agree with you about Artemis… I am _not_ a Hunter!"

            "Then why are you wearing their symbol-thingie?"

            He sighed, "Because of my mother…"

            "Ha!" Kasumi laughed, "Momma-boy's…"

            Masa's eyes narrowed beneath his helmet, "Well, I guess you really are a Demon, huh?" He mentioned to the DATS team, "And considering you did that to them, you're clearly a menace and a danger to others. This is one mission I really don't mind doing, Dorugremon, attack!"

            "Orochimon!" Kasumi screamed.

            The Demon Dragon spewed a blast of hot air from her mouths, "Sake Breath!"

            The red dragon fired eight metal balls from his mouth, each one fitting snugly within the snake's mouths, her _Sake Breath_ attack becoming backed-up, her attack snuffed out. She coughed loudly and the heads fell onto the ground.

            "Orochimon!" her partner shouted, "Get up."

            Dorugremon was flying towards them, Kasumi slammed her foot down on Orochimon's head, "GET UP!"

            Her Demon Dragon suddenly roared back to life, whipping his heads into the red dragon's side, twisting him around in the air.

            Masa chuckled, "She's stronger then she looks, but still not as strong as us."

111

            Noriko yawned loudly; she was bored out of her mind. She had done nothing for the past four hours except sit in this vacant apartment, staring out the window at the building across the street. She sighed deeply, staring through the binoculars, "Damn, this is boring."

            Plotmon yawned as she lay on the floor. "Could you keep it down?"

            She glared at her partner, "Oh, am I keeping you awake?!" She sighed deeply, "And how can you just lie there? I'm so worried about Shiro I couldn't even sleep! He never sent an e-mail or anything!"

            "Yeah, I'm worried too, but he's with Kenji and Jyou, those two are the most responsible guys we've got."

            She sighed once again, looking back through the binoculars, "Besides, there's nothing special about that building anyway, just a normal office…" She trailed off.

            "What?"

            Noriko was busy staring at a man dressed in a long trench coat enter the building. She grinned, as she grabbed her cellphone. She dialed the DATS number,  "I think we've got 'em!"

111

            Asami was still not feeling well, so she stayed home from school that day…not that Lizzie, Akira, Yasu or Eliane had a more productive day either. Their minds were too focused on their missing teammates; were they able to free Kasumi, or did their former agent kill them? That was a thought they did not want to consider, but one they knew could be very likely.

            Asami was still in the Hypnos building, lying in the bed. She had stopped watching television and had caught up with her homework and was now staring bored out the window.

            She heard a knock on the door and turned to see Lizzie standing there. "Hi, just wanted to see how're you're feeling."

            Asami smiled, "Better.." She frowned, "What about Kasumi and Gabe?"

            The other girl shrugged, "I don't know."

            The other girl nodded, "This is my fault…"

Lizzie gasped, "What?"

            "She was jealous of me…"

            The other girl hugged her. "Asami, if she was, it wasn't 'cause of you!" She frowned, "It was 'cause of my brother. He can be a little full of himself sometimes.."

            "But…"

            "It's not your fault," she assured her, "It's not."

            Asami simply nodded. Lizzie sighed, "Your father wants to check out a building where he thinks the Hunters are."

            "Really?"

            "Do you want to come?"

            "Yes, just let me wake Leormon."

111

            "You're really starting to piss me off!" Kasumi screamed, waving her hands in front of her, "Orochimon, I don't care how you do it, but kill them!"

            The Demon Dragon made a motion as if she was going to attack with her heads, but at the last second, her tail whipped around, glowing brightly. "Gathering Cloud of Heavens!"

            The Dragon Beast executed a tailspin, Orochimon's tail completely missing, striking the ground instead, the blade becoming stuck in the dirt. Dorugremon did not stop his assault and continued towards Kasumi. Orochimon's heads once again came to her defense. Dorugremon pulled his neck back, ready to use his Meteor Metal attack, but at the last second, he shouted out, "Bloody Tower!" His bladed wings shot open and he sliced through four of Orochimon's heads before shooting back into the sky. The headed limbs fell to the ground.

            "Fuck you!" Kasumi shouted, slamming her foot into the ground, "Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

            Masa shook his head, "How old are you? You don't look any older then me, and yet you act like a five-year-old."   

            Kasumi stared at him, "You're as old as me?"

            He flinched, but this was hidden beneath his helmet. "Never mind that, I had my original orders to destroy you, but I can see that you're clearly a danger to the Digital World and Earth. I think it's time we put an end to this." He held up his palm, where an object appeared in an explosion of gold light, however, this light spread so quickly, that neither Kasumi, nor the paralyzed DATS agents could see what had appeared.

            "Dorugremon evolve to Dorughoramon!"

111

            Back on Earth, Noriko was leading a team comprised of Akira, Yasu, Eliane, Lizzie and Asami into the building located in Nakano. It was designed like a typical office building. The lobby was not extravagantly designed, with only two couches on both sides of the room, a few plants in the corners, and a few paintings on the wall. There were three elevators, as well as the door leading to the staircase on the wall opposite the front doors.

            Noriko took a deep breath, "All right, let's think here, there are civilian offices here, we can't just go barging into where the Hunters are without putting them in danger. Any ideas?"

            Asami spoke, "Do we know where the Hunters are?"

            "No," she replied, "That's why I wanted our partners to wait outside, until we know where they are."

            The others were silent in thought. Akira's moved to a fire extinguisher hanging on the wall. "I've got it! Once we figure out what office they're in, we'll just pull the fire alarm!"

            Lizzie smiled, "Considering what we've got to work with, that's not a bad idea." She looked to Noriko, "What do you think, Mrs. Ishida?"

            She nodded. "Yeah, okay." She sighed again, "We might as well split up." She walked over to the list of businesses, which was hanging on the wall. "Okay, this building has fifteen floors, so…" She looked to the others and just paired them off down the line, "Akira and Yasu,  Lizzie and Asami, and me and Eliane, okay?"

            They nodded.

            "All right, there's twenty floors, so that means…" She shook her head, "Great, I hate math."

            "Five floors each, Mom," Yasu said with a slight snicker. She loved it when she was smarter then her parents.

            "Um, right. Akira and Yasu, you take 1 through 5, Lizzie and Asami, 6 through 10, and me and Eliane will take 11 through 15."

            They nodded once more. "All right, just look for anything suspicious, and if you find something, DON'T, I repeat, DON'T jump in by yourselves, call us we'll get our partners and go in together. We're all DATS agents, but I'm the only one authorized to enter private property, okay? Just be careful."

            The teams split off, Lizzie and Asami used the first elevator to arrive at floor 6, Noriko and Eliane used the second to reach floor 11, and Yasu and Akira began to search the offices on the bottom floor.

            "That was a pretty cool idea," the brown-haired girl said with a smile.

            "Thanks," Akira muttered as he peered into the window of the first office door, an empty room stared back at him. He moved over to the neck door. Yasu quickly followed, but Akira turned to her, "Why are you following me?" He mentioned to the doors on the other wall, "Go check them!"

            She winced slightly when he yelled at her, "Y..yeah…" She ran to the other wall and started to stare through the windows on those doors as well. After checking the seven offices on that floor, they saw nothing but empty rooms.

            "Is this even a real building?" Yasu asked, "All the rooms are empty."

            "Who cares," the redheaded boy replied back, running to the elevator, "Let's just hurry up to the next floor."

            Yasu followed and stood behind him as the elevator moved to the neck level. As it did, she fixed her long pigtails so that they were hanging off her shoulders, she hiked her skirt up slightly and tried to position herself so that what little bust size she had was pushed out. Akira did not notice any of this as he ran onto the floor. "Come on!" he snapped.

            She sighed and followed him out. Like the rest of his family, Akira did have a temper, and was quick to become angry, but unlike his sister, who seemed to be angry all the time, his moods varied, and since he was clearly annoyed now, she had to think what could have set him off. She was not even sure she had done anything, but to be safe, "I'm sorry I'm annoying you."

            He stopped and turned to her. "What? You're not annoying me."

            "Then why are you acting so mean to me?"

            "I'm sorry," he replied, clenching his fist, "I just want to find the Hunters so I can kick their asses! Once they're out of the way, I can go back to looking for Kasumi!" He slammed his fists, "I'll make those Demons pay, I'll fight them all if I have to!"

            Yasu could not help but smile. "You're so cool, you know that?"

            He blinked at her, but she twisted away, her face turning red. "Um, I'm gonna look down here, okay?"

            "Sure…"

111

            Above them, Lizzie and Asami had discovered that most of the offices were empty as well. "Is this a new building?" Lizzie asked.

            Asami just shrugged. "I don't know, sorry."

            The other girl smiled at her, "Are you still worried about Kasumi?"

            "Yes," she said softly, "I just wondering if I couldn't have helped her."

            Lizzie placed at hand on her shoulder, "Asami, you've got a big heart, but you can't think everything's your fault." She smiled reassuringly, "I know how you're feeling, but you can't blame yourself because of someone else's decision."

            She blinked, "What do you mean?"

            She gasped, then turned her head away, "Um, t…there was this time with Gabe when…" She shook her head, her brown hair flying in front of her face, "Sorry, I probably shouldn't say."

            The other girl simply nodded and they continued their examination of the building. After peering into a few more offices, Asami spoke to her, "Why did you stay here?"

            Lizzie turned to her, "What?"

            "I mean, your parents went back to America, but you are Gabe stayed here, I was just wondering why."

            She hesitated for a moment, "I guess…because I wanted to learn how to fight better. I mean, don't get me wrong, my parents were great teachers, but…sometimes you need to learn from others. I wanted to see how Mrs. Yagami, and Mrs. Ishida and your mother fought and how they fought."

            Asami smiled and nodded. "Yes, my mother taught me a lot about how to care for Leormon." She hesitated, "But, why did Gabe want to stay?"

            She shrugged. "I think he just bored back home, and wanted more action."

            "O…oh," she looked to the ground, "T…that's all, huh?"

            The other girl placed a hand on her shoulder, "I can ask him if he likes you."

            Asami began to blush, "W…what do you mean? I…I don't like him…um, I mean, I _do_ like him, but not, like him…" She trailed off.

            The other girl chuckled, "Come on." 

111

            After examining the top floors, Noriko and Eliane came to the same conclusion as the others, this building was completely vacant. "I saw that man walk inside," Noriko frowned, "Where the hell did he go?"

            Eilane had a suggestion, "Maybe he was moving into one of ze offices?"

            "But no one saw anything, right?"

            The others shook their heads. "Wait a sec," Lizzie said, "Maybe they're in the basement?"

            "It's the only place we didn't check yet," Yasu added.

            Noriko glanced at the leading to the basement and frowned. "There's no way to check it without actually being seen." She sighed, "Let's get our partners."

            After gathering the waiting digimon-who were becoming very bored waiting outside-they used the door to silently sneak down to the basement level. They found a garage, which was vacant, all save for a large black van, and four figures all in trench coats. Three of the figures were loading computer equipment into the vehicle. They had found the Hunters.

            "That's Haokah," Lizzie whispered, "He fought my father, but I don't know who the others are."

            "I think one of those women is Flidais," Asami said, "She fought _my_ father. And the other one might be Nanook, who fought my mom."

            The last Hunters had his back to the stairs, but was staring intently at the others. He crossed his arms, "You've got to work faster, Orion's guess is that DATS will have analyzed the I.P. address in the processors we left behind by today. They will be searching this building soon. We've got to be out of here now!"

            "Aye," Flidais responded, placing a monitor into the van.

            "What should we do?" Labramon asked.

            Noriko fidgeted. Her Plotmon was the only one that could reach the Fully Evolved level, Asami had a weapon, but so far could not use it. These sort of evolution usually happened in situations like this, but she did not want to take that chance.

            "Yasu, Akira," she whispered, "Can you Jogress again?"

            They glanced at each other, "We're not sure how we did it in the first place, "Akira explained.

            "Right…right…" Four Hunters, against five Adults and one Full Evolved…

            "Come on, we need back up."

            "We're leaving?" Akira gasped, "But…"

            "We'll get them later, now let's go."

            They turned to leave and make their way to the door, when an object suddenly flew over their heads; it was a chakram, which slammed into the concrete wall.

            "Oh man," Nanook whined, "I missed."

            "Work on your aim," Haokah snicked.

            "Come on, give me a break, I'm not Artemis."

            "None of you are worth half as much as her," the last Hunter snarled, "Finish loading the van, I'll take care of them."

            They nodded, while the last Hunter turned to face the DATS team. He wore the same trench coat as the other Hunters, but his face contained a metal plate that covered half. "Welcome."

            Noriko tried to remain calm, "Who the hell are you?"

            "You can call me Lord Sentry. I have another name, but let's leave it at that for now…"

            "Lord, huh?" Lizzie asked, "Guess that means you're the boss?"

            He nodded. "Yes, I was not expecting to encounter any of you DATS so soon, so you'll have to forgive me if some of my weapons are un-tested."

            Noriko forced as smile as they continued to back towards the door, "Well, you know, maybe we should come back when you're more sure of yourself. You know you shouldn't use un-tested weapons, they could blow up in your face."

            He chuckled, "Still the same sarcastic attitude. You weren't funny then, you're not funny now."

            "Huh?" she asked.

            "Tell me," he asked, "How is Yamato?"

            She narrowed her eyes, "Surviving, no thanks to that assassin!"

            "Careful," her Plotmon warned, "He's strong, real strong."

            "But he's not just gonna let us leave," Falcomon commented, "We're going to have to fight."

            "Yeah," Akira nodded.

            Noriko sighed, "All right, but Asami, call your father and tell him to send backup."

            She nodded and held up her D-terminal with one hand and her digivice in the others. The other Chosen followed suit, and soon all their digimon were at their highest levels: Ladydevimon, Diatrymon, Dobermon, Woodmon, Red Veggiemon and Raiamon.   

            "All right, guys," Ladydevimon said, as she hovered in the air, "Come on, we can take him if we all attack together!"  The others joined her as they flew to engage their enemy.

            Lord Sentry grinned as he waved his palm in front of him, "Stop Evolution."

            The newly-evolved partners suddenly tumbled to the ground, all regressed to their Child forms. They stared in horror, while Lord Sentry roared with laughter," I can halt all evolutions around me." He glared down at Plotmon, Falcomon, Labramon and Mushmon, then blinked, "Wait, where are…"

            He was suddenly struck in the side by a barrage of chili peppers, while a swipe of a claw assailed him from the other side. He glared at the duo of digimon, "Raiamon and Red Veggiemon.." He looked at the DATS team, "Asami Yamaki and Elizabeth Barton, two Chosen that posses the X-Antibody!"

            Lizzie smirked as she stepped forward, "Guess that means our X-Antibody protects us from that, huh?" Asami would have agreed, but she was using her D-terminal to send an e-mail, requesting for help.

            Lord Sentry smirked, "It doesn't matter, I still have more then enough strength to take care of these two."

            "Then just try us!" Red Veggiemon shouted, jumping up and down in the air.

            Raiamon roared next to him, "I'm ready whenever you are!"

            Both digimon charged at their enemy, preparing to attack. Lord Sentry swung his fist into an uppercut, digging deep into Raiamon's stomach. The Adult digimon exploded in light, and when it faded, Leormon fell to the ground. Red Veggiemon attacked from the other side, but he grabbed hold of the plant digimon elongated arms. He spun him around in the air before slamming him into the ground; he too, returned to his Child form.

            Both girls gasped in horror as they ran to their partners' side. The eyes of the DATS team stared up at the towering Hunter. Lord Sentry chuckled as he stepped forward, "And now, maybe I should finish what my subordinates could not…"

            Lizzie bent down and whispered into her Alauamon's ear. The plant digimon nodded, and rose to her feet. Lord Sentry laughed, "And you think you're going to stand a chance against me?"

            "What are you doing?" Noriko snapped, "Lizzie, Alruamon get back here!"

            They ignored her and continued forward. Alraumon fired her Nemesis Ivy attack, the vines on her hands shooting towards the Hunter's face. He simply jerked his head to the side, and the vines flung over his shoulder. The vines on her other hand wrapped around the chakram that Nanook that previously thrown. She flung it at Lord Sentry's head, but he once again moved his head to the side, and the weapon flew past him. "You cannot defeat me, you are weak!"

            Unknown to him, the vines that were hanging over Lord Sentry's shoulder caught the chakram and when Alraumon retracted them, the weapon whipped back, crashing into the Hunter's back shoulder.

            He gasped, falling into his knees. The pain shooting through his shoulder, coupled with the snapping circuits of his cybernetic parts prevented him from rising for a full minutes. When he jumped back to his feet, he twisted his arm around, grabbed the weapon and threw it into the ground. He glanced around, the DATS team was gone, but the jewel that acted as his eye for the metal part of his face was tracking their dispersing data stream, like a bloodhound to a scent, he would find them.

111

            Taichi yawned loudly as he stared at the television. He had flipped through 20 channels so far, but nothing even remotely interesting had caught his eye. And the hospital television had far more channels then his one at home. He sighed, but it was better then turning ti off and being alone with his thoughts, thinking of hid daughter…

            He shook his head, and caught site of his D-terminal, which was lying on the small table next to the hospital bed. He had not heard from Sora since yesterday. Maybe he should send her an email, to see if she was ready to actually talk.

            As he flipped open the screen, he saw that he had received an e-mail from Asami. He began to read the message and his eyes opened in shock. He jumped out of the bed, wincing slightly at the pain he felt in his chest and ran to Yamato's room. "What's up?" the blond man asked, his voice still raspy from the surgery done on his lungs.

            He quickly told his friend about his niece's message. "Noriko and Yasu!" he gasped, climbing out of the bed. "Where are our partners?"

            "In the arcade," Taichi replied, jerking his head over his shoulder, "Come on."

            As they ran down the hall, the brown-haired man chuckled, "You know, Jyou might be away, but Kiku's gonna kill us."

            Yamato returned the smile, "Yeah, well, she's got to catch us first."

            They found their partners in the arcade room, both were playing air hockey. Gabumon X knocked the puck sailing across the table. Agumon X tried to block, but he moved too quickly and his hand slid across the table, the puck easily moving into the goal.

            "Oh man!" the dinosaur exclaimed, "Come on!"

            Gabumon X just smiled.

            "Guys," Taichi called out, "We've got a problem."

            A few floors below, Kiku Kido was seated in her office, studying a medical periodical, when the building shook as a loud roar exploded overhead. She stuck her head out the window just in time to watch Wargreymon X and Metalgarurumon X fly away over the city. "No!" she screamed, "You're not healed yet!"

            Of course, they could not hear her, but even if they had, most likely, they would not have listened anyway.           

111

            Noriko held tightly to Yasu's hand as she charged down the sidewalk. "Mom!" she cried, "I lost my shoe!"

            "You've got more at home!" she snapped, "Just keep running!" She glanced over to the others: Lizzie was behind Akira and Eliane and Asmi were running together. And further behind them was Lord Sentry. The Hunter was running after them-and was quickly gaining on them.

            "Keep moving!" Plotmon shouted as she galloped next to her partner," He's right behind us."

            Noriko should have listened to her daughter, because, having lost her sneaker, Yasu was off balance and she tripped, falling to the ground. She pulled her mother with her, and the others tripped over them. By the time they pulled out of the tangle, Lord Sentry was right behind them. They stared in horror, unable to move as the Hunter towered over them. "That was an impressive strategy," he said to Lizzie, "I wouldn't have expected it from you."

            The teenage girl smirked. "Don't underestimate me next time."

            He chuckled, "Yes, as if there is going to be a next time…" He raised his fist, which began to glow brightly. "Prepare to face thy maker…"

            The Hunter was suddenly struck by a hail of bullets, throwing him into a roll along the ground. The DATS team scanned the skies and Yasu exclaimed, "Daddy!"

            "Yamato?" Noriko asked.

            "Gabumon?" Plotmon questioned.

            Akira and Asami stared in awe as well.

            "Dad?"

            "Uncle Taichi?"

            Both Wargreymon X and Metalgarurumon X landed between the Hunter and his prey. While the two Megas were slightly larger then an adult human, they still seemed to tower over the Hunter.

            "Wargreymon and Metalgarurumon," Lord Sentry said with a smile, "Taichi Yagami and Yamato Ishida, the Lords of the X-Chosen."

            Both Megas blinked in surprise. "X-Chosen?" Wargreymon X asked.

            Lord Sentry snickered, "Yes, that's right, you haven't used that term in almost fifteen years. You are DATS now." His smile grew, "I was easily able to take care of the team you sent to investigate that base, let's see how I handle against you!"

            He charged forward, swinging his fist at Wargreymon X. The Dragon Man whipped both of his arms around, blocking the attack with his gauntlets, but even he skidded back slightly from the attack. "Shit!" he exclaimed, "My arm's numb!"

            Metalgarurumon X activated the gun barrels on his forearm, which he fired with a barrage of bullets. Lord Sentry leapt into the air and executed an impressive back-flip, dodging each projectile. Once he was back on the ground, he shot forward, stopping right before Metalgarurumon X's stomach, instead using all of his moment to slam his fist into the metal wolf's chin, tipping him backwards.

            "I don't believe it!" Plotmon gasped, "How could he do that to Metalgarurumon?"

            However, her concerns were not needed, as the wolf easily regained himself and slammed both of his fists into Lord Sentry, giving him a powerful assault from both sides at once. Yet, surprisingly, the Hunter seemed unharmed.

            Wargreymon X charged, the blade on his gauntlets ready to battle. Lord Sentry held out his palm and a sword of crackling energy appeared. The Dragon Man swung and jabbed, but each one was blocked by the bladed energy. "I have studied your techniques," he explained, "And designed my fighting style specifically to counter you, Metalgarurumon X and Omegamon X. "

            "Good!" the Dragon Man laughed, "I love a challenge!"

            "Really?" the Hunter asked, "Or are you too weak from your years of filing paperwork?" He blocked another jab, then spun around in the air and kicked the Dragon Man's nose.

            "Dad!" Akira shouted.

            "Uncle Taichi!" screamed Asami.

            Wargreymon X stumbled back, but caught his footing. He was clenching his fists, "You piece of shit! Talk all you want, we're still gonna beat you!"

            "Still spouting that same attitude I see," he chuckled, "No wonder your daughter acts the way she does. It is a shame some of her mother did not rub off on her."

            Metalgarurumon X suddenly unleashed an entire round of bullets from his guns. Lord Sentry flung open his arms and a red dome appeared around him, the bullets exploding on contact. The Hunter was unharmed.

            "How many powers do you have?" the metal wolf asked.

            "Enough to defeat you, that is certain," he glared, "Your power comes from your weapons, from the powers of the Daughters of the First. My power is self-sufficient, I gain power from myself alone! The strength of my goals, my desires full me!"

            "And what goal is that?" Wargreymon X asked.

            He chuckled, "Do you really have to ask."

            Metalgarurumon X sighed, "World domination, huh? Don't you guys ever get original ideas?"

            The Hunter shrugged. "Everyone desires power, some of us just want it more, that's all." He held open his arms, and leaned forward, "Ready for more?"

            The two Megas crouched down, ready to attack.

            Lord Sentry studied them carefully. "_I am quickly running out of energy. My fuel cells are depleting fast, it appears that I cannot sustain an anti-evolution field for long."_ He glanced at the other DATS digimon, "_Keeping them at bay has coast me. I shall add that to the list of upgrades, a longer battery life. It appears I was not ready for this fight…yet…_

            He chuckled slightly, "Farewell, I will see you again." He slammed his fists into the sidewalk, throwing up chunks of concrete. Beams of light exploded from his jeweled eye, striking each piece of the sidewalk, turning it into a hailstorm of shrapnel. Both Megas knelt down to shield the vulnerable DATS agents. When they looked back to the Hunter, he, of course, was gone.

            "Coward," Wargreymon X mumbled, "They always run when things are going their way."

            "You would too," Metalgarurumon X pointed out.

            "Shut up."

            They both exploded in light, reverting back to their previous forms. Yamato and Taichi turned to face the DATS team. "What are you doing out of the hospital?" Noriko demanded, pointing her finger at her husband.

            "You needed help!" he shouted.

            Lizzie studied the two of them, "Should you have even left?"

            Taichi shrugged, "Eh, we're fine, re…." Suddenly, he gasped in pain, clutching his chest; Yamato, too, began to moan in pain. Akira and Asami ran to his side, while Noriko and Yasu ran to Yamato. "Oh no," Lizzie gasped, "They're having a r..relapse or something…"

            The sound of a siren blaring was soon heard as an ambulance pulled up to the scene. The doors flew open and a staff of paramedics jumped out, lead by Kiku.

            She shook her head, "I told you you weren't ready for fighting yet! Why didn't you listen to me?" She sighed, "Get them back to the hospital, hopefully they didn't do any serious damage."

            Taichi noticed the worried expression his son and niece were giving him. "Hey, don't worry, no hospital can hold me for long."

            Kiku glared at him, "Yeah, well, we're gonna see about that. I'll tie you to the bed if I have to.."

111

            "Dorugremon evolve to Dorugoramon!"

            Kasumi and Orochimon both could not believe their eyes. "He bio-merged!" the Demoness gasped, "Just like Dad..."

            Dorugoramon blinked, "Your father can do this?"

            The Demoness waved her arms, and Orochimon's tail began to wag behind her, "Gathering Clouds of Heaven!" The rear appendage swung from around behind, the tip crackling with electrical energy. The Beast Dragon twisted around in the air to avoid the thrust, then grabbed the tail and pulled as hard as he could. Kasumi grabbed tightly to her partner as they were flung through the air, slamming into the ground, crashing through a sea of trees. Dorugoramon shot after her. Orochimon swiggled around before rightening herself. "Sake Breath!" she screamed.

            Dorugoramon whipped his metal wings around, shielding him from the attack. When he flung them open again, blades of glowing energy exploded forth, slicing through the seven heads. Kasumi watched in horror as her partner's multiple heads fell to the ground, all except for one, which the Beast Dragon grabbed and yanked as hard as he could. The Demon Dragon was flung backwards, once she was close enough, he punched her as hard as he could, which caused her to smash into the ground in an explosion of dirt that shook that shook the ground. The dragon rose into the air and spread open his wings. He stared down at the demons in the crater and placed his palms together, a ball of gray energy appearing within them. "Brave Metal!" He fired a barrage of metal balls at his opponent.

            Kasumi screamed from within the crater, "Get up Orochimon! Get up!" She stared at Dorugoramon, "You  won't beat me! You can't! I am Kasumi Yagami!"

            "Yagami?" Dorugoramon gasped. He jerked his arm to the right, and the balls smashed harmlessly into the ground.

            The Beast Dragon stared down at the blond-haired girl, his eyes studying her curiously. He shot back into the air, executing a spin before disappearing over the horizon. Orochimon slowly climbed out of the crater, but the Demon Dragon and the Demoness were panting heavily. "Get us out of here!" she snapped. Orochimon began to dig into the ground again, covering the hole behind her.

            The battlefield was silent for the next hour or so, before the effects of the emp wore off and the DATS agents were able to move once again. "That was close," Jyou said, slowly rising to his feet, "we were lucky, that emp could have killed us."

            Shiro frowned. "And we lost Kasumi again."

            "Forget about her!" Gabe gasped, "Who the hell was that other guy? He kicked her ass!"

            "Yeah," he sighed, "Another problem."

            Kenji ran over to them. "Hey, where's the DER?"

            Jyou blinked, "My DER's gone? Oh you've got to be kidding! That was the _only_ prototype! Damn it!"

            Gomamon X chuckled, "Hey, don't worry, you can spend another year making one, right?"

            "Yeah, thanks…"

111

            Masa marched into Lord Sentry's office. The Hunter was seated behind his desk, and looked amused as the teenager ran inside. "So, how was your mission?"

            He pointed at him, "You told me she was a Demon!"

            "She? Oh, I see, it was a Demoness…"

            "You're full of shit! Who is she? My cousin?"

            He shrugged. "I had no idea."

            "Who are these Demons? Are they all my relatives?"

            Lord Sentry roared with laughter. "So suspicious. What makes you think I know?"

            The teenager just glared at him. "I don't trust you, at all." He turned and slammed the door on his way out. Lord Sentry smirked, shaking his head. He glanced to his right, "I see your repair job was a success?"

            Artemis marched out of the shadows, twisting her wrist and moving her arm up and down. "Yeah, not a bad job either." She snarled, "When I see that little bitch again, I'm gonna tear her fuckin' tongue out!" She sighed and mentioned to the door with her head, "What the hell's his problem?"

            "Just the errand I sent him on."

            "Ya mean with Yagami's little brat?"

             "Yes. The Timepiece of Asuka showed me a vision of something that should not be. I needed Masa and the Yagami girl to battle, because, you see, there can be only one master of order and chaos." He smiled, "And Masa's victory has proven to me, that I still have control over the first key."

            "And the second?" Artemis asked.

            "Soon…soon…"

111

            Masa marched down the hall and passed by Dorumon, who was waiting for him. "I guess that didn't go well, right?"

            "No," he sighed, "Like usual, he's a wealth of no information."

            "What about that Demoness?"

            He reached into the inside pocket of the Hunter's jacket he was wearing and pulled out a metal-headband, "A Digital Encephalon Reader, huh?"

To be continued…

**NAME:** Tsuragi

**GENDER:** Male

**AGE:** Appears to be 15

**ETHNICITY:** Demonic

**OCCUPATION:** None

**PLACE OF BIRTH:** Unknown

**DATE OF BIRTH:** Unknown

**KNOWN RELATIVES:** Ami-younger sister

**GROUP AFFILIATION:** Demon Generals

**SUB-GROUP:** Uni

**EDUCATION:** Unknonw

**HEIGHT:** 5' 7"

**WEIGHT:** 167 lbs

**EYES:** Brown

**HAIR:** Brown

**POWER:** Gift of Demons

**DIGIMON:** Neodevimon

**WEAPON:** None

1

**NAME:** Ami

**GENDER:** Female

**AGE:** Unknown, appears to 14

**ETHNICITY:** Demonic

**OCCUPATION:** None

**PLACE OF BIRTH:** Unknown

**DATE OF BIRTH:** Unknown

**KNOWN RELATIVES:** Tsuragi-brother

**GROUP AFFILIATION:** Demon Generals

**SUB-GROUP:** Uni

**EDUCATION:** Unknown

**HEIGHT:** 5' 3"

**WEIGHT:** 112 lbs

**EYES:** Brown

**HAIR:** Brown

**POWER:** Gift of Demons

**DIGIMON:** Astamon

**WEAPON:** None

**BIO:**

1

**NAME:** Kasumi

**GENDER:** Female

**AGE:** 15

**ETHNICITY:** Demonic

**OCCUPATION:** None

**PLACE OF BIRTH:** Tokyo, Japan

**DATE OF BIRTH:** July 24, 2015

**KNOWN RELATIVES:** Shinji and Yuuji-cousins

**GROUP AFFILIATION:** Demon Generals

**SUB-GROUP:** Decima Clan

**EDUCATION:** High School

**HEIGHT:** 5' 2"

**WEIGHT:** 107 lbs.

**EYES:** Blue

**HAIR:** Blond

**POWER:** Gift of Demons

**DIGIMON:** Orochimon

**WEAPON:** None


	17. Encephalogram of the Psyche: Chapter 1

_My name is Sora Yagami. My family name used to be Takenouchi, but that was before I married the love of my life, Taichi Yagami. I can still remember the first time I saw him; we were nine years old, and it was a summer camp for soccer. That was the summer before our famous trip to the Digital World. We had our ups and down, the Second Black Death, me finding out about the powers I inherited from my grandfather, Juro killing Taichi, so much, but it only made us stronger. If the happiest day of my life was marring Taichi, then the second happiest day was when my daughter was born._

_            Kasumi…she was always so…spirited…she was in trouble all the time when she was younger, nothing really bad, just typical little kid trouble, like misbehaving in school, or teasing her brother. And when Shinji infected her with the Gift of Demons, I thought she took it because she wanted the power. I am her mother, and I didn't believe her, and now….now's a Demon, and I'm afraid she won't ever be my little girl again, I've lost my baby!_

_Digimon__ Magog_

_Encephalogram of the Psyche:_

_Chapter 1 _

_A memory is what is left when something happens and does not completely unhappen_.

                                                                                                Edward de Bono

            The area of land in the Digital World that served as the Demon Base, was much like a military base, with different buildings serving the different Clans, as Uni and Decima did not care to mingle with each other. Since Kasumi had joined them rather abruptly, and she did not have a partner, she was housed with Shinji and Yuuji. With the male Demon away, only the two females were inside the small apartment-like room. Yuuji was seated on a couch, gently combing her hair, while Kasumi paced the floor. The new Demoness was stomping with so much rage that the entire room shook.

            "Please be seated, "Yuuji sighed, "You are getting on my nerves."

            "Sorry, 'cousin,' she sneered, "But I'm a little pissed 'cause that fucking helmet-head beat the shit out of me!"

            Yuuji sighed, "Cousin, you have to accept that there are people in this world that will be more powerful then you."

            "That's not okay with me!" she snapped, "I thought that Gift or whatever the hell it is was supposed to make me stronger!"

            "You have a Fully Evolved…"

            "I want a Mega!"

            Yuuji hesitated, then sighed. "What?" the other girl demanded.

            "Reaching the Mega level is not as easy as you think."

            "What do you mean?"

            She hesitated once more, then spoke, "I think our Master can explain it more efficiently then I."

            "Whatever, let's go."

            They traveled through the maze of the Demon's base until they arrived within the massive throne room of the Demon Master. The patriarch of their demonic family was seated upon a throne that was adorned with skulls that were chiseled into the wood of the seat. His demonic beast partner was attached to the seat by a thick metal collar and chain. He growled at the two Demonesses. "Yes?" the Demon Master asked.

            Yuuji opened her mouth to speak, but Kasumi interrupted, "I wanna get stronger!"

            He chuckled, "You already have the Gift of Demons…"

            "I need a Mega digimon!" she snapped.

            Her master narrowed his eyes, "How dare you speak to me like that…"

            "M'lord," Yuuji said, raising her hand, "She is still new, and her recent defeat…"

            The Demon Master sighed, "As you probably are aware, every Chosen is able to evolve their partners to the Adult level without aid, but to reach higher requires external energy, even we Demons are bound to this rule."

            "Why?" Kasumi asked, "Why is that a rule?"

            He shrugged, running a hand through his scraggily hair, "I do not know, but your parents used a Crest, the next team was Jogressing, then Weapons and powers of the Daughter of the First. For we Demons, it is our Gift, but this only gives us enough energy for Fully Evolved, for Mega, it takes an even larger amount of  energy. For Taichi Yagami and Yamato Ishida, they needed the powers of their siblings, then for their X-digimon, it was the two energies of tow of the Daughters of the First, and for Omegamon X, the powers of all the Daughters of the First."

            "Yeah, I know, what about us?"

            "The Crests worked by amplifying a certain trait or emotions, our Gift does the same, but by amplifying the 'true,' emotions, the pride, wrath, greed."

            "Fine," the blond haired girl snapped, "Then just give me another blast of that Gift!"

            "It will not work," Yuuji replied, "We've tried."

            The Master continued, "And the Gift is still an internal source, an external source would be needed to manage the powerful energies at that level, without an external source, you could very well be overwhelmed and all sense of 'self' would vanish."

            She crossed her arms, "So, how bad is it?"

            "No one has ever tried it," he replied, "For there would be no way back."

            Kasumi sneered, "Well, I don't buy it! I'm gonna get that Mega power!" She twisted on her heels and marched out of the throne room.

            Yuuji turned to her Master and gave a slight bow before quickly running after Kasumi. The Demon Master chuckled as he rubbed the head of his partner, "The acquisition will happen soon, and then I'll finally have it..." He grinned, "She is not the only one that wishes to reach the Mega level…"

111

            Lord Sentry was seated behind his desk, staring at the two teenagers that were standing before him. He glanced to the one with the scraggily hair style, "Masa, explain to me once more why you did not eliminate that Demoness while you had the chance?"

            "I'm sorry," he answered.

            "That is all you have to say?"

            "Yes."

            He sighed, then looked to the other teenage boy. "And you, Mixcoatl?"

            "I don't understand why you sent _him!"_ he mentioned to Masa, "Assassinating Kasumi Yagami was _my_ mission!"

            Lord Sentry addressed him simply, "Your mission is to assassinate _all_ of the children of the Chosen, not simply her." He sighed deeply, "But that does not matter right now, Kasumi Yagami has apparently been corrupted into serving the Demon Master. The information we have received from our sources indicate that the Demons are planning a campaign that will occur in Tokyo tomorrow. You two will use that as cover, complete your missions and assassinate the children of the Chosen!"

            "I'm not working with him," Mixcoatl snapped, "I have my own team!"

            "And I don't work with anyone, you know that," Masa added.

            "I don't care!" Lord Sentry snapped, "You _will_ work together, or suffer the consequences! Be prepared to leave for Tokyo within the hour! You will remain there until the Demon's campaign begins, understood?"

            "Yes sir!" they both shouted.

111

            "And she said her family name was Yagami?"

            Masa nodded, "Yeah, Mom."

            "But she had blond hair?"

            He nodded.

            She sighed, gently rubbing her chin, "Hikari's lover possessed blond hair, maybe she is her daughter?"

            "Yeah, but why would her name still be Yagami?" Plotmon asked.

            "Yes, why…"

            He crossed his arms, "Well, maybe I could have been able to tell if I ever _saw_ any of them…"

            His mother frowned, "I did what I thought was best…"

            "Yeah, I know, I know, but why would she be a Demon?"

            "Maybe she was forced?" Plotmon suggested.

            "No way," Dorumon answered, "You should have seen her attack DATS, I think she was enjoying it!"

            "He's right," Masa sighed, "But, Plotmon may be right too. DATS _was_ trying to save her."

            "Wait," his mother said, staring at him, "You had encountered DATS and did not tell them of us? You have berated me for keeping them a secret, yet you do not try to alert them to our presence?"

            "You heard Lord Sentry," he replied, "If I said anything to them, he would have killed you!. Besides, I don't need their help. I can save you by myself!"

            His mother hugged him, "Masa, you and Dorumon may be powerful, but that does not mean you are invincible."

            He sighed deeply and walked to the door, "I have another mission, I'll be back later."

            "Another one?"

            "Yes, Mom, this is how we stay alive. Come on Dorumon."

            The Beast Digimon looked to the females, then followed his partner into the hall. Once the door was closed he looked to his partner, confused, "What mission?"

            "We have to stop that Demoness, remember?"

            Dorumon blinked, "B…but, you said that…"

            "We don't have to kill her to stop her," he simply replied.

            His partner was more confused then he was before. "Wait, what?"

111

            When Gabe entered the Yamaki's apartment, he was greeted by Hikari, "Hello Gabe, welcome home," she smiled slightly, "Well, your home _here_ at least."

            He smiled back as he removed his sneakers. "Would you like a snack before dinner?"

            "Snack?" he asked, following her into the kitchen. She mentioned to a ceramic cookie jar on the counter. As he happily ate a large chocolate chip cookie, he spied Hikari stirring a substance in a large pot, "What are you making?"

            "_Zoni_," she replied, "Has your mother ever made it before?"

            He nodded, "Yeah, a few times. Is it gonna be ready soon?"

            "What he means," Lizzie gasped, running into the room, "Is that he really appreciates you letting us stay here and taking care of our meals and laundry and education." She glared at her older brother, "Right?"

            "Uh, yeah, thank you."

            Hikari smiled sweetly, "Dinner will be ready in about an hour."

            The two siblings walked into the guest room they were sharing, "So, how was your day, big bro?"

            He shrugged. "School in Japan is still the same in America, it's school."

            She grinned. "Well, I've got something that's gonna make your da-ay…"

            He stared at her, "What?"

            Lizzie opened the door to Asami's room to reveal the brown-haired girl seated upon her pink-frilly bedspread. "Asami!" Gabe grinned, "You're…home?"

            She nodded. "Dr. Kido wasn't sure what happened to me, he just said that I received some kind of shock…maybe because of what happened to Kasumi…"

            "But you got sick before we heard about her, right?" Lizzie questioned.

            Asami simply shrugged, "I…don't know…"

            "It doesn't matter," Gabe said, smiling at the girl, "Let's not think about Kasumi right now, okay?"

            "We need to think about her," Asami frowned, "We have to find a way to save her." She stared at Gabe and Lizzie, "She's lost in the darkness, she's all alone, trapped in her own negative emotions. We have to save her."

            "She's not trapped anywhere," Gabe protested, "She just walked away for power! That's all she ever wanted, right?" He crossed his arms, "Power-hungry bitch," he mumbled.

            Asami stared at him, tears starting to form in her eyes, "No, you're wrong! Kasumi's not evil!"

            "Look where she is now?"

            The brown-haired girl began to cry into her hands. Lizzie punched Gabe in the shoulder as hard as she could. "Owe!" he cried.

            "You can be a real jerk sometimes, you know?" she snapped, "Don't you have any freakin' compassion?" She embraced the sobbing Asami.

            "You need to hear the truth…"

            Lizzie glared, "Just 'cause _you_ hate her doesn't mean everyone does! You might be the big shot back home, but here you're not! Just 'cause you say something, doesn't mean that's what's gonna happen! You're getting mad at her because she was arrogant, you're no better!"

            He just blinked, unable to speak. He stared down at the sobbing Asami, then at the angry Lizzie. He slowly backed up and exited the room.

111

            Sora was in her husband's hospital room, staring out of the window. "What are we going to do?"

            Her husband was lying in his hospital bed. "I don't know."

            "What if we can't get her back?" She turned to face him, "Taichi, our little girl's…" She began to cry softly.

            "Sora…"

            She fell into his arms and he embraced her, "There's got to be a way to get her back, we'll find a way to save her, we will."

            "What if we can't?" she snapped, "Taichi, what if we can't save her? What if she's like this forever? Not having her back isn't nearly as bad as…as having her trapped as some evil Demon! I can't stand that!"

            Taichi was silent for a long time, before sighed deeply, "Sora, if we can't save her, if we can't free her, then…then I'll kill her myself."

            She stared at him, and through her tear-stained eyes, saw the determination in his face. "Oh Taichi!" she cried, burying her face into his chest.

111

            A few floors below, Jyou, Kenji and Shiro were in one of the laboratories, working feverously on creating another Digital Encephalon Reader, since they had lost Jyou's only prototype. After nearly twenty-four hours of work, they had finally created a second device. The middle-aged man mentioned to a large piece of paper, "Good thing I made these plan, eh?"

            "All right," Shiro said, "Let's test it."

            "We can do that after some rest," Jyou said.

            "Why?" the blond boy asked, "We can't rest, we're wasting time!"

            "Shiro," the middle-aged man said, "It won't due us any good to test it if we're too exhausted to do it properly."

            "And while we're resting, Kasumi's going deeper and deeper!"

            Jyou was going to speak, but Kenji interrupted, "Shiro, I know you want to save her, so do I, but we can't properly save her if the tools we're using aren't working properly. And those tools are only as good as we are, and right now, we're too tired to do anything properly, right?"

            He sighed deeply, "Yeah, I guess." He reluctantly placed the DER back onto the table and followed the two Kidos from the room. "I should probably head home," Shiro said.

            "Tell you what," Jyou said, "Our apartment is much closer then yours, why don't you spend the night?"

            "Oh, I don't know…"

            "It should be fine," he said again.

            "Yeah, I suppose…"

            "Good, why don't you get out partners? I think they're asleep in the staff room."

            "Sure," Shiro smiled. Once he was out of ear-shot, Jyou gently patted his son's shoulder.

            "What?" Kenji asked.

            "You're becoming a fine young man."

            "Dad," he protested, "That just sounds…weird…"

            He shrugged, "Sorry, but it's true. Your friends are you greatest strength, and it's good that you're watching out for them."

            He frowned, "My advice wasn't enough to save Kasumi."

            "Don't give up," he half-smiled, "We'll get her back, I promise."

111

            Masa and Mixcoatl appeared in Tokyo near the bay area. They chose an abandoned building in the Shinjuku area to spend the night. "This should be fine," Mixcoatl said, "Lord Sentry said that the Demons were going to appear here."

            Masa nodded as he sat on the floor, his back against the wall. "Yeah, it makes you wonder how he knows that, doesn't it?"

            "It'd be a good idea not to ask," the other Hunter said as he sat on the floor as well, only on the other side of the room. Their partners sat down beside them. The room was quiet until Masa said, "You should go, you're just going to get in my way."

            Mixcoatl glared at him, "I'm not going anywhere! I won't let you take my hunt!"

            "I don't want it, believe me. I'd rather not be here at all."

            The other Hunter smirked, "Thinking of running?"

            "No."

            "Too bad," he chuckled, "Then I'd have an excuse for hunting _you_."

            "You wouldn't stand a chance against Dorughoramon, trust me."

            "And why not? I have the Spear of Earth!"

            "But you don't have a Mega."

            Mixcoatl glared at him. "Let me ask you something," Masa questioned, "Why are _you_ here? Do you really hate her that much? You've never even met her until a few days ago."

            "You wouldn't understand," he replied.

            "Try me."

            Mixcoatl sighed deeply, "I remember my step-sister, I remember her face, I remember how kind she was, how much she cared about others. She gave her life to save Yagami, Ishida and the others, and now they…they sold out! They're traitors to what my step-sister died for! They were too busy doing whatever the Japanese government told them, they left me, my brother, Ines and Bolade, they abandoned us!"

            Masa nodded. "So, let me understand, you joined the Hunters because you wanted revenge against them?"

            "No, I did it so that I could learn about how to be a Chosen."

            "But, you sound like you have some much rage."

            "I just want to make them pay for what happened to my sister!"

            "But, you just said that you didn't hate them."

            "I never said that!"

            Masa sighed, "Here's some advice, if you want a Mega, stop lying to yourself, and stop finding ways to justify yourself."

            "What's that's supposed to mean?"

            "We should probably get some rest," he said instead, "We're gonna need it."

111

            Gabe was lying on the floor of the guest room of the Yamaki's apartment. He was sharing this room with his sister, and after he 'remembered,' what a gentleman he was, he gave Lizzie and Alraumon the bed, while he and Kotemon were sleeping on cots. Of course, while they were all sleeping soundly, he was wide awake, his mind kept replaying over and over the scene from earlier this afternoon.

-          

_Asami__ stared at him, tears starting to form in her eyes, "No, you're wrong! Kasumi's not evil!"_

_            "Look where she is now?"_

_            The brown-haired girl began to cry into her hands. Lizzie punched Gabe in the shoulder as hard as she could. "Owe!" he cried._

_            "You can be a real jerk sometimes, you know?" she snapped, "Don't you have any freakin' compassion?" She embraced the sobbing Asami._

_            "You need to hear the truth…"_

_            Lizzie glared, "Just 'cause you hate her doesn't mean everyone does! You might be the big shot back home, but here you're not! Just 'cause you say something, doesn't mean that's what's gonna happen! You're getting mad at her because she was arrogant, you're no better!"_

            Was Lizzie right? Was he just an arrogant jerk? Or was this feeling more like guilt, guilty over the face that he caused Asami to break down in tears? He wanted to apologize, but part of him still felt that he was right, that no one else could see Kasumi for what she really was, but was he just the same as her?

            He remembered his friends back in America, they were all jealous that he was going to be training at DATS. He thought of Dorothy, what would she think of Asami? Would they have been friends? Of course, if Dorothy was still here, he probably would not have these feelings for the brown-haired girl. He was certain, though, that she would have definitely agreed with him about Kasumi, at least, he hoped. Or would she have told him that his personal feelings for the Demoness were clouding his judgment, as he was afraid they were? Just because he did not like Kasumi, did that mean that everything he did not like about her was true?

            He sighed deeply, rubbing his hands over his face, "Dorothy, I wish you were here, I could really use someone to talk to."

            He sighed deeply, calming himself enough to where he slowly drifted to sleep.

111

            By the time the sun has risen over the horizon, most of Tokyo had already been awake for hours. The sidewalks were crammed, adults ran past one another, not wanting to incur the wrath of their supervisors by being late once again. The children were on their way to school, the elementary school students happily, while the teenagers were grunting and grumbling of a day stuck in a classroom.

            The train station was busy as usual, everyone was required to be at the same place at the same time. Everyone screaming and shouting, pushing and shoving to be the first through the sliding doors of the subway car. The terminal would have continued to be filled with such chaos, if a mighty tremor erupted through the ground. The crowd instantly stopped, staring in horror at the rumbling nose. They instantly and instinctively dove for cover as a massive, strange train rushed down the track, a train that appeared to have a face…

            Above the center of the city, a large aircraft appeared in a shimmer of white fog, a large, red zeppelin. Inside the cab hanging beneath the blimp, Shinji stared down at the city with anticipation. Katsuharu of the Uni Clan, the Demon partner of Blimpmon, tapped a speaker that was in his ear, "Chiaka and Locomon are on the tracks right now."

            He grinned, "Good. That track runs around the city before heading into Shinjuku, it will take them some time before they arrive at DATS headquarters. That gives us time to reach the Tokyo Electric Power Company's Plant." His grin grew, "Why don't we have some fun in the meanwhile?"

            Katsuharu blinked in confusion, "You actually _want_ to start fighting? But…they don't know we're even here!"

            "They'll know soon," the Decima Demon replied, "Begin the attack now!"

            The Uni Demon just shrugged, "All right. You heard him Blimpmon."

            Outside, the zeppelin digimon began to unleash a barrage of bombs from its underside, smashing into buildings and streets, causing massive explosions. People scrambled and ran for safety…those that survived the first assault, that is.

111

            Gabe had not fallen asleep until late into the night, so he was sleeping soundly that morning when a female voice screamed to him, "Gabe, get up!"

            His eyes shot open and instantly leapt to his feet…of course, he was sleeping on a fold-out cot, so his foot snapped the side of the material and he fell flat on his face. He jumped to his feet to see Lizzie staring at him. "What?" he snapped, "We've got plenty of time to get to school…"

            "We've got a big problem!" she exclaimed, "Mr. Yamaki just called us…"

            Gabe blinked, "W..what?"

            She grabbed his wrist and dragged him into the living room, where Asami and their digimon were intently watching the television. He stared at the screen in horror: images of Blimpmon bombarding the city were displayed.

"Where are Mr. and Mrs. Yamaki?" he gasped.

            "They already left for work," Asami said, her voice quivering with fear, "They-they shut down the train system! Mom and Plotmon are probably stuck in a tunnel or something! W…what if it caves in?"

            Lizzie placed a hand on Asami's shoulder, "If Plotmon's with her, then she'll be fine."

            Gabe blinked, "She brought her partner with her?"

            "She does that sometimes," Leormon explained, "Her class was probably supposed to go on a field trip or something, so she would have been alone all day.."

            Gabe stared at the screen again, then nodded, "All right. Just let me get dressed."

111

            Shiro had spent the night at the Kidos, so he, Jyou and Kenji were going to share a train cab until they reached the stop for the Shinjuku high school. However, they were present on the terminal when Locomon flew past on the railway tracks. They instantly called for their partners while they ran after the train digimon, following the tracks. Of course, they were no where near as fast as Locomon; within moments they lost the trail. Once their partners arrived, they evolved to their Adult forms and, with the new burst of speed, caught up to the runaway digimon. Jyou was speaking through his cell phone, "We've caught up to him, I think it's Locomon."

            Reika Ootori answered via the speaker, "We've got your position now. Megumi's tracking Blimpmon in the center of the city."

            Jyou blinked, "Two attacks at once? All right, they're obviously after something, but what?"

            "I've already alerted reinforcements and they're heading for your position."

            "Right, thanks."

            "What's up?" Kenji's Otamamon said.

            "A Blimpmon's attack the center of the city," he sighed, "Something's going on here."

            As Gururumon ran closer to Locomon, inside the control cab, Chiaka, Locomon's partner, a girl with brown hair tied into two braided ponytails, noticed the DATS agents via one of the monitors on her console. "We've got company!"

            Outside, the DATS team continued to chase the Machine digimon, when a group of figures leapt from the train digimon and landed directly in front of the Chosen, a boy and a girl dressed in the gray school uniforms of the Decima Clan. The DATS agents slid to a stop, they eyes staring carefully at the Demons.

            The boy gave a slight bow, "I am Kenichi, this is my sister, Sawa, and our partners Karatenmon and Kyukimon." He mentioned to the bird man and the purple fox standing before them, "I am sorry, but we cannot allow you any further."

            "Why?" Shiro asked, "What are you after? Why are you even here?"

            Sawa answered, "That, I'm afraid, is not for your ears."

            The DATS agents stared at the two Demons, then over their shoulder at the vanishing Locomon. "We don't have time for this," Gururumon said, "He's getting away!"

            Jyou sighed, "We've got no choice, we're going to have to fight."

            Shiro nodded, "All right, Gururumon, get ready to…"

            "No! Oniichan, we'll take care of 'em!"

            "Yasu?" The blond boy spun his head around and indeed saw Dobermon charging towards them with his younger sister seated on his back, along with Eliane and her Mushmon, Diatrymon and Akira were running alongside.

            "You've got to go after Locomon," Yasu exclaimed as she leapt off of her partner's back.

            The French girl and her partner leapt to the ground as well, "We will take care of zis."

            The older DATS agents stared at the younger members, then back at the Demons. "You're wasting time!" Akira shouted, "Go!"

            Kenji nodded. "You heard them, Dad, Shiro, you guys go."

            "What?" Jyou asked.

            "Locomon's Fully Evolved, you and Shiro have Fully Evolved partners."

            Gomamon X mentioned to Karatenmon and Kyukimon, "So are they!"

            "Two Adults against one Fully Evolved," he assured them, "We'll be fine."

            Shiro sighed, shaking his head, "We don't have time. Let's go."

            Jyou nodded and jumped onto Gururumon's back with Shiro and Gomamon. The large wolf began to charge past the Demons, but Kenichi waved his arm, "You cannot pass! Karatenmon!"

            His demonic bird raised his swords, ready to strike the fleeing DATS agents, but Kenji's Otamamon quickly evolved to Shellmon, and a quick blast from his water cannons struck the bird man, throwing him around in the sky, allowing Gururumon to pass unharmed.

            Kenichi growled slightly, then glared at the DATS team. "Well, sister, let's take care of them, then we'll aid Chiaka, Locomon, and our master."

            Yasu gasped, "M…master?"

            Akira narrowed his eyes, "The Demon Master's…here?"

111

            While Locomon circled the city on the trail tracks, Blimpmon continued on his path through the sky. Inside the small cab hanging on the underside, the zepllin's partner, Katsuharu, was studying his own instrument panel. "We're approaching the power facility."

            "Good," Shinji replied.

            The other Demon's eyes focused on one of the monitors on his control console, one that gave a view of the street level beneath them. Three teenagers and three digimon soon appeared on what was left of the street. "It looks like we've got company."

            Shinji examined the monitor, "Its DATS. Hmm, they're later then normal…well, it doesn't matter. Katsuharu, continue the mission, the rest of us will take care of those brats!"

            Down below, Gabe, Asami, Lizzie and their partners were running along the street, trying to keep up with Blimpmon. "Come on," Gabe shouted, mentioned to the girls, who were trailing behind, "He's getting away!"

            Lizzie panted heavily, glaring at her brother. "_You're_ wearing sneakers!"

            He gazed down at Asami's platform boots and his sister's heels, "Well, why is that my fault? If the shoes are so uncomfortable, why the hell do you girls wear shoes like that?"

            She narrowed her eyes and was about to respond when Kotemon shouted, "Look out!"

            The human glanced to the sky and saw another bomb heading straight for them. Gabe tackled both girls to the ground seconds before the projectile flew over their heads, exploding into the ground. The three teenagers each covered their heads as the shrapnel and debris flew over them. Gabe slowly climbed to his feet. "Are you okay, Asami?"

            The brown-haired girl nodded. "Y..yeah, I think so."

            Lizzie stared at her brother, "Yeah, I'm fine too, thanks for asking."

            Asami dusted herself off, then examined the boy. She gasped loudly, "Gabe, your back!"

            He gently rubbed the back of his left shoulder, where his fingers touched a sharp shard of metal. He winced, groaning slightly. "You're hurt!" the girl exclaimed. She was nearly in hysterics, "Um…uh…w…what do we do? Oh, I wish Kenji was here."

            "Oh, how cute," a familiar female voice sneered, "the little slut and the fucking douche bag, together forever."

            The teenagers twisted their heads to the sky and watched as a group of Decima Demons drifted to the ground: Shinji, Yuuji and Kasumi, along with their digimon partners, Skull Satamon, Skull Barukimon and Orochimon. Lizzie and Asami both gasped, and the latter covered her mouth in horror.

            Gabe narrowed his eyes at the former brown-haired girl. "What the hell are you doing here you fucking traitor?"

            "Gabe!" Asami snapped. She looked back to the Demoness, "Kasumi… Kasumi, is that really you?"

            She sighed, rolling her eyes, "You always were a fucking airhead!"

            "Stop it!"Gabe snapped, "Shut up right now!"

            Shinji snickered, "This is so perfect, the conflict, the hate between the two of you." He looked to his sister, "We shall leave this to Kasumi." He turned to the other girl, "All right."

            She chuckled, "Sure, you got it, cousin."

            Asami gasped, a look of horror on her face, tears welling up in her eyes.  "He's not your cousin…_I_ am…"

            Lizzie glanced over her shoulder to Blimpmon. "We're losing him!"

            Gabe did not seem to care, he continued to stare at Kasumi, his eyes narrowing with rage. "Stay back guys, I'll handle this."

            "Gabe!" Lizzie snapped, "What about Blimpmon?!"

            Her brother grabbed his digivice, "Kotemon, go!" The small digimon charged forward, evolving to Gladimon.

            Lizzie shouted out in frustration. "Fine! Go fight your stupid fucking fight and prove your better then her!" She looked to Asami, "Come on, we'll stop Blimpmon!"

            The other girl hesitated, glancing at Lizzie, then back at Gabe. "I…um…"

            Lizzie nearly pulled her hair out. "Fine! Let's go Alraumon."

            "You got it," her partner replied, running after her.

            Asami stared at her, then looked back. "I..um…"

            Her Leormon stood apprehensively at her side, "One of them needs our help!"

            "I know, but I can't leave Gabe and Kasumi, but Lizzie can't handle Blimpmon alone. Oh…what should we do?"

            Gladimon braced his swords and charged at the Demon Dragon. The warrior digimon jumped into the air, intending to slash into one of Orochimon's head, but four more assailed him from all sides. He flipped around before crashing into the ground. He jumped back to his feet, readied his swords and charged into battle once more. However, once more, he was easily defeated by a barrage of seven heads smashing into him from all sides. He twisted and twirled around before another head bashed into him from above, sending him crashing into the pavement.

            Kasumi roared with laughter, crossing her arms. "The last time you ganged up on me, now its one-on-one, and you'll never beat Orochimon!"

            Gabe growled, his eyes darting to her then back to his partner, who was crawling out of the crater in the street. Gladimon climbed back to his feet, then glanced up to see all eight heads of Orochimon staring down at him. "I've had enough of them!" Kasumi sneered, "Kill them now!"

            "No!" Asami screamed, "Stop it! Kasumi, stop it!"

            All eyes turned to the younger girl who had tears pouring from her eyes, "Kasumi, Gabe's your friend! Stop this!"

            "He's _not_ my friend!" she screamed.

            "Stop!" Asami cried, holding her hands before her, "Please, just stop. Kasumi, we want to help you."

            "There's nothing you can do," Shinji replied instead, "The Gift of Demons has awakened her true self, there is no way back."

            Asami began to shake, "N…no….you're lying!"

            He slowly smiled, "Maybe I am."

            "What do you mean?" Gabe demanded.

            "I might have a way to turn her back, but there's something you need to give to us first."

            They were silent for a moment. "What?" Asami asked.

            "Don't listen to him!" Gabe shouted, "He'll just lie to you!"

            They both ignored him. "What do you want?" Asami asked, "What do we need to give you?"

            Shinji pointed a finger towards her. "You!"

            She blinked, a chill running down her spine, "M…me?"

            "That's right," he replied, "You are the prize the Demons want."

            Gabe stared at her, "Asami…"

            "W-why?" the brown-haired girl gasped.

            "Sorry, any information I give to you now would no doubt be heard by your fellow DATS agent, and then they might deduce our plans." He held out his hand to her, "Give yourself up to me now, and your cousin will be freed."

            "Don't do it!" Gabe shouted, "Asami!"

            The brown-haired girl sighed deeply. She looked over to Kasumi, and instead of the blond-haired demoness, she saw her brown-haired cousin. "Okay."

            "Asami!" Gabe screamed. He charged at her, but Orochimon's head shot between them. He tried to get around the appendage, but it slithered and moved, keeping them separated. "Asami!"

            Asami and Leormon marched over to Shinji, and the Demon grabbed them tightly. "Now let her go," Asami stressed, "like you promised."

            He grinned widely. "I never said _I_ would free her."

            The brown-haired girl's eyes grew wide. "You…you said…"

            Shinji pulled her closer so her face was next to her, "Here's some advice for you that you may take with you for the rest of your life…however short it may be, never make a deal with a demon!"

He made a wave with his hand and a beam of light appeared behind him, another Demon appeared within the light. Shinji threw the girl and her partner into his arms. "Yuuto, take her back to the base, but do nothing with her until _I_ arrive, understand?"

            The blond boy nodded. "Yes."

            Asami and Leormon were both screaming, struggling to break free of the Demon's grip. "Asami!" Gabe screamed, struggling to get around Orochimon's head, "Asami!"

            "Gabe!" she screamed as she and Leormon vanished as the column of light disappeared.

            Yuuji smiled to her brother, "We have her, twin brother, we have her."

            Shinji nodded, turning his head back to Kasumi, "Now, finish that brat off so we can on with our mission."

            "You got it," Kasumi grinned, narrowing her eyes, "I've been waiting for this for a long time. Orochimon kill them!"

            The Dragon Demon whipped her heads back, freeing Gabe and Gladimon. They crawled back into the air, staring down at the Chosen and his partner. She opened her mouth, ready to execute her attack. "Sake Brea…"

            Suddenly, a barrage of metal balls smashed into each of their head, whipping them backwards. Gladimon twisted his head over his shoulder, "Dorugremon?"

            Gabe blinked and turned his head around. Standing behind him was a boy wearing a full helmet that covered his entire head. "You're that guy that…" He then noticed who was standing beside him, "Mixcoatl and Mammon? Hunters?"

            "Yeah," the boy with the helmet sighed, "We're Hunters, but we're here to help you."

            "Help us?" Gladimon asked.

            Mixcoalt jumped off of Mammon's back and pointed at Kasumi. "Yeah, we're after her too."

            The boy with the helmet quickly added, "We'll help you deal with her."

            "Why?"

            "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

            Gabe narrowed his eyes. "What?"

            "We're going to help you defeat her, that's all you need to know right now."

            "I don't even know who you are!" Gabe exclaimed, "What's your name, huh?"

            "You can call me Masa."

            "Masa? Who's that? What Hunter are you named after?"

            "None," he simply replied.

            Kasumi did not seem interested, but Shinji and Yuuji were. "Hunters?" Yuuji asked.

            Shinji narrowed his eyes. "I do not know why are here!" he shouted, "But this is no concern of yours. Leave now!"

            Mixcoatl laughed, "You can't order us around! Our hunt is Demons!" He held out his hand and summoned his Spear of Earth in a flash of brown light. He twirled the weapon over his head before pointing it at the Demons, "So surrender or don't, it doesn't matter to me, you're still our prey!"

            Kasumi was seething with anger and she stared at Masa. "You, you fucking little bastard! Orochimon, kill them all!"

            Her demonic partner roared with rage, "Sake Breath!" The DATS agents dove to the side, except for Mammon, who stood his ground as the vapors washed over him.

            "Tusk Strikes!" His tusks fired two glowing missiles that smashed into Orochimon's chest, causing her heads to flail wildly. He fired another blast, but she batted them aside with her head, and another head whipped around, knocking into his side. Mammon tumbled around before jumping back to his feet.

            "Mammon?" Mixcoatl asked.

            "She's strong," he said, "One head knocked even _me_ over."

            Gladimon ran in from the left side while Dorugremon flew in the right. They hoped that one of them would be able to strike, but Orochimon's heads once again bashed into them, throwing both of them into the ground.

            "Damn it!" Gabe shouted, "How the hell are we gonna beat her? She's got eight freakin' heads!"

            "We can't," Masa replied, "At least, not like this. We need to defeat this problem at its source."

            "What source?" Gladimon asked, "She's just eight heads and a tail, she doesn't even have a body!"

            "You got another idea, 'cause I'd love to hear it!"

            "This." Masa reached into his Hunter jacket and pulled out a cylindrical metal visor.

            "That's Dr. Kido's DER!" he gasped, "You took it!"

            Masa just nodded. "Yes, if we can repair the damage to her, then we can fix this."

            "What?" Mixcoatl gasped.

            "There are more ways to handle a Demon then merely by killing them. Mixcoatl, Gabe, you need to distract her, and Dorugremon and I will throw the DER on her head, and hopefully…"

            "Not a chance!" the other Hunter shouted, "Our job is to kill her!"

            "Then go head," he snapped, "Try to kill her now, I doubt you're gonna get very far."

            Mixcoatl stared at Orochimon, then at his own partner. "Fine."

"Good. You and Mammon attack her head on, Gladimon attack her directly."

            Gabe just nodded. "Yeah, sure…"

            Mixcoatl leapt onto Mammon's back, "Go!"

            The mammoth digimon snorted and charged. Kasumi snickered as watched them running towards her and Orochimon. She kept her feet firmly on Orochimon's center head as the other seven heads assaulted Mammon, wrapping tightly around his legs and body. The heads jerked to the side, trying to tip him over, but the mammoth digimon dug his feet into the pavement of the street. Mixcoatl held tightly to his partner's hair. "Don't give up!"

            Kasumi stared at him intently, but her eyes instantly darted to the right as Gladimon ran towards her, Gabe was riding on his partner's back. The warrior digimon leapt into the air, his swords ready. "Kasumi!" Gabe shouted, "I've had enough of you!"

            The Demoness gasped, all of Orochimon's heads were tangled around Mammon, all except for the head on which she was standing. She knelt down and gripped to the sides of the head as it whipped around, exhaling a smaller version of Sake Breath into Gladimon. Gabe clung tightly to his partner as he twisted around in the air.

            However, Kasumi and Orochimon were not aware that Dorugremon was flying to the Demoness from behind her back. Masa was riding his partner, and as they flew closer, the human slipped around so he was hanging from the side, the DER was in his hand.

            "Behind you!" Yuuji shouted.

            Kasumi spun around just as Masa slammed the DER onto her head. It instantly began to hum as the lights blinked and crackled. Gladimon finished his twisting in the air before landing on the ground. Orochimon's heads went limp, freeing Mammon. Kasumi and her partner were both imbolie.

            "Did it work?" Gabe shouted.

            Suddenly, the DER began to crackle with energy before exploding in light, instantly enveloping Kasumi and Orochimon. The light continued to grow like a shockwave, enveloping Shinji and Yuuji as well.

            "Run!" Mixcoalt shouted. Mammon turned to flee, but the light enveloped them as well as it continued to grow. Gabe and Gladimon ran as well, but they could not escape either.

            Flying above in the air, Masa and Dorugremon stared in horror as the light continued to grow, grabbing everyone on the street before finally stopping in a giant dome of intense light. "This isn't good, right?" Dorugremon gasped.

            "No," Masa shook his head, "This isn't. Oh no…what did I do?"

111

            Kenji, Akira, Eliane and Yasu watched with hopeful anticipation as their partners battled against the Demons, Kenichi and Sawa's demonic partners.

111

            Shiro, Jyou, and Gomamon X rode Gururumon as the large wolf charged down the train tracks, desperately tried to reach the fleeing Locomon.

111

            Inside Locomon, Chiaka stood in front of her command console, staring through the front windows as her partner continued to fly down the tracks, any trains he came across he simply destroyed them. "We're proceeding on course, Master."

            Behind her stood the Demon Master, who grinned in anticipation. "Excellent. We'll soon enter DATS headquarters, and then that weapon will be ours. We'll be unstoppable, wouldn't you agree, DexDorumon?"

            His partner growled in agreement.

To be continued…


	18. Encephalogram of the Psyche: Chapter 2

_My name is Noriko Ishida, my husband is Yamato, and my children are Shiro and Yasu. Yamato is the love of my life, but when I first met hi, I was under the control of the Dark Seed, and I might have tried to kill him, I can't remember…probably repressed memories, at least that's what that psychiatrist said. Shiro's my little genius, and Yasu's my baby, my little girly girl. I'm so proud of my children, but at the same time I'm always worried about them. We don't exactly have a normal life. But, then again, sometimes we're more normal then 'normal.' We may be Chosen, but we're still human. We were all devastated when Kasumi turned to the Demons. _

_Speaking of Demons, they started to attack the city. Locomon terrorized the subway systems. Shiro, Jyou and Kenji went after Locomon, but more Demons attacked them. Akira, Yasu and Eliane came to help, and Shiro and Jyou went back after Locomon. Gabe, Asami and Lizzie went to fight Blimpmon, but Shinji, Yuuji and Kasumi came to attack them. Mixcoatl and Masa came to help, and they tried to use the DER, but something went wrong and pulled Kasumi, Shinji, Yuuji, Mixcoatl and Gabe into it! Oh yeah, and Asami got captured by the Demons!_

_Digimon Magog_

_Encephalogram of the Psyche:_

_Chapter II _

            However, Kasumi and Orochimon were not aware that Dorugremon was flying to the Demoness from behind her back. Masa was riding his partner, and as they flew closer, the human slipped around so he was hanging from the side, the DER was in his hand.

            "Behind you!" Yuuji shouted.

            Kasumi spun around just as Masa slammed the DER onto her head. It instantly began to hum as the lights blinked and crackled. Gladimon finished his twisting in the air before landing on the ground. Orochimon's heads went limp, freeing Mammon. Kasumi and her partner were both imbolie.

            "Did it work?" Gabe shouted.

            Suddenly, the DER began to crackle with energy before exploding in light, instantly enveloping Kasumi and Orochimon. The light continued to grow like a shockwave, enveloping Shinji and Yuuji as well.

            "Run!" Mixcoalt shouted. Mammon turned to flee, but the light enveloped them as well as it continued to grow. Gabe and Gladimon ran as well, but they could not escape either.

            Flying above in the air, Masa and Dorugremon stared in horror as the light continued to grow, grabbing everyone on the street before finally stopping in a giant dome of intense light. "This isn't good, right?" Dorugremon gasped.

            "No," Masa shook his head, "This isn't. Oh no…what did I do?"

            The teenage boy just stared at the dome of light. He ran towards the light, intending to jump inside to free the others, but once he reached the edge, a sharp jolt of electricity sent him tumbling backwards.

            "No! I can't get inside, no!"

            A loud explosion rocked the city. He twisted his head and watched as Lizzie's Red Veggiemon was firing chili peppers into Blimpmon, but with no affect. Dorugremon called out, "Shouldn't we help her?"

            Masa turned to the dome, then back at the sky. "Fine, we'll take care of him, then we find a way to help the others."

            "Deal," his partner replied.

            However, Blimpmon had continued on his mission to reach the power facility. Lizzie and Red Veggiemon ran along the ground, trying to keep up with the monstrous digimon hovering over them. The digimon was firing chili peppers at the zeppelin digimon, but they simply could not reach. "This isn't working!" Lizzie sighed in frustration, "We need to get up there!"

 The vegetation digimon spotted two lampposts on both sides of the street. He grinned, "I got an idea." He quickly wrapped the tips of his long arms around the tops of the posts. "Now, pull me back."

            Lizzie grinned. "Gotcha." She grabbed her partner and pulled back, his long arms stretching tight. She had pulled him back as hard as she could. "Okay, I can't pull you anymore."

            "This is gonna work," he replied, "Just let go."

            "Good luck," she added before releasing her grip. Red Veggiemon's arms whipped him into the air, and he sailed closer to the hovering digimon. He took a deep breath and began to spew out hot peppers. "Red Hot Machine Gun!"

            The proximity and quick succession of his peppers splattered onto the front windshield. Inside the cockpit, Katsuharu growled. "That fucking little weed! Blimpmon, don't take that from him!"

            His partner began to swing his arms wildly, but Red Veggiemon's attacks had covered his eyes as well, so he was attacking blindly. The vegetable digimon landed on Blimpmon's arm, then propelled back into the air. He pulled his arm back and let it fly, smashing into the zepplin's side, "Red Thorn!"

            Blimpmon swung his arm in that direction, and unfortunately, it connected, throwing him into the ground. The zeppelin wiped the chili mess from his eyes and windshield. Katsuharu began to strain his neck in order to see past the edge of the windshield. He was not able to see Lizzie or Red Veggiemon, but he did see a building only half a mile away. "The power station! Forgot that weed!"

            Blimpmon began to move forward again. Down below, Lizzie and Red Veggiemon watched in confusion. "Where's he going?" Lizzie wondered.

            Her partner began to chase after the fleeing digimon. "Where ever it is, it can't be good. Let's go!"

111

            Inside the glowing dome of light, Gabe was standing in the midst of a fog of thick white. Gladimon was standing beside him. "All right," the boy said, "Where the hell are we now?"

            Before his partner could answer, a voice sounded through the void. "I think that device malfunctioned."

            The DATS agents turned to see Mixcoatl and Mammon storming into view. "What are you doing here?" Gabe asked.

            "I have no idea, you tell me."

            "Well, I don't know either!"

            "Calm down," Gladimon said, "Let's just figure out what's going on here."

            They all suddenly heard a giggle, a very girlish one. They twisted their heads in shock before discovering the source, a girl who had mysteriously manifested before them. She appeared to be five or six, with long brown hair hanging in two pigtails over her shoulders and dressed in a yellow t-shirt and a pair of denim overalls. Her face was one they instantly recognized.

            "Kasumi?!" Gabe and Gladimon shouted in unison.

            The girl giggled again and nodded.

            "What the hell is going on?" Gabe demanded.

            Mixcoatl turned to him. "What was that device supposed to do?"

            Gabe was silent for a moment, "I guess show Kasumi's mind or something…Wait, are you saying we're _inside_ her?"

            The Hunter nodded, "I think so. That girl might be the manifestation of her subconscious or something."

            "All right, fine, so what do we do now?"

            They looked back to the young girl who pointed over their shoulders. They slowly turned, a chill running up their spines. What they saw behind them was a shock that caused the American boy to yell out in surprise: a little boy dressed in a simple t-shirt and jeans was standing before him.

            Gabe could not believe his eyes, "That's….me?!"

            "How's that possible?" Mixcoatl added, equally as surprised.

            Gabe  turned back to stare at the younger version of himself, who was staring back at him, emotionless. "All right, all right, um…if…if that DER was supposed to show us Kasumi's mind, and we were pulled into that light…then maybe that's _my_ subconscious!"

            The Hunter nodded. "All right, so what does that mean? And why isn't _my_ subconscious here?" He blinked and began to glance around, "And those Demons were pulled in too. Why aren't they here?"

            Suddenly, the white fog began to clear, and a city was revealed to them, but it was not the Tokyo cityscape. Gabe blinked, glancing around, "Is this, New York?"

            They were all glancing around in surprise, they were indeed standing on a typical sidewalk in New York City. People were walking past them, but the crowd took no notice of Mammon or Gladimon.

            "They can't see us?"Gladimon asked.

            Mammon suddenly gasped, "Lino, look!"

            Mixcoatl turned to where the large mammoth was pointing with his trunk. On the corner of a sidewalk was another little boy. The Hunter could not believe his eyes; he could not even speak, only staring in shock. Gabe and Gladimon stared at him, then to the boy and girl, then back again.  "That's…you?"

            The Hunter nodded. "Yeah…" His eyes began to dart around, attempting to locate something that could give him a further clue, but when he finally saw it, he nearly collapsed. Traveling down the sidewalk towards his younger version was a girl who moved in a wheelchair, a necessity, as she had no legs passed her knees. "No….NO!"

            Gabe stared at the girl, "Is that…?"

He nodded. "Y…yes. T..this isn't a subconscious domain, these are memories!"

            The group looked back and watched as the girl shouted to Mixcoatl's younger version. "Lino, Lino, there you are! Papa was very worried."

            The young boy turned to the girl, "I don't care."

            "Why did you want to run away?"

            "Because," he sniffled, "Because…then you couldn't leave."

            She gasped slightly, "W…what?"

            He jumped into her lap, crying into her chest, "Maria, don't go!"

            She hugged him tightly. "Lino, I'm sorry, but Kentarumon can't stay on Earth for long. He needs the energy of the Digital World, and if he's too weak, then he can't fight the Second Black Death, and that means that _I'm_ just going to get weaker too. We need to stay in the Digital World so we can keep up our strength, okay? It's not because I don't want to be with you."

            He sniffled, looking into her face, "Really?"

            She nodded. "Yes."

            He climbed back to the ground and wiped the tears from his face. "Y…you'll come back, right?"

            She nodded. "Of course. I'll be back for your 5th birthday, okay?"

            The white fog once again gathered, and the group was alone. "That was the last time I ever saw her," Mixcoatl commented, "After that, my father moved us to Philadelphia." He frowned, staring at the ground.

            "My parents talked about Maria all the time," Gabe said, "About what a special person she was to them, and how she sacrificed herself so that they could defeat GranDracmon."

            The Hunter simply nodded.

            There was another giggle. The younger version of Kasumi was standing next to the younger version of Gabe. The young boy raised his hand and the white changed again, this time to a junior high school building. Standing on the front stairs was a teenage Gabe with a group of other teenagers.

            "How long ago did this happen?" Mixcoatl asked.

            Gabe studied his memory-self, then studied the group of other teenagers. "The team!"

            "What?"

            "That's the New York Team of DATS! This…this was two years ago!"

            The memory-version of Gabe joined the other teenagers as they ran out of the building and down the sidewalk. "Come on!" he shouted, running after them.

            Mixcoatl and the digimon followed, but a thought entered the mind of the Hunter. "Those Demons were pulled into that light too, why aren't they here?"

            They were not aware of it, but the Demons were indeed inside the dome of light, watching them from a distance. Shinji was smirking, "A chance to understand how to better make their lives miserable, heh…"

111

            Inside Locomon, Chiaka stood in front of her command console, staring through the front windows as her partner continued to fly down the tracks, any trains he came across he simply destroyed them. "We're proceeding on course, Master."

            Behind her stood the Demon Master, who grinned in anticipation. "Excellent. We'll soon enter DATS headquarters, and then that weapon will be ours. We'll be unstoppable, wouldn't you agree, DexDorumon?"

            His partner growled in agreement.

111

Kenji, Akira, Eliane and Yasu watched with hopeful anticipation as their partners battled against Kenichi and Sawa's demonic partners.

Kenichi's Karatenmon began to flap his wings at a blinding speed. "Ballistic Feathers!" The black feathers suddenly erupted from his wings, flying towards Shellmon. The Deep Saver held his head to the ground and fired a geyser of water from the top of his shell into the sea of projectiles, most were destroyed, but some still sliced through the water. They smashed through Shellmon's shell, sending waves of pain through his body. Karatenmon shot around to the Deep Saver's side, readying his sword to strike.

            "Mega Dash Impact!"

            Karatenmon had time to spin around as Diatrymon's head came charging at him. The Ancient Bird slammed his head into the Demon Man at full force, sending him tumbling to the ground. Diatrymon charged, ready to continue his attack, but Karatenmon was back in the air in an instant.

            Shellmon whipped his tendrils into the Demon Man, but he easily batted them away with his sword. Diatrymon screamed out his Destruction Roar, but Karatenmon executed a fast motion with his sword, creating a blast of air that cut through the sound attack and smashed into the Ancient Bird.

            "Diatrymon!" Akira cried. He watched in horror as his partner stumbled, still woozy from the blow to his head, and was unaware that Karatnemon was swooping in to attack.

            "Shellmon!" Kenji shouted, "Save him!"

            His Deep Saver positioned himself once again, "Hydro Pressure!"

            Karatenmon darted around, avoiding the geyser of water.

            "Destruction Roar!"

            This time he could not avoid Diatrymon's attack, and the sonic blast struck him from behind, throwing him off balance. Shellmon fired his Hydro Pressure once more, and the force of the water enveloped him completely.

            "Yeah!" Akira cheered.

            Kenichi smirked, "Do not think you have won so easily."

            The pre-teen boy turned back only to see Karatenmon using his sword to cut a path through the water jet, eventually reaching Shellmon's back. "No!" Kenji screamed, "Shellmon, move!"

            It was not any use. Karatenmon flapped his wings once more, "Ballistic Feathers!" The Deep Saver took the full force of the Fully Evolved's attack. Shellmon's legs gave out and he collapsed onto the ground. Karatenmon raised his sword the strike again, but Diatrymon leapt at him, chomping his sharp jaw onto Karatenmon's arm.

            The Demon Man looked to his with amusement. "Really, is that the best you can do?" He flung him from his limb and he smashed into the ground.

            Kenichi's 'sister,' was staring down Yasu and Eliane while their partners battled. "Why do you even fight?" the Demoness asked, "You cannot win against us."

            Yasu answered. "Then you don't know us at all! Dobermon, attack!"

            "Schwarz Strahl!" her partner cried, expunging a blast beam of light from his mouth. Sawa's partner, Kyukimon, easily avoided the attack by jumping to the side.

            Eliane called to her partner, "Woodmon, now iz your chance!"

            Her partner pointed his left arm forward while holding with his right, "Woody Smash!" He fired a barrage of sharp splinters of tree back at Kykimon, but the Nightmare Soldiers easily danced between them.

            Once she had gracefully landed on her feet, she held out the blades she had for arms and jumped into the air, her entire body spinning. "Blade Twister," she cried in a soft voice. She moved with such speed, that Dobermon could not flee in time and was caught up in the tornado, Kyukimon's blades tearing across his body. Once the whirlwind ceased, he slammed into the around, slashes all over his body.

            "Dobermon!" Yasu cried.

            "Woodmon!" Eliane screamed.

            Her partner wasted no time in leaping to avenge Dobermon. "Branch Drain!" His right arm suddenly elongated itself, snapping at the fox with elastic speed. Before he could pierce Kyukimon's body, the Nightmare Soldier leapt into the air and spun around once again, this time the blades hacking off Woodmon's arm.

            "No!" Eliane cried, "Woodmon!"

            Sawa smirked as Kyukimon landed gracefully once more. "As I said," the Demoness grinned, "You cannot win against us."

111

            Shiro, Jyou, and Gomamon X rode Gururumon as the large wolf charged down the train tracks, desperately tried to reach the fleeing Locomon. The DATS agents remained silent as the wolf followed the train tracks. After nearly an hour, they finally saw the rear of Locomon's caboose. "All right," the blond boy said, "Good job."

            "You can congratulate me if I make this jump," his partner replied.

            "Jump?" Jyou gasped.

            "Just hang on!" the wolf exclaimed as he leapt into the air. Jyou held his breath, waiting to fall miserably into the ground, but Gururumon landed on the top of the train cars with ease. Unfortunately, this did not go unnoticed. Inside the main cab, Chiaka noticed a red light glowing on her control console. "We got company."

            Her master raised his eyebrow. "Truly? How far are we to DATS command?"

            "Not far…"

            "Continue to pilot, I will hand this."

            Back outside, the DATS team was running along the roof in order to reach the front cab. They made it to the center of the trail of cabs when they received a surprise, someone was standing in their path. He was defiantly a teenager, dressed in a pair of gray pants and a bronze-colored shirt. His hair was a messy mop of blond hair, and a dark cape billowed behind him. He had a band around his left arm, the same goat's head that all Demons wore.

             "T…the Demon Master?" Gomamon X asked.

            The teenage boy bowed slightly, "My name is Masanori, the Demon Master, if you prefer. This is my partner, Death-X-Digital or Unknown Monster. I prefer to call him Dexdorumon, it's much simpler to pronounce."

            His partner snarled, salvia dripping from his teeth. "That's the one that attacked Kasumi!" Shiro whispered.

            "No," Gururumon replied, "The scent's similar, but it's not him."

            Masanori waved his hand, "I can't allow you to come any further."

"Just be careful," Gomamon X warned, "There's something different about this guy. We've got to evolve all the way."

            Gururumon nodded. "Right, I understand. Shiro?"

His partner held out his hand and summoned the Lance of Darkness in an explosion of black light. "I'm ready."

 "Gururumon evolve to Weregarurumon!"

            Gomamon X quickly evolved to his Fully Evolved form of Anomalocarimon X, but immediately, the DATS team discovered a problem: Locomon's cabs were only wide enough to let the two Fully Evolved digimon stand one in front of the other.

            "We'll have to do this one at a time," the wolf man sighed.

            "I'd better go first," Anomalocarimon X said, "I'm stronger."

            He nodded. "Yeah, good luck."

            Masanori chuckled, "Yes, you are going to need a fair amount of luck to defeat us. Dexdorumon, evolve and defeat them."

            "Dexdorumon devolve to Dexdorugamon!"

            The Deep Saver stared at the Undead digimon, who was stamping his feet onto the ground, saliva dripping from his teeth. "Cannon Ball!" He began to fire a barrage of metal balls from his mouth that struck Anomalocarimon X along his body. The sea digimon winced in pain as giant welts appeared along his body. Weregarurumon jumped into the air, executing his Kaiser Nail attack, sending a wave of energy into Dexdorugamon, The Undead digimon simply shrugged it off.

            "As I said," Masanori grinned, "You cannot defeat us."

111

            Kenji, Akira, Yasu and Eliane watched with hope as their partners mounted another attack on their demon opponents. Shellmon twisted his body so his shell was pointing as Karatenmon. "Hydro Pressure!"

            A geyser of water exploded forth. Diatrymon leapt into the sky, twisted around so that Shellmon's water smashed into his back, propelling him forward. "Mega Dash Impact!" His own attack was now augmented by Shellmon's attack, the giant bird glaring at Karatenmon. The demonic bird whipped his swords around and crossed them. Diatrymon slammed into the blades, and Karatenmon did have to struggle to deflect the Ancient Bird. Once his momentum had run out, the demon bird swatted Diatrymon into Shellmon, tangling them into a ball.

            Dobermon and Woodmon decided to attack from either side rather then augment one another's attack. The canine digimon expunged a beam of black light, "Black Beam!"

            Woodmon whipped his arm around, firing a barrage of wood shards. "Woody Smash!"

            Kyukimon remained still, calmly staring at the two attacks heading towards her. She positioned her blade arms, then quickly twisted into a tornado, propelling forward. "Blade Twister!" Dobermon and Woodmon were caught in the whirlwind, throwing them into the same pile with Shellmon and Diatrymon.

             "Oh man!" Yasu exclaimed, "Crud!"

            "This isn't good," Kenji frowned, "We need to think of a plan."

            Eliane shook her head. "Maybe if we hope, someone will save us!"

            "No one coming to save you," the Demon Kenichi chuckled, "Prepare to die."

            Karatenmon and Kyukimon moved forward, ready to attack, when a swarm of bats suddenly surrounded them.

            "That's Ladydevimon's Darkness Wave!" Dobermon gasped.

            "Mommy?" Yasu gasped, turning to see that her mother was indeed standing behind her and, with Sora hugging Akira.

            Kenichi narrowed his eyes as he stared at Noriko and Sora, along with Ladydevimon and Garudamon. "These two will not be so easy."

            "Yes, I know," Sawa sighed.

111

            Red Veggiemon, near exhaustion, collapsed onto a building roof. "Come on!" Lizzie cried.

            Blimpmon dropped a missile that was directly over the girl and her partner. They both covered their heads, certain this was the end.

            "Metal Meteor!"

            A large ball of steel blasted into the bomb, causing it to exploded harmlessly over their heads. They both looked to see Masa and Dorugremon hovering beside them.

            "Who are you?" the girl asked.

111

            Dexdorugamon was decimating Weregarurumon and Anomalocarimon X, every attack had been deflected, every assault was countered. "This isn't working, "Shiro said.

            "Yeah, I know," Jyou frowned.

            The Demon Master smirked as he crossed his arms, his partner snarling at his side. "Plan all you want, it won't do any good."

            The DATS Team ignored him. "We'll try a double-team," the blond boy suggested, "Anomalocarimon, can you attack head-on and Weregarurumon will attack from the air."

            Both digimon nodded. They stared at their opponent, then leapt to execute Shiro's strategy. Anomalocarimon X whipped his tail blade laser attack while Weregarurumon jumped higher and fired his Kaizer Nail. Masanori smirked and his partner began to glow. "Dexdorugamon evolved to Dexdorugremon!"Where the demon beast once stood, now was a monstrous, black-skinned dragon; he flapped his wings quickly, sending the two energy attacks crashing into the roof of the train. Anomalocarimon X was able to remain in place, but Weregarurumon was sent tumbling off of the train. Shiro whipped his head around, certain his partner was now a splat on the ground. However, when he saw a winged cat flying alongside the rampaging Locomon, Weregarurumon in her claws.

            "Nefertimon?" he gasped, "Mrs. Yamaki?"

            Hikari smiled from riding atop her partner's back as she gently placed Weregarurumon back onto the roof. "We thought you could use some help," she said.

111

Inside the glowing dome of light, Gabe, Mixcoatl and their partners were standing in the midst of a group of teenagers, who were gathered in a living room. Gabe was staring at each one, remembering his friends, "That's Scott, and Amy, and Dave, and Rob, and…" His voice drowned out as he stared at a girl with flowing red hair and wearing a pair of tight jeans and a green t-shirt, "…Angela."

            _The memory-version of Gabe began to speak, "Ok, so everyone got it? Tomorrow's mission is top-priority, we can't screw it up."_

_            "Yeah, yeah, we got it," another boy said._

_            "Easy, Ralph," a girl named Dorothy said, "This is Gabe's first mission as leader, give him a break for being nervous, he's doing the best he can."_

_            "Yeah," Angela said, "We don't have any Japanese Chosen here."_

_            Gabe winced at the comment, but kept it hidden. "Let's just get our sleep."_

_            The group of teenagers begin to leave, all save Angela and Gabe. The redheaded girl approached him. "I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings."_

_            He blinked. "What?"   _

_            She turned away slightly, not meeting his gaze. "Your sister told me that you don't like it when you're compared to the Japanese Chosen."_

_            He made a face, "Lizzie's got a big mouth, I wish she'd keep it shut."_

_            "Don't be mad at her, she really loves you."_

_            "Yeah, I know."_

_            Angela frowned. "I wish I had a brother or sister."_

_            "Don't wish, they're a pain."_

_            She giggled. "Well, you don't need to be nervous."_

_            "Who said I'm nervous?"_

_            "Well, you must have put your hand in your pocket and taken it out again at least ten times since we've been talking."_

_            "It's got nothing to do with the mission," he muttered._

_            "What?" she asked._

_            He began to blush, "Um, uh, uh…I…um…"_

_            "What?" she asked, "I thought I was your best friend."_

_            "You are, I just…um…" He sighed, "I'll see you tomorrow." _

_            She simply nodded and exited the room. Gabe fell down on the coach, running his hand through his hair._

            _The scenery changed once again, this time to a desolate area, a forest. A battle had obviously just occurred,  trees were destroyed, the ground was overturned, and the bodies of the New York Team littered the ground; only three yet lived, Gabe, Angela, and Ralph. However, Angela and her Snimon partner were standing off to the side, while Gabe and Gladimon knelt on the ground, both clearly injured. Ralph and his Yukidarumon were standing before them, completely unharmed._

_            Gabe was glaring at him, clutching his side, "You….you fucking bastard!"_

_            Angela had tears running down her face, nearly hyperventilating. "How…h….how could you d….do this!"_

_            Ralph smirked. "Oh, stop it."_

_            "Stop it?!" Gabe screamed, "You killed them all! You fucking traitor!"_

_            "Shut up!" he screamed, "You don't know anything! You and your bitch of a sister are the only X-chosen, the rest of us aren't! We can still be infected with the BD-2!"_

_            Gabe was shaking his head. "I…I don't understand. You killed everyone just because of that?"_

_            "Yes!" he spat, "Hawes promised me so much power if I just got rid of you."_

_            "You bastard!" Gabe screamed, "You fucking little…"_

_            Ralph sighed, shaking his head. "You lost, you just don't realize it yet. Yukidarumon, kill them."_

_            Gladimon tried to move to defend Gabe, but his legs were heavy, and he collapsed to the ground. "No…"_

_            The snowman pulled his fist back, "Absolute Zero Punch!"_

_            Gabe closed his eyes, waiting to feel the blistering cold blast that would freeze him to death. However, it did not come. He watched in absolute horror as Angela and Snimon jumped in front of him. Snimon was frozen instantly, his body shattering. Angela fell over backwards, landing in Gabe's arms. She had been hit in the side of her stomach, a sheet of ice covering her body._

_            "Angela…" the boy gasped, "W…why?!"_

_            "You can beat him," she said weakly, "I was too weak. I know you can get him for the others." She started to stiffen, "Just…tell my parents I love them….and…I…love…." The sheet of ice covered her face, transforming her to a solid sheet of ice._

_            Ralph snickered. "Well, she was gonna be next…"_

_            Gabe's body was twitching with rage. "And what are you gonna do about it?" Ralph laughed, "You're not an Yagami or Ishida, you're nothing!"_

_            Gabe's body began to shake as he slowly rose to his feet. He whipped his head up, blood rage in his eyes. Gladimon began to glow a dark light, like a aura of pure darkness. His armor turned dark, and black flames surrounded him. "Galdimon Ruin Mode!"_

_            Ralph blinked. "What the fuck?"_

_            Gladimon charged forward, his two sword glistening a blackish light. Yukidarumon readied to attack with another Absolute Zero Punch, but before he could, Gladimon slammed both of his swords into the digimon's chest. Yukidarumon stumbled for a moment, before his body shattered, his data dissolving into the air._

_            "No!" Ralph shouted. He turned to run, but Gladimon's swords slashed him across the stomach. He fell to the ground, trying to hold his organs into his body._

_            The warrior digimon remained motionless as Gabe stared down at the dying human. He kicked him in the face as hard as he could, then turned and walked away. Gladimon followed, leaving the traitor to die alone._

The fog once again gathered. Mixcoatl looked to the DATS agent, only to find him collapsed on the ground. "Your…entire team?"

            Gabe nodded. "Yeah…"

            "You lost them all," he sighed.

            "We found out that Ralph killed his parents the night before. Me and my family went to confront Hawes-he was the one that we were fighting, and Ralph wanted the power he could give him. My Dad ended up killing him." He slammed his fist into the ground, "Damn it! I was the leader, why couldn't I save them! Why couldn't I stop him? Just 'cause I wasn't a Yagami or Ishida!"

            The younger version of Kasumi once again appeared before them. "Why?!" Gabe screamed, "Why, did you make me relive that all over again? Why?!"

            The fog cleared again, revealing a memory that Gabe did not remember but Mixcoatl did. His eyes opened wide in shock, "This is when…."

_"They were worried," Kasumi said, "They were just worried about me…"_

_            "Kas?" Yuki Agumon asked._

_            "They're gonna kill them," she said, staring at the defeated Sora, Noriko, Akira and Yasu. Mixcoatl and his team of Hunters were surrounding them, the DATS team was helpless. "They're gonna kill them if we don't do something!"_

_            "Call for help?" Yuki Agumon suggested._

_            "No one'll get here in time," she said, "It's got to be us!"_

_            "But…!"_

_            "Remember what Kenji said?" Kasumi asked, "There's a price? Well, if it means saving them then I'll take that price!"_

_            Yuki Agumon was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Our family and friends are in trouble, who cares what happens to us!"_

_            Kasumi took a deep breath, and clutched her digivice in her infected palm. "Now, evolve!"_

_            "Yuki Agumon evolve to Allomon!"_

_            The DATS team heard the white dinosaur declare her evolution, and spun to stare at her. They all stared at Allomon, then turned to Kasumi. "No!" Sora screamed, "No!"_

_            Yet, it was too late. Kasumi's infected palm began to glow a silver light. That same light soon began to spread through her body via her veins-the spider-web like weave of the small arteries were clearly visible, as they glowed in the same silver light. The pony-tailed girl was twitching, she was clearly in pain._

_            However, all of their eyes turned back to Allomon. They knew she would soon evolve, and they wanted to know what type of demonic beast their friend would become. _

**_"Allomon evolve to…"_**

****

**_Kasumi's digivice fired a silver color into the air before exploding, showering her partner. The large dinosaur curled into a ball, with only her head sticking out. Her legs and arms split into two, and her two pairs of legs and two pairs of arms grew longer, twisting and curling around one another, before transforming into metallic heads. Her main head turned a dull black, her eyes an evil yellow._**

****

**_"Orochimon!"_**

_The newly-evolved Demon Digimon growled slightly, salvia dripping from her mouths. High above them, Shinji and Yuuji were watching with fierce interest. "Behold," the male Demon Chosen said with a grin, "The true soul of Kasumi Yagami, a demonic, vampire snake, squeezing the life out of all those around her." His smile grew, "She possess each of the Deadly Sins, some more then others, but she has experienced all of them at one point or another, and now, she possess a digimon, with a head to represent each sin." His smile grew even more, "Truly a powerful Demon, even I did not forsee this."_

_            "What should we do?" Yuuji asked, holding up the golden Gleipnir._

_            "Not yet, I would like to see her power."_

_            The DATS team could only stare, but the Hunters displayed their surprise. "What the hell?" Mixcoatl gasped, "This…this isn't in any our files! She shouldn't be able to…"_

_            "And that silver light," Bolade added, "Her evolution color should be…"_

_            Before she could finish, one of Orochimon's head shot towards her, its neck growing longer and longer. The Child of Forest braced herself, but the deadly head flew over her body and wrapped around Deramon. Two more heads shot towards Mammon, wrapping tightly around him, while another did the same for Monochromon. These heads easily lifted the three digimon into the air, where Orochimon began to squeeze as tightly as she could._

_            "Brother!" Adan shouted, running to Mixcoatl's side, "You've got to save them!"_

_            The Hunter nodded, numbly. He was in complete shock, and perhaps fear as well. He spun his spear around in the air, gathering up a collection of stones and small rocks from the ground, which he then fired into the air above the Demon Digimon. He swung his spear down, and the rocks began to fall as well, bursting in flame as they fell. "My fire and brimstone'll do the trick._

_            Orochimon's main head looked to the falling firebombs. "Sake Breath!" She exhaled a blast of black smog from her mouth. Her breath was so foul that it caused the stones to disintegrate into nothing. _

_            "Eww!" Yasu exclaimed, holding her nose, "It smell's like Mommy's breath after her box of sake."_

_             Orochimon's remaining heads continued to squeeze, tighter and tighter until all three digimon regressed to their Child forms and fell to the ground. She sent them flying back to the Hunters with a flick of her tail, and the humans ran to the side of their partners: Bolade to Bearmon, Ines to Hagurumon, Adan to Gotsumon and Mixcoatl to a Patamon. _

_            "What should we do?" Ines asked._

_            "Retreat," Mixcoatl replied, his eyes narrowing at Kasumi and Orochimon, "Even I'm not a match for that girl."_

_            The Hunters grabbed their partners and quickly fled, but DATS was too focused on Orochimon and Kasumi. The pony-tailed girl was now on her knees, the silver light flowing through all of her veins. After it reached her shoulder, it flowed down her body, passing through her torso and legs down to her toes. The light also began to flow up her neck, through her cheeks until it surrounded her eyes and continued to her hair line. A blast of silver light flowed from her eyelids, covering her eyes, transforming her brown orbs to a bright blue. The silver light flowed through her hair, turning it to a bright blond. She arced her neck back and screamed into the sky._

_"They were worried," Kasumi said, "They were just worried about me…"_

_            "Kas?" Yuki Agumon asked._

_            "They're gonna kill them," she said, staring at the defeated Sora, Noriko, Akira and Yasu. Mixcoatl and his team of Hunters were surrounding them, the DATS team was helpless. "They're gonna kill them if we don't do something!"_

_            "Call for help?" Yuki Agumon suggested._

_            "No one'll get here in time," she said, "It's got to be us!"_

_            "But…!"_

_            "Remember what Kenji said?" Kasumi asked, "There's a price? Well, if it means saving them then I'll take that price!"_

1

_"They were worried," Kasumi said, "They were just worried about me…"_

_            "Kas?" Yuki Agumon asked._

_            "They're gonna kill them," she said, staring at the defeated Sora, Noriko, Akira and Yasu. Mixcoatl and his team of Hunters were surrounding them, the DATS team was helpless. "They're gonna kill them if we don't do something!"_

_            "Call for help?" Yuki Agumon suggested._

_            "No one'll get here in time," she said, "It's got to be us!"_

_            "But…!"_

_            "Remember what Kenji said?" Kasumi asked, "There's a price? Well, if it means saving them then I'll take that price!"_

            Gabe smiled, looking to the ground. "Gabe?" Gladimon asked.

            "I get it," he said, "Kasumi knew what that Gift of Demons would do, but she used it anyway so she could save her family from…YOU!" he snapped, pointing at Mixcoatl," Just like Angela, just like Maria, they scarified themselves to save the ones they cared about."

            He rose to his feet, "The only difference is, Kasumi can still be saved."

            A laugh began to echo through the void. "The Gift of Demons is eternal!"

            The fog parted for the last time, revealing the Demons. Shinji and Yuuji were standing in front of Orochimon and the Demon Dragon mysteriously had eight more Kasumis standing on the eight heads. Each one was dressed differently, but seven held a chain that was wrapped tightly around the one on the center head.

            "Those must be her negative personalities holding her real self prisoner," Gladimon gasped, "What do we do?"

            Shinji answered, "Whatever you want, it won't do any good. You can't free her."

            Gabe felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Mixcoatl stepping forward, "I'll handle them, you save her."

            "Why are you helping me?"

            He shrugged. "What can I say? You convinced me too. Mammon!"

            The woolly mammoth charged forward and fired a Tusk Strikes at Skull Barukimon. Skull Satamon moved to attack the Ancient Beast, but Mixcoatl jumped in, blocking with the Spear of Earth. "Your opponent is me!"

            Gabe stared at Kasumi and Orochimon. "I understand now." He smirked slightly, "Maybe we're more alike than I thought, let's face it, we're stubborn and our tempers get the better of us, but I promise you this…" He crossed his arms and the Gauntlets appeared in an explosion of water. "Whatever it takes, I'm gonna free you!"

            A blue light encased Gladimon, filling him with power…

**"Gladimon evolve to…"**

**Gabe's digivice fired a blue beam of light into the air before exploding, showering his partner. The limbs of the armored digimon pulled into his round body as it began to spin in a circle. His armor started to crack, before exploding, revealing a well-muscled figure, draped in armor and a flowing blue cape. He twirled his sword above his head before whipping it before him.**

**"Mystimon!"**


	19. Encephalogram of the Psyche: Chapter 3

_My name is Taichi Yagami, and when my daughter was born, it was the happiest day of my life. Although, I will admit that, probably like every other father, I hoped she would be a boy. That feeling quickly past, and now I'm afraid she turned into daddy's little girl. I guess I do spoil her…maybe that's why she…_

_            No! I know why she used that Gift of Demons, it was to save her mother, her friends, her brother, from the Hunters. I know that's why. And now, she's attacking the city along with the other Demons. Gabe, Lizzie, Asami and their partners went to confront her, and they were joined by Mixcoatl and that mysterious boy that fought Kasumi in Neodigital. Shinji of the Demons capture Asami, and when Gabe tried to use the DER, he and Mixcoatl were pulled into Kasumi's subconscious. They were shown how Gabe led his team against a traitor, and they were all killed. Gabe realized that the girl he had feelings for, Angela, died to save him, just like Kasumi did. Gladimon evolved to Mystimon and prepared to free my daughter._

_Meanwhile, Kenji and Shiro were facing the Demon Master and his Dexdorumon partner, while Kenji, Akira, Yasu and Eliane were facing two more Demons. Just as they were about to be killed, Hikari, Noriko and Sora showed up as reinforcements. _

_I wish I could help, but me and Yamato are stuck in this hospital bed. When I was younger, I had a broken leg and was running around within a day, now, it's been almost a week, and I'm still not healed enough to even walk around with help. Damn it!_

_Digimon Magog_

_Encephalogram of the Psyche:_

_Chapter III _

            "It won't do any good to just keep staring out the window, you know."

            Taichi turned from his portal to the outside world when he heard Yamato's voice-still raspy from the injury to his lungs. "Well, how can you be so calm?"

            "Because," he said, "our DATS teams can handle anything…well, almost anything, but none of the Demons have Mega digimon, so they should be fine."

            "That we know of," he sighed, "You should know better then just cause we didn't _see_ any Megas doesn't mean they don't have any."

            Yamato hesitated. "Yeah, I know, but..." He frowned, then joined his friend in staring through the window at the city below. "I know you want to go out and help them, frankly, so do I, but you heard Jyou."

            Taichi nodded, remembering what the physician had told him and Yamato, "_You both have just recovered from a serious injury, you still need time to heal. If you don't give your body time to recover, then it could be far worse next time!"_

            "I always figured myself to be the sacrificing type. You know, like in those animes or stories where the hero sacrifices themselves to save the world or something like that." He sighed, "Instead, it was Maria, and Catherine and Iduia and Keeya that did, and I didn't do anything." He shook his head, "What if its Sora this time? Or Akira? Or…" He clenched his fists tightly, "What if it's Kasumi? What if they have to kill her to stop her?"

            "Taichi," Yamato said, "I've been where she was before, remember Juriemon? He took my insecurities and my fears and made me fight against you. But I found my way back, trust me, there's a way to save her, and we'll find a way."

            He simply nodded. "Damn it! I hate being stuck here!" He lend his head against the window, closing his eyes, "_Please, whoever's fighting her, just save her, please."_

111

Red Veggiemon, near exhaustion, collapsed onto a building roof. "Come on!" Lizzie cried.

            Blimpmon dropped a missile that was directly over the girl and her partner. They both covered their heads, certain this was the end.

            "Metal Meteor!"

            A large ball of steel blasted into the bomb, causing it to exploded harmlessly over their heads. They both looked to see Masa and Dorugremon hovering beside them.

            "Who are you?" the girl asked.

            "My name isn't really important right now," Masa replied, "All you need to know is that I'm here to help you." He stared up at Blimpmon as the zeppelin digimon continued on its path. "But I do wonder where he is going?"

            "Does it really matter now?" Lizzie exclaimed, nearly pulling out her hair, "He's gonna destroy the city!"

            Masa shook his head. "Right, Dorugremon, you know what to do."

            His dragon partner nodded and took to the sky, his eyes focused on the large digimon.

            They were unaware that Katsuharu stood inside the cab hanging beneath Blimpmon, guiding his digimon towards the Tokyo Electric Power Company facility. He glanced at his watch, "It's almost time, get ready to attack, Blimpmon."

            Suddenly, the Demon was thrown to the ground as a large quake erupted through the cab. He climbed back to his feet, "What the hell was that?"

            His partner responded by changing the view on the screen from front to rear. Katsuharu stared in surprise as Dorugremon fired another barrage of metal balls.  "Take evasive action!"

            Blimpmon twisted to the side, the metal ball sailed past him. The large digimon moved much like a real blimp, and could not turn effectively so quickly. Katsuharu looked to his watch again, "We can't engage in a long battle, get rid of him now!"

            His partner responded by declaring his attack, "Zeppelin Explosion!"

            Dorugremon gasped as the large digimon began to fire a barrage of missiles from his underside. The dragon began to twist and spin, darting between the projectiles. Unfortunately, another round of ballistics were fired. The dragon took a deep breath and fired a massive ball even larger then his entire body, "Metal Meteor!"

            The large ball smashed into the missiles, causing their data to dissolve into the air. The ball continued, striking the tail of Blimpmon, causing him to shake. The red dragon flew overhead and slashed with his bladed wings. He flew to safety, staring at the slash, waiting….

            …but nothing happened. Dorugremon frowned, he had been hoping that by cutting into Blimpmon's body would cause him to deflate, but it was apparent that he simply because he was a blimp, did not mean he was going to leak any sort of 'hovering gas.'

            He gritted his teeth and dove back, his wings ready to skewer the large digimon. "Bloody.."

            "Zeppelin Explosion!"

            Almost impossibly, the bomb shells flew _upwards_, defying gravity. The dragon was too shocked to move, and one missile struck him in a mighty explosion.

            Lizzie gasped while Masa screamed, "Dorugremon!"

            Inside the cab, Katsuharu was staring intently at the power facility below them. His eyes were staring at his watch, "Almost time…"

            Back outside, Dorugremon managed to regain control of his flight abilities moments before he would have crashed into the ground. He flew back into the sky, passing the roof where Masa was standing. The teenage boy ran to the edge and watched as his partner flew past. "Do we need to evolve again?"

            "No!" Doregremon sneered, "I'm not gonna lose! Bloody Tower!"

            Using his wings, he skewered the zeppelin, flying through his entire body before erupting from the top. The entire digimon began to shake. Inside the cab, Katsuharu struggled to pilot his digimon; he was able to level their fall, but they were still falling. However, they were going to land within the power facility.

            Katsuharu saw through the monitor that Dorugremon was coming in for another attack. The Uni Demon sighed deeply, "Blimpmon, we can't win. We gonna have to use _that_ attack."

            His partner seemed to chuckle in response. He took a deep breath, then screamed out, "Helium Bomb!"

            His sides suddenly burst with explosive force. As they were hovering over the power facility, the explosion erupted through the facility's towers. This caused a chain reaction, explosions followed explosions, and soon the entire complex was covered with fire, sending waves of black smoke billowing into the air. Instantly, the lights illuminating from apartments and street lights vanished, dropping the city into darkness.

            Lizzie was staring in horror. "Oh…oh crap! H…he destroyed the…"

            "Damn it!" Masa swore, "That's what he was after!"

            The girl spun to stare at him. "What?"

            "Don't you get it?" he exclaimed, "He destroyed that power facility!" He sighed, "Now we've got to figure out why."

            "I bet those other Demons know," she said.

            The teenage boy gasped loudly. "Oh damn it, I almost forgot!"

            "Forgot what?" Alruamon asked.

            Masa simply mentioned with his arm, "Come on, we've got to find a way to free them."

            "Free who?" Lizzie exclaimed.

            "Your brother!"

111

Gabe smiled, looking to the ground. "Gabe?" Gladimon asked.

            "I get it," he said, "Kasumi knew what that Gift of Demons would do, but she used it anyway so she could save her family from…YOU!" he snapped, pointing at Mixcoatl," Just like Angela, just like Maria, they scarified themselves to save the ones they cared about."

            He rose to his feet, "The only difference is, Kasumi can still be saved."

            A laugh began to echo through the void. "The Gift of Demons is eternal!"

            The fog parted for the last time, revealing the Demons. Shinji and Yuuji were standing in front of Orochimon and the Demon Dragon mysteriously had eight more Kasumis standing on the eight heads. Each one was dressed differently, but seven held a chain that was wrapped tightly around the one on the center head.

            "Those must be her negative personalities holding her real self prisoner," Gladimon gasped, "What do we do?"

            Shinji answered, "Whatever you want, it won't do any good. You can't free her."

            Gabe felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Mixcoatl stepping forward, "I'll handle them, you save her."

            "Why are you helping me?"

            He shrugged. "What can I say? You convinced me too. Mammon!"

            The woolly mammoth charged forward and fired a Tusk Strikes at Skull Barukimon. Skull Satamon moved to attack the Ancient Beast, but Mixcoatl jumped in, blocking with the Spear of Earth. "Your opponent is me!"

            Gabe stared at Kasumi and Orochimon. "I understand now." He smirked slightly, "Maybe we're more alike than I thought, let's face it, we're stubborn and our tempers get the better of us, but I promise you this…" He crossed his arms and the Gauntlets appeared in an explosion of water. "Whatever it takes, I'm gonna free you!"

            A blue light encased Gladimon, filling him with power…

**"Gladimon evolve to…"**

**Gabe's digivice fired a blue beam of light into the air before exploding, showering his partner. The limbs of the armored digimon pulled into his round body as it began to spin in a circle. His armor started to crack, before exploding, revealing a well-muscled figure, draped in armor and a flowing blue cape. He twirled his sword above his head before whipping it before him.**

**"Mystimon!"**

            The newly evolved digimon stood by his partner's side as they stared at Orochimon and the eight Kasumis. "Any idea what to do?"

            Gabe stared at the eight girls, narrowing his eyes. Suddenly, memories once again appeared in the strange white fog that surrounded them, the teenage boy and his partner could tell that each Kasumi was generating the memory, as the Orochimon head they were standing on raised higher then the others.

            The right-most Orochimon head lifted to the air next, this Kasumi looked normally, except her eyes were drooping and she had large bags beneath them.

            _Kasumi was seated at the kitchen table, staring meekly down at the floor. Her parents were seated on the other side, her father was glaring at her, while her mother had her arms crossed. Taichi mentioned to a piece of paper that was before him, "Kasumi, your grades are terrible! This is the worse marks I've ever seen!"_

_            She did not answer, so Sora spoke. "Explain yourself right now, young lady."_

_            "It's…boring, I just don't want to do it."_

            The second to last right-most head lifted next. Each Kasumi was dressed in the Decima uniform, a gray sailor fuku, but this uniform left very little to the imagination. Her skirt was skin tight, ending only slightly below the crotch, while her shirt was tight and low cut.

            _Kasumi and Asami were walking through the halls of their school when they passed by a group of their male classmates. They all instantly began chatting with Asami, while her cousin was pushed to the side. Kasumi narrowed her eyes as her cousin was once again made the center of attention. "They just like her 'cause of her body, the fucking little flirt. Why can't I get that attention?"_

            The right-most head to the center head raised next. This Kasumi appeared to be just the same as the normal Kasumi.

            _Akira was cheering and laughing as Diatrymon proudly flapped his wings. "Congratulations," Taichi said, grinning, "Eight years old, and you have an Adult partner already, that's my boy."_

_            Off to the side, Kasumi was nearly in tears. "It's not fair! How come Akira's so strong?"_

The left-most Orochimon head lifted into the air, the Kasumi on its head was larger then the others, and as Gabe stared closer, they could see she was overweight. The images on the fog began to play.

            _A pre-teen Kasumi was standing off to the side as younger versions of Shiro, Asami, Akira and Yasu were standing with their Adult partners. This pre-teen Kasumi stared down at her Child digimon, Yuki Agumon, before she stared to the sky. "I want an Adult digimon! I want that power!"_

            The second to last left-most Orochimon head was next, this Kasumi was covered in what appeared to be gold.

            _Kasumi was standing atop Allomon's head, screaming with joy. "You finally evolved! We did it! We've got the power, that power's finally ours!"_

            The third to last left-most Orochimon head lifted, this Kasumi had glowing red eyes and her fists were clenched tightly.

            _Kasumi slammed the door to her room as hard as she could. "I hate this, I fucking hate this!" She started to throw anything she could lift, her backpack, her clothes, her pillow, her soccer ball, "It's not fair! They're all stronger then me, I'm just a fucking weakling! I hate them all!"_

            The left head closest to the center finally lifted to the air.

            _The Demoness Kasumi was laughing as she stood atop Orochimon. "I'm better then all of them! I'm the greatest Chosen in the entire world! And now, everyone's gonna know it!"_

            "What the hell was that all about?" Mystismon asked.

            "I think I get it," Gabe replied, "Each one of those Kasumi's is the part of her that represents one of the Deadly Sins." He pointed at the left most Kasumi, counting each one until he reached the one on the right, "That's Gluttony, Greed, Wrath, Pride, Envy, Lust and Sloth. And the one in the center must be her real self, that's why its chained up, her negative traits have control."

            "I see," Mystimon replied, "She has more problems then I thought."

            "No," Gabe said, shaking his head, "All of her negative traits come from one thing; everyone else was evolving and getting stronger, while she wasn't. I'd feel the same way if the others seemed to get so much stronger then me…" He smiled slightly, "Especially if Lizzie got stronger then me."

            "Why is that important?"

            "Because I'm the oldest, and when you're the oldest, you just have this feeling that your younger siblings should look up to you, and that probably included the other kids too, she probably _wanted_ to be kind of a big sister to them because of her father, but never could. Akira's stronger then Kasumi, so in a way, it's like _she's_ looking up to _him._ It's the same with Asami, she's younger, but already has more attention romantically. That jealously just made her crave that power so she could…could even the gap between them. " He sighed, "And I'm sure I didn't make her feel any better. All because I didn't like her _before_ I even met her…."

            "Gabe?"

            He shook his head, "No, it's nothing." He smiled slightly, "I understand better then anyone knows, why couldn't I just see that before? She's just like me."

            "All right, but what about her positive traits? You know, her determination, her loyalty to her family and friends, her…her desire to save the world, that kind of thing."

            Gabe pointed at the Kasumi on the center head. "_That'_s the real Kasumi, with all her positive traits."

            "So what should we do?"

            "I think you need to defeat each one of Orochimon's heads, break the chain, and free the center one. Remember, we're still inside the DER, so maybe by doing that, we can repair the damage the Gift of Demons did to her."

            His partner, "Worth a shot." He positioned his sword, then charged forward.

111

Mixcoatl used his Spear of Earth to block the jabs and slices of Skull Satamon's staff. The Hunter executed a back flip to avoid the thrust, landing perfectly on the ground. He held up his staff, then shoved it into the ground, sending up a group of rocks, which he then command to fly forward with a wave of his weapon. The stones exploded into flames as they flew forward on their path. Skull Satamon smirked. "Your fire and brimstone won't stop me! Nail Bone!"

            His energy blast tore through the stones, easily incinerating them. The skeleton digimon shot forward, swinging his staff. Mixcoatl was able to block, but his feet were open for a swipe from the skeleton digimon. The Hunter was able to dodge at the last second, but he was caught off balance, and Skull Satamon pressed all of his weight into his staff, sending the Hunter twisting into the ground. The skeleton digimon leapt into the air, ready to slam his spear into Mixcoatl, but he rolled quickly, the demon's staff jabbing into the ground. The Hunter kicked the demon digimon's side, then jumped onto his feet and began a combo of punches and slashes with his spear.

            His partner was engaged in a battle of his own, against the undead Skull Barukimon. Both massive digimon charged, head-butting with such force that it should have shattered their skulls, but they remained locked in battle. Mammon snaked his trunk around Skull Barukimon's neck, but the undead digimon chomped his jaw onto the appendage. Mammon's response was to fire his Tusk Strike, but at such close range, it caused damage to the mammoth digimon as well. Both were thrown backwards, but while Mammon tumbled along the ground, Skull Barukimon dug his claws into the ground, skidding to a stop. He spied the fall digimon and grinned. He ran forward as fast as he could, and once he was close enough, jumped into the air.

            "Glaive Horn!"

            His two feet came flying down, aiming for Mammon's head, but the mammoth digimon was more nimble then he appeared and jumped back to his feet. His trunk whipped around, pointing at the falling digimon, "Tundra Breath!" It was only with a quick flip of his wings that Skull Barukimon was able to escape.

            Off to the side, the two Demon Chosen were watching. "They are actually beating us," Yuuji sighed.

            Shinji crossed his arms. "They are Hunters, after all. If they are powerful enough to nearly kill Taichi Yagami and Yamato Ishida…" He frowned, "The Golden Fleece possessed by Skull Satamon is useless against Mixcoatl, as he does not possess any energy attacks to absorb. Yuuji, it is time to use our weapon."

            She nodded. "Right, Twin Brother." She ran into the battle and leapt onto her partner's back. Mammon blinked in surprise before the Demoness produced a golden whip in her hands. She flicked her wrist and a strand of the gold wrapped around Mammon, binding him tightly. She flicked her wrist again, and another strand leapt across, snagging Mixcoatl from behind.

            "What?" the Hunter gasped as he fell to the ground, wrapped tightly. He struggled to break free, "What is this?"

            "That is _Gleipnir_," she explained, "And do not bother struggling, you cannot escape from its grip."

            "This is dirty fighting!" he shouted.

            Yuuji snorted. "Please, you do not engage your opponent unless necessary, you would rather fight from the shadows!"

            Mixcoalt simply narrowed his eyes.

111

            Meanwhile, Mystimon had been battling Orochimon, attempting to free Kasumi from the dark sides that held her prisoner. His sword was glowing red in flames as he charged at the demon dragon. The seven heads attacked at once, snarling and snapping. He dove through the spiraling heads, and propelling himself off of the ground. He swung with his sword, slashing the chain connecting the Gluttony-Kasumi to the real Kasumi. It fell limply to the ground.

            "That's one," Gabe said, hopefulness in his voice.

            The other six heads attacked with renewed vigor. He jumped into the air to avoid the attack, and twisted around, slashing with his sword, cutting two more chains, that of Lust and Sloth.

            "All right!" Gabe cheered, "Three down, four to go. You're doing great!"

            The remaining four heads dove for him, but he rolled to safety, jumping back to his feet. The head with the Greed Kasumi charged at him, and he was forced to swing his blade too early to deflect the attack, thus missing his chance to sever another chain. Also, this miss-calculation left him open for a swipe by two more of the heads, which knocked him into the ground. The heads dove down to attack, but he was able to roll to safety, jumping into the air as the heads shot beneath him.

            As he flew through the air, he whipped his sword in a semi-circle before him, creating a barrage or flaming daggers. "Core Dart!"

            The heads instantly scattered, the darts passing by them harmlessly. However, this was only a distraction, and Mystimon was able to then leap along through the air, slashing through the remaining chains until only one remained, the chain linking the impression Kasumi to her worst trait, Pride.

            Mystimon landed on the ground once again, his eyes narrowing at the Pride-head, the only head left except for the eighth head which contained the 'true' Kasumi. He charged, blade ready.

            Pride-Kasumi suddenly started to laugh and held up her hands. Red lines of energy erupted from her fingers, attaching to each of the fallen heads. She pulled back and those heads leapt into the air. The seven heads then inhaled deeply, "Sake Breath!"

            The Magic Warrior was forced to drop back to the ground to avoid the toxic air. Both he and Gabe stared in horror at Pride-Kasumi, who was laughing manically.

             "Is that the best you can do?" she sneered.

            Mystimon blinked. "Y…you can talk?"

            "Of course I can!" she snapped, "What the hell do you think?"

            "Fine!" Gabe shouted, "Then you can listen too, we're not gonna stop until we free her!"

            She started to laugh again, "You don't understand, do you? I _am_ her, the best part of her!"

            "You're wrong!" Gabe argued, "You're the _worst_ part of her! Just because you're the part she _thinks_ is the most important! You're the part that _fucked_ her up, more then Greed or Envy, it was _you_ fueling it all! You're the reason for her inflated ego, and why she's so jealous of everyone when she forced to realize that she's _not_ the best!"

            "And what about you?" she retorted.

            "What?"

            "You've done nothing but try to make her feel worthless since you got here! Maybe _you're _the reason I was even let you like this…"

            He winced. "I…uh…"

            Pride-Kasumi begin to snicker, "But it doesn't matter, prepare to get your ass kicked! Orochimon, attack!"

            All seven of the heads erupted forth, twisting to strike the Magic Warrior from all sides. Mystimon jumped into the air, executing a miraculous combo of agility to avoid harm. As he twisted through the air, he whipped his sword, sending more flaming darts at his opponent. "Core Dart!"

            Three of the heads were hit, but the remaining four continued to attack. Mystimon was forced to dodge once again, but he was growing tired, and as such, was overpowered. One head held down his torso, while another nipped his left arm, the last one bound his feet, leaving his right arm free. Pride-Kasumi stood firmly on her head, which hovered over the fallen warrior.

            "So much for your grand plan to free me, huh?" she sneered, "Orochimon, I'm getting so fucking tired of them! Kill him now!"

            Her Orochimon head opened her jaws to attack. Mystimon whipped his sword at Pride-Kasumi, but she simply moved her head and the sword sailed past. "Come on, that was the best you could do?"

            Mystimon smirked, "Yes, actually, it was."

            Pride-Kasumi blinked, then glanced over her shoulder. She stared with horror as Mystimon's twirling blade sliced through the chain that bound her to the real Kasumi. "No!"

            "Yes!" Gabe exclaimed, his eyes staring directly at the real Kasumi, who was still wrapped in chain. "Kasumi, wake up!"

            The real Kasumi suddenly screamed, jerking her head back. The chains around her body vanished in an explosion of light. Off to the side, the Demons and the Hunters were aware of the blast of energy. They could only stare as the real Kasumi rose to her feet, her body radiating with energy. She simply made a motion with her hand, and Orochimon's tail whipped over the eight heads and came crashing down upon them."Gathering Clouds of Heaven!"

            As Shinji stared at the energized blade on the tip of the demon dragon's tail, heading straight for him, he spied the golden strands of _Gleipnir_ which had trapped Mixcoalt and Mammon, but was still being held tightly by Yuuji. Shinji grabbed the rope and yanked as hard as he could, throwing Yuuji and Skull Barukimon, whom she was riding, directly in front of him.

            "What?" the Demoness gasped.

            "Sorry sister," he sneered, "But wisdom before beauty!"

            Orochimon's attack struck Yuuji and Skull Barukimon at point blank, incinerating them instantly. The force still struck Shinji, who was propelled through the air before crashing into the ground.

            The white fog suddenly parted to reveal a darkened city. "Now what?" Gabe sighed, "Another fucking memory?"

            "Gabe!"

            He twisted to see his teenage sister charging towards him with Masa and their partners in tow. This was not a memory, they had returned. Lizzie tackled him, hugging him tightly.

            "What happened?" she demanded.

            "I…I'm not really sure," he said.

            Masa helped Mixcoatl and Mammon back to their feet. With Yuuji's defeat, _Gleipnir's_ power faded and the golden rope lay harmlessly on the ground. The two Hunters stared at Orochimon as she glowed bright, and regressed to Yuki Agumon; Kasumi lay motionless beside her. "Did you free her?"

            "I think so," Gabe nodded, "She killed Yuuji and…" He glanced to where Shinji had fallen, only to realize with horror that the Demon was rising to his feet!"

            All eyes stared at him carefully, his head was glancing away from them, but once he had fully stood, he whipped it around to stare at him. The Hunters and the DATS agents then saw something they would never forget-half of Shinji's face was missing!

            Well, not quite. The left side of his face contained his Decima traits-tanned skin, blue eyes, blond hair, but his right side was starkly different. Lighter skin, almost fairer, darker colored eyes and orange hair. There was a thin line down the center of his face, almost like the remnants of a latex mask, but, that line soon began to move to his right ear, transforming his face to match the left side.

            "Not bad," he panted, "Her attack was strong enough to reveal part of my real face, but the Gift of Demons prevails!" He smirked, "You may have freed her, but she, like me, is a Demon now and forever! It will only be a matter of time before the Gift of Demons regains control…but in the meantime…"

            "Where's Asami?" Gabe screamed.

            He only chuckled.

            "Give her back right now you piece of shit!"

            "Not a chance!" he snapped, "The others we tested…nothing like her, they don't even come close! She is the key!"

            "Others?"

            He crossed his arms, "Ask those two Ishida brats!" His smile grew again, "But for now…"

            He and his Skull Satamon suddenly began to sink into a shadow on the ground. "He's gating out!" Masa shouted.

            Gabe ran forward, Shinji was still only waist-deep into the Digital Gate, if he could just…

            "No!" a female voice shouted to him. Gabe stopped short and twisted to see Kasumi kneeling on the ground, painting heavily, "Don't…I…know…where…their…base…is…"

            Gabe twisted back to Shinji, only to see that he and Skull Satamon had vanished. He sighed deeply, hanging his head low, "Asami…"

            Masa and Mixcoalt, meanwhile, had taken that opportunity to escape unnoticed. As they ran from the battlefield, the helmet-wearing Hunter turned to his companion. "So, what happened in there?"

            Mixcoatl sighed, an image of Maria flashing through his mind, "Things I thought I left buried. But Lord Sentry's not going to be happy that we failed."

            "Who says we failed?"

            He stared at him curiously. "What?"

            "That girl's not a Demon anymore, right?"

            Mixcoatl sighed. "Let's just hope you can confuse him with your word-logic."

111

            Kenji, Akira, Yasu and Eliane watched with hope as their partners mounted another attack on their demon opponents. Shellmon twisted his body so his shell was pointing as Karatenmon. "Hydro Pressure!"

            A geyser of water exploded forth. Diatrymon leapt into the sky, twisted around so that Shellmon's water smashed into his back, propelling him forward. "Mega Dash Impact!" His own attack was now augmented by Shellmon's attack, the giant bird glaring at Karatenmon. The demonic bird whipped his swords around and crossed them. Diatrymon slammed into the blades, and Karatenmon did have to struggle to deflect the Ancient Bird. Once his momentum had run out, the demon bird swatted Diatrymon into Shellmon, tangling them into a ball.

            Dobermon and Woodmon decided to attack from either side rather then augment one another's attack. The canine digimon expunged a beam of black light, "Black Beam!"

            Woodmon whipped his arm around, firing a barrage of wood shards. "Woody Smash!"

            Kyukimon remained still, calmly staring at the two attacks heading towards her. She positioned her blade arms, then quickly twisted into a tornado, propelling forward. "Blade Twister!" Dobermon and Woodmon were caught in the whirlwind, throwing them into the same pile with Shellmon and Diatrymon.

             "Oh man!" Yasu exclaimed, "Crud!"

            "This isn't good," Kenji frowned, "We need to think of a plan."

            Eliane shook her head. "Maybe if we hope, someone will save us!"

            "No one coming to save you," the Demon Kenichi chuckled, "Prepare to die."

            Karatenmon and Kyukimon moved forward, ready to attack, when a swarm of bats suddenly surrounded them.

            "That's Ladydevimon's Darkness Wave!" Dobermon gasped.

            "Mommy?" Yasu gasped, turning to see that her mother was indeed standing behind her and, with Sora hugging Akira.

            Kenichi narrowed his eyes as he stared at Noriko and Sora, along with Ladydevimon and Garudamon. "These two will not be so easy."

            "Yes, I know," Sawa sighed.

            Sora hugged her son tightly, "Are you okay?"

            "Yeah, Mom, what are you doing here?"

            "We're here to help you," Garudamon replied, flexing her muscles.

            Ladydevimon nodded, hovering beside her friend, "Yeah, just leave this to us."

            "Are you sure?" Kenji asked.

            "_Oui_," Eliane replied, "Zey are stronger zen you t'ink!"

            Ladydevimon and Garudamon did not reply as Kyukimon and Karatenmon hovered before them. The Demon Bird Man crossed his swords while the Bewitching Beast  readied her blades. Karatenmon suddenly shot forward, swinging his swords into Garudamon's arms, but the larger Bird Man flapped her wings quickly, creating a sudden burst that sent Karatenmon tumbling in the sky. Garudamon shot forward, punching the demon bird in the face, cracking his beak. He darted back and whipped his wings, sending a barrage of feathers slashing into Garudamon.

            "Ballistic Feathers!"

            The giant bird man crossed her arms, shielding her face from the projectiles. She whipped the limps open and shot forward, "Eagle Claw!"

            She used her talons to slash across Karatenmon's chest before slamming her foot into the wound as hard as she could. The Demon man winced in pain, but then screamed out when Garudamon slashed the wound once more, this time with her claws, "Crimson Claw!"

            Karatenmon, in desperation, whipped his swords, but Garudamon easily avoided them. She pulled her fist back and punched the Demon man once again, with such force that he crashed into the ground beside his partner, Kenichi.

            While Garudamon had been battling Karatenmon, Ladydevimon and Kyukimon were engaged as well. However, it became clear from the beginning that the fox was at a clear disadvantage; Ladydevimon hung in the sky while Kyukimon was stuck to the ground.

            The devil woman whipped open her arms, "Darkness Wave!"

            The demon fox began swatting at the bats, using her blades to slice them in half.

"Do not remain on the ground!" Sawa cried, "Reach her level!"

            Kyukimon glanced around, but then noticed the posts littering the train yard. She leapt from post to post until she was close enough to leap at Ladydevimon. She swung with her bladed arms, but the devil woman easy dodged and the fox fell back to the ground. "Wow, this is gonna be easy."

            "Don't get cocky!" Noriko snapped.

            Ladydevimon glared at her, then transformed her arm into a long spear. She flew down to pierce Kyukimon's heart, but            the fox used her bladed arms to block and deflect each jab and thrust. She executed a flip, connecting her feet into Ladydevimon's chin, flipping her backwards. Kyukimon slashed with her bladed arm, but the devil woman twisted and landed on the ground. The fox slashed again, and Ladydevimon blocked once more with her Darkness Spear. The devil woman took a deep breath and expunge a cloud of purple fog, "Poison!"

            Kyukimon coughed and stumbled backwards. Ladydevimon slashed with her spear with such force that the fox tumbled backwards to land beside Sawa. The devil woman twisted to her friend, "Garudamon, attack now!"

            The giant bird threw her arms into the air as a blade of fire erupted from her wings. "Shadow Wing!"

            Her attack twisted through the air before smashing into the Demon digimon and their Chosen partners, incinerating them instantly.

            "Wow, that was so cool!" Akira gasped.

            "Now what's going on here?" Sora asked.

            "We were chasing Locomon," Kenji began, "Oh crap!"

            "What?" Noriko asked.

            "Shiro and my Dad were _on_ Locomon!"

            "Which way did they go?" Garudamon demanded.

            The four Chosen pointed down a trail track. The redheaded woman nodded. "All right. Let's move."

111

            Dexdorugamon was decimating Weregarurumon and Anomalocarimon X, every attack had been deflected, every assault was countered. "This isn't working, "Shiro said.

            "Yeah, I know," Jyou frowned.

            The Demon Master smirked as he crossed his arms, his partner snarling at his side. "Plan all you want, it won't do any good."

            The DATS Team ignored him. "We'll try a double-team," the blond boy suggested, "Anomalocarimon, can you attack head-on and Weregarurumon will attack from the air."

            Both digimon nodded. They stared at their opponent, then leapt to execute Shiro's strategy. Anomalocarimon X whipped his tail blade laser attack while Weregarurumon jumped higher and fired his Kaizer Nail. Masanori smirked and his partner began to glow. "Dexdorugamon evolved to Dexdorugremon!"Where the demon beast once stood, now was a monstrous, black-skinned dragon; he flapped his wings quickly, sending the two energy attacks crashing into the roof of the train. Anomalocarimon X was able to remain in place, but Weregarurumon was sent tumbling off of the train. Shiro whipped his head around, certain his partner was now a splat on the ground. However, when he saw a winged cat flying alongside the rampaging Locomon, Weregarurumon in her claws.

            "Nefertimon?" he gasped, "Mrs. Yamaki?"

            Hikari smiled from riding atop her partner's back as she gently placed Weregarurumon back onto the roof. "We thought you could use some help," she said.

"Hikari Yamaki," Masanori, the Demon Master, said with a slight bow, "Nice that you could join us."

            The middle-aged woman looked to the others. "Who is that?"

            "I am the Demon Master," he bowed.

            "Demon…Master?" Nefertimon X blinked, "And would that be his partner?"

            "Dexdorugremon," Weregarurumon explained.

            "We've got to attack him from all sides," Shiro said "It's the only way this is going to work. He's too strong to attack head on."

            "We're ready," Hikari said, "Whatever your plan is…"

            The blond boy winced slightly, "Um…I ah…" He took a deep breath, "Okay, he's got wings, that means he can probably fly, so knocking him off the train won't do any good, he'll just fly back." He glanced to Nefertimon X, who was still flying next to the moving train, "And while she can fly, she's not going to be able to match his agility. If Garudamon or Ladydevimon were here..."

            "I think we're going to have to sneak attack him," he said, "Anomalocarimon X, Nefertimon X, if you distract him, Weregarurumon will jump over his head and land behind him, then we can all attack at once."

            "Are you sure?" Hikari asked.

            "That's the best chance we've got, I think," Jyou frowned, "All right, that's good."

            The middle-aged woman nodded. "All right."

            Shiro looked to his partner. "Ready?"

            The wolf man cracked his knuckles, "Ready."

            "Go!"

            Weregarurumon charged Dorugremon, then leapt into the air, twisting around over the undead dragon's head. The demon was about to attack, but Anomalocarimon X and Nefertimon X unleashed their energy blasts.

            "Tail Blade!"

            "Curse of Queen!"

            Both attacks struck Doregremon in the chest. His head whipped back to the other digimon, allowing the wolf man to land perfectly between him and the Demon Master. Masanori simply crossed his arms and smirked.

            "All right!" Shiro shouted, "Now!"

            "Tail Blade!"

            "Curse of Queen!"

            "Kaizer…!" Unfortunately, Weregarurumon had not seen that Dexdorugremon's tail had slinked between his legs and wrapped tightly around his left ankle. The dragon flapped his giant wings downward, giving him a burst of lift into the air. He whipped Weregarurumon beneath him before slamming back down. The wolf man was then put into the range of the two X-digimon's attacks, and he was hit point blank. He screamed in pain, then fell to the roof, his fur badly singed.

            Shiro gasped in horror. Masanori roared with laughter. "Here is a bit of advice for you, you pride yourself on your strategic skills, but you missed an important point, Shiro Ishida, this is only the second battle your Fully Evolved digimon has been engaged in, you are still outclassed. Now, Dexdorugremon, finish him."

            His partner growled in agreement and began to walk towards the fallen digimon. Nefertimon X began to fire diamonds from the armor on her legs, "Nile Jewelry!"

            Dexdorugremon whipped his metal wings in front of his face, using them as a highly-effective shield. When he whipped his wings back open again, a massive metal ball was fired at the DATS team. "Metal Meteor!"

            "Duck!" Jyou screamed. The DATS digimon fell to the roof and the ball flew over their heads, crashing into the ground, destroying the trail line.

            As Jyou climbed back to his feet, the train sped by a peculiar lamp post. There had been hundreds of lamp posts illuminating the train tracks, but this one was special-it contained a sign that read, 'APPROACHING CLASSIFIED AREA. DO NOT ACTIVATE THE SWITCH TRACK UP AHEAD"

            "This is the DATS train line!" he exclaimed.

            The others blinked, then glanced around. They peered to the front of Locomon, and saw that he was indeed proceeding towards the switch-track, one part leading back to the center of Tokyo, while the other line led towards the water front, where the DATS building was located. "Oh shit!" Shiro exclaimed.

            "Don't worry," Hikari said. She mentioned to the wall of concrete that was surrounding the area of the city were the DATS building was located; and there was a wall of thick bars blocking access via the tracks. "We won't get past that, they'll be stuck.

            As if in response, the lamp posts that were illuminating the train tracks suddenly went dark. "Power's out?" Jyou gasped.

            "Half the city's out!" Anomalocarimon X exclaimed.

            The DATS team looked with horror at the bars and saw that the red lights surrounding them turned dark as well. "Oh no," Hikari gasped, a cold feeling washing over her.

            The Demon Master grinned. "Excellent. Hold tight, Dexdorugremon,"

            His undead dragon dug his claws into the train cab. Locomon suddenly erupted in a burst of speed that sent the DATS team tumbling from his caboose and onto the ground. Anomalocarimon X and Weregarurumon caught their partners, saving them from a deadly smash into the ground. The DATS team jumped back to their feet and watch with helplessness as Locomon smashed through the steel bars. They could tell when the red lights glowed again that DATS's secondary power had come on-line, but it was already too late, Locomon was inside the restricted area.

            "We've got to go after them!" Jyou cried.

            Shiro and Weregarurumon nodded and started to chase the runaway Locomon, but they were no where near as fast. After passing through the gate, there was another mile of track before reaching the actual DATS building. They had traveled only a quarter of a mile towards the building when Kenji's team caught up with them.

            "Shiro!" Noriko gasped, "What happened?"

            "We'll explain later," Jyou interrupted, "The Demon Master's about to invade DATS!"

            "So?" Yasu asked, "Won't the security system stop him?"

            "The secondary power's on-line," Shiro explained, "Which means the security system's off-line. We've got to hurry."

            The digimon continued running with even faster speed. Eliane spoke up, "I have a question, why doez DATS have it'z own train track?"

            "Because of what we have to transport," Sora explained, "We have a lot of sensitive stuff we don't want the public to see. Sometimes its easier to travel by train instead of through the city in black trucks. That's why its on the water front too, so we can transport by ship too." She shrugged, "Sometimes its just easier."

111

            Inside the DATS command center, Yamaki, Reika and Megumi had been handling the damage reports when the lights suddenly dimmed and all computer systems crashed. They waited the full minute before the lights returned, illuminating the room in a red glow. "Back-up power is on-line," Reika reported.

            Once their computer terminals had rebooted, they were aware of the problem. "Tokyo Electric Power Company facility in Shinjuku is down…no, it's completely gone!" Megumi exclaimed.

            "What?" Yamaki gasped.

            "We have another problem," Reika shouted, "The gate at the train line is off-line! Security cameras report that a digimon has entered…it's Locomon."

            Megumi continued, "We have a report from Jyou…the Demon Master's on Locomon! His partner is Dexdorugremon, and he was able to hold against Weregarurumon, Anomalocarimon and Nefertimon!"

            The blond man nodded. "They're coming here, but for what?" He shook his head, "You two stay here and continue to monitor the situation."

            "Where are you going?" Reika asked. She turned to face her commander, but he was already gone.

111

            Locomon came to a stop as he arrived at the loading area of the DATS building. It was still outside, the five-mile area protected by the concrete wall, extending around to the sides of the building. To his right was a typical platform, boxes and a equipment were stacked on the left wall, but coming down the stairs on the right wall was Yamaki and V-mon.

            "It appears that we have a party to welcome us," the Demon Master commented as he leapt to the ground, Dexdorugremon followed.

            Yamaki narrowed his eyes. "So you're the Demon Master I take it?"

            He bowed, "Yes, now, I will allow you only one opportunity to move out of our way, or you will face the consequences."

            "What'da ya think?" V-mon exclaimed. He turned to Yamaki. "I'm ready."

            The blond man nodded and grabbed his digivice, "Ready."

            "V-mon evolve to Lighdramon!" To their surprise, however, his digivice continued to glow, giving V-mon another burst of energy, "Lighdramon evolve to Metaltyranomon!"

            The armored dinosaur stared at himself in horror. He glared down at his partner, "What the hell are you doing to me? That damn digivice keeps screwing me up!"

            "Does it matter now?" Yamaki shouted back, "Just attack him!"

            Dexdorugremon prepared himself to battle, but Chiaka's voice was heard through Locomon's external speakers, "We'll handle 'em, boss. You got to where you need to go!"

            The Demon Master smirked at Yamaki and Metal Tyranomon before he and Dexdorugremon twisted on their heels and ran for the stars on the left wall. Metal Tyranomon charged after him, but was stopped when Locomon jumped off of the track and twisted his body so that he was facing the DATS team, the cabs of his train were twisted like a snake's body. They turned to run back up the stairs on the left, but Locomon turned his caboose so that it was blocking their way. They were trapped.

            "Looks like we're going to have to fight," Yamaki sighed, "And there's not a lot of room in here to begin with, try to be careful."

            The armored dinosaur prepared himself to fight, but Locomon attacked first. "Wheel Grinder!"

            His wheels suddenly transformed into spikes and fired. Metal Tyrannomon braced himself, using his armored forearms to shield him and Yamaki from the attack. Once the barrage of blades had ceased, his shoved his left palm forward and fired a beam of intense red light, "Nuclear Laser!"

            Locomon countered by once again using firing a barrage of bladed wheels forward. The beam struck the metal, deflecting and reflected all around the area. "This isn't going to work," Metal Tyranomon growled, "We're too closed in here."

            Yamaki glanced around, Locomon was blocking the area in three directions, and the other direction was blocked by the outside wall of the building itself. The only way to escape was up, but the blond man knew from studying digimon that no Tyranomon could fly. "Attack his rear cabs, we need more room."

            Metal Tyranomon nodded in reply and twisted to fire, but once he did, a barrage of blades cut into his back armor. He flipped back around and glared at Locomon-they were able to see Chiaka's face through the glass. "You can't win," she taunted, "Just give up now."

            Suddenly, a loud explosion blasted from behind him. Locomon's rear train cabs were incinerated as the rest of the DATS team arrived. They took their positions, with Hikari hugging Yamaki tightly, before Shiro addressed Locomon.

            "Where is he?" he demanded.

            Chiaka responded, "Probably getting what we went to all this trouble for."

111

            Masanori, the Demon Master, was surprisingly calm as he walked through the halls of the DATS building. He was not certain weather it was from the suddenly power termination or not, but the halls were empty of soldiers, allowing him easy access to his desired location, a large metal door. "I believe this is it. Dexdorugremon, if you please."

His partner roared loudly, "Metal Meteor!" The massive projectile smashed through the metal door with ease. The duo entered, the red emergency lights casting an eerie glow on the contents.

            "The DATS security room, the safe," Masanori said with a grin, "Here is where everything sacred to the X-Chosen and their sympathizers are kept."

            His eyes darted to the right, where a book with gold leather was resting within a box of thick glass. "The Machina Codex, The Gospel of Yuushi,  liberated from Nightsun by Priestess Miayag."

            He continued forward, passing a set of digivices preserved within the same white glass. When a digimon or Chosen dies, the digivice that connected them remains, in a way a trophy to the one that killed them.

            "The digivices of Catherine Rupert, Maria Silvanio, Keeya Genet and Iduia Ramiro."

            He passed by a set of notebooks, "Kurata's own notes and experiments, interesting."

            He then reached a series of boxes that contained weapons. He passed by a green bow, "The Bow of Abungu, First Chosen of Forest." His eyes moved to a gray shield, "The Shield of Glaucio, First Chosen of Metal."

            His eyes finally stopped on a peculiarly shaped weapon, then glowed in a dull silver when he reached for it. "Yes…"

111

            Back at the train terminal, the brick wall suddenly blew apart as an intense silver light flooded the area. The DATS team stared as the Demon Master slowly returned with Dexdorumon at his heels.

            "You de-evolved?" Chiaka's voice gasped over Locomon's external speakers.

            "Yes," her Master replied, "For what is about to happen, it was necessary." He turned to the DATS agents, "And I would like to thank you for keeping what perhaps you should have destroyed."

            "What are you talking about?" Yamaki demanded.

            The Demon Master grinned as he held up an item in his hands. Yamaki, Hikari, Sora, Noriko, Jyou, and their partners all instantly recognized the weapon. "The Flail of Chance?!"

            "That is correct," he laughed, "Stolen from your very vault."

            Yamaki narrowed his eyes, "That's what this whole thing was for, wasn't it? Just so the power would be cut at the right moment so you could bash through the gate, then get inside DATS to get that weapon!"

            "But why?" Hikari asked, "You can't use it…right?"

            "That, I'm afraid, is _not_ correct," he laughed again, "I am Masanori, I am the one you call, "Demon Master," I rule the Demon Chosen, for you see, I am descended from the _First_ Demon Chosen, the one known to history as the great betrayer, I am the great-grandson of the one you call Juro!"

            "Juro?" Yasu questioned.

            "The Fallen Chosen," Shiro answered, "The tenth First Chosen, the one that betrayed them and he was erased from the Digital World's history."

            "Erased, but not forgotten," the Demon Master clarified, "Now, prepare to taste my power!" He held up the weapon, which exploded in silver light, enveloping both he and Dexdorumon.

**Dexdorumon warp evolve to…"**

**The Flail of Juro exploded forth, showering Dexdorumon and Masanori. Both human and digimon began to rotate around a silhouette that appeared in the center. As they spun, their bodies merged together, first Masanori's hand, then Dexdorumon's hand, then a metal hand, first Masanori's legs, then Dexdorumon's legs, then metallic legs, first Masanori's head, then Dexdorumon's head, then a snout-ed metal face. The new figure flapped his giant wings and caught the falling Flail of Juro in his hands.**

"**Dexdorugoramon!"**

            The DATS team stared with horror at the massive Undead digimon. Yasu and Eliane both cried out in fear and hid behind Noriko, grabbing her for safety. Akira was trying to remain brave, but he was clutching his mother's hand so tightly that it was beginning to go numb. Sora did not even notice, as her own fear was starting to overtake her.

            "Taichi…"

            Shiro's Weregarurumon, however, jumped in front of the humans. "Come on! Are we just gonna let him kill us?"

            The other digimon nodded in agreement and ran to join him. "No!" Yasu cried, "Dobermon, don't!"

            "I have to," he replied.

            "But…"

            "I have to protect you, Yasu!" he cried.

            "The same goes for the rest of us," Weregarurumon added, "No matter what, we're ready to protect you and fight _for_ you! That's why we're here, that's why we were born!"

            Dexdorugoramon roared with laughter. "How cute and heartwarming…well, I hope you enjoy spending eternity with one another!"

            Weregarurumon raised his hand, "Ready…attack!"

            The Undead digimon simply smacked his palms together, creating a wave of pressure so powerful that it sent the digimon and their human partners flying off of the dock and into the hard concrete of DATS restricted area. Shiro, Yasu, Jyou and Eliane were back on their feet, but the other were clearly injured. Akira was struggling to stand, the force had apparently broken his artificial legs-his real legs lost to the BD-2 infection. The others were not so lucky, Sora's artificial leg appeared to be intact, but she was certain she had either pulled her leg muscle, or her dislocated her hip, Noriko had landed on her head, and could not move at all, Yamaki was certain he had broken his arm and possibly a rib, and Hikari knew her left shoulder was possibly shattered.

            Shiro glared up at Dexdorughoramon as he hovered overhead. Yasu grabbed him tightly, "Oniichan, I'm scared!"

            The blond boy could only hug his sister.

            The Undead digimon began to inhale deeply, ready to execute some sort of exhalation attack, when Chiaka's voice once again sounded over Locomon's speakers. "Master!"

            "This had better be important," he growled.

            "I just got word from Shinji, he has Asami Yamaki!"

            Hikari and Yamaki gasped. "What?"

            Dexdorughoramon stared down at Locomon's cab, "Truly?"

            "Yeah, she's being taken to the base right now."

            He laughed again and stared down at the DATS agents. "Where's my daughter?" Hikari demanded, fighting through the pain to stand, "Where is she?"

            "Do not fear, no harm will come to her. With her and my new power as Dexdorughoramon, I will destroy the Agent of Destruction, the defense of the Creators, and touch the face of God!" He roared with laughter, "And since I am feeling generous this day, you shall live, but, to show you a portion of my power…"

            His eyes settled on Locomon. He exhaled deeply, sending a geyser of red flames into the mechanical digimon. He was instantly overcome with flames so intense that Chiaka's screams could not be heard as she and Locomon's data vanished.

            The DATS team was too in shock to respond, so Dexdorughoramon simply waved his hand before shooting into the sky. Using his Flail, he opened a Digital Gate and vanished inside before it closed.

111

            Lord Sentry sat behind his desk and watched with amused interest as the hands on the Timepiece of Asuka spun violently.

            Elsewhere in the Hunter's Base, Masa's mother sat on her bed, staring at a photograph of a brown-haired young man and his younger sister. "_Juukeitei…Juushi…_I am sorry…"

_Next: Departure_

Author's note: The different memories of Kasumi will become important later.

And the digivices _do_ remain-Takeru's, Ken's, Juri's they were all still there even after their partners were killed.

Well, finally at the second story arc and the middle of the story. It's going to get more interesting, so I hope you stick with it.

Please enjoy and don't forget to review.


	20. Depature: Chapter 1

_My name is Taichi Yagami, I am the Vice-Minister of Digital Affairs for the Ministry of Defense of the Japanese Government, as such, I am in command of the Digital Accident Tactics Squad, or DATS. But, I am also the supreme commander of most Chosen on the planet. _

_I became a Chosen when I was only six years old. Me and my four-year-old sister, Hikari, saw a Koromon come out of our father's computer. We took care of it, but it evolved to Greymon and fought another digimon, Parrotmon. Six more children saw that battle: Yamato Ishida, Takeru Takaishi, Koushiro Izumi, Mimi Tachikawa, Jyou Kido, and Sora Takenouchi._

_            Three years later, I went to soccer camp and met Sora. I was nine years old, so at that age girls still had cooties, you know, but Sora was pretty cool. I was happy when I found out she was going to be in the same summer camp as me the next year. That's where we all met the other kids, Koushiro and I became friends, while Yamato and I didn't really like each other. We were pulled into the Digital World, and met our digimon partners. We learned we were the Chosen Children, chosen to save both Earth and the Digital World. I thought it was pretty cool, I was like all those magna heroes! _

_            One of our enemies, Myotismon, invaded Earth to search for the Eight Chosen Child. It turned out to be my sister, Hikari, but during that search, Myotismon turned the city upside down. We were able to defeat him, but he caused so much damage, and most of those children that were involved became the second group of Chosen: Daisuke Motomiya, Miyako Inoe, Iori Hida, Ken Ichijoji. Then, directly afterwards, a rip appeared, sending digimon all over the planet, and more children were chosen: Michael Barton, Catherine Rupert, Maria Silvano, Anna Danika, among others. _

_            Things did calm down for the next few years, but we soon became tangled in a mess with a human called Yukio Oikawa. He was possessed by Myotismon's spirit and he infected a group of children with a Dark Spore, including Noriko Kawada, Hiroshi Shibya, Keiko Shingu and Takashi Yuuske. After defeating Oikawa, they joined the Odaiba Chosen with us. We all graduated from high school, some of us entered university, we were moving on with our lives._

_            Of course, our lives can never be easy. We're not sure exactly how it started, but we think that a computer virus mutated in the Digital World. It affected Chosen and their digimon partners alike, its symptoms-complete destruction of a body. It ate all the data, and since Chosen are part data, their bodies began to vanish before their eyes. Koushiro Izumi created an X-antibody to cure those Infected Chosen, but only ten percent of the population was compatible. Yamato, Jyou, Mimi, Michael, Hikari and me were among those given X-digimon, but Daisuke, Miyako, Iori, Ken, Koushiro and Takeru were killed by the Second Black Death, while Sora, Noriko, Hiroshi, Keiko and Takashi were infected. But because their partners couldn't stand to be on Earth for long without the energy of the Digital World, cities in that world became populated by sick and dying Chosen. It seemed like we were about to face extinction._

_            But then she appeared, Chihi Miayag, the High Priestess of the God of the Digital World. She began to convert the dying Infected Chosen, including Tatum, Sam, Hiroshi, Keiko and Takashi, curing them and evolving their partners to the Dark Masters. They began conquering cities for their Digital God._

_            Maria and Noriko, upset over their friends' betrayal, came back to Tokyo, where the X-Chosen began to protect them. But more Infected Chosen girls were target by a group calling themselves the Demon Lords. Lynna Jeffry, Anna Danika, Keeya Genet, Iduia Ramiro, Catherine Rupert, along with Maria, Noriko and Sora, were discovered to be descended from the legendary First Chosen. The Demon Lords, all evil duplicates of Chosen that had died, gathered the energy of these Daughters of the First to destroy the Digital World so they could remake it in their own image. But, we X-Chosen managed to kill them all before they could, but the Digital World was still gone._

_            Miayag, not believing that the time for her Digital God to arrive was at hand, entered the mysterious world revealed by the destruction of the Digital World. We X-Chosen followed, and confronted the truth, Miayag was just tricked, her 'God,' was really a demon vampire, GranDracmon, who planned to use her to conquer the Earth._

_            Even more surprising, Miayag was really the cousin neither Hikari or I ever met, Megumi Seisou. We were all the grandchildren of Yuushi, the leader of the First Chosen. During our fight with GranDracmon, Catherine, Maria, Keeya and Iduia were killed. Me and Yamato, using the Katana of Hidokoro and the Shotguns of  Lucien, two more First Chosen, absorbed the energy for all of the Daughters of the First, evolved to Omegamon X and defeated GranDracmon._

_            Our problems still continued. Juro, the Fallen First Chosen, grabbed his Flail of Chance and planned his revenge against us, the descendents of the First Chosen. He joined with a reneged Hypnos scientist, Kurata, to create a Digital Gate, but it malfunctioned, and both were pulled into the void. The leader of Hypnos, Mitsuo Yamaki, was actually the long-time boyfriend of Hikari. With his help, we were able to create DATS._

_            I graduated with a degree in political science and became a politician, and with Mitsuo's help, was appointed to the Japanese Diet before being appointment to the Prime Minister's cabinet. I married Sora, and we had two children, Kasumi and Akira. Yamato and Noriko married and had two children of their own, Shiro and Yasu. Jyou married his long-time girlfriend, Kiku, and had a son, Kenji, and Hikari and Yamaki had a daughter, Asami._

_            Things were peaceful for the next ten years, pretty much just renege Chosen that tried to use their power to hurt others. But then, something mysterious happened, the Digital World reformed._

_            We, along with Mimi, Michael, and their children, Gabe and Lizzie, went to investigate Neodigital. We encountered more Demon Chosen. They referred to themselves as the Demon Generals, led by a mysterious Master. One of their members, Shinji, implanted my daughter, Kasumi, with the Gift of Demons, with the promise that if she used it, she would become like them._

_            Kasumi, jealous of Gabe and Shiro's possession of First Chosen weapons: the Gauntlets of Water and the Lance of Darkness, Akira and Yasu's power of the First Chosen, and Asami's appearance, felt insignificant, but still wouldn't use the Gift to get what she wanted. But when the Hunters Mixcoatl, the half-brother of Maria, possessing the Spear of Earth, attacked, she used the gift and became a Demon, and her Yuki Agumon partner evolved to Orochimon. _

_            The Demons then invaded Tokyo. Yamato and I weren't even able to help, we were injured by the Hunters Artemis and Orion, and then we made our injuries worse by attacking the Hunters' leader, Lord Sentry. Gabe was able to free Kasumi, but Shinji captured Asami. Worse, the Demon Master, revealing himself as the great-grandson of Juro, stole the Flail of Chance from DATS command._

_            It appears that the Demon Master has what he wants, and we're stuck here on Earth. _

--

_Departure_

_Chapter 1_

--

            Taichi gently knocked on his daughter's door. "Kasumi?" When he did not receive a response, he slowly crept insides. Kasumi was lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling. Yuki Agumon was seated on the floor, her back against the bottom of the bed, her head hanging low. Taichi left Agumon X to handle the white digimon while he approached his daughter. "Hey, how are you feeling?"

            "How do you think?!" she snapped. She then began to cry. Taichi forced her to sit up and he hugged her tightly. He felt his eyes become moist; he held her tightly, never wanting to let her go, afraid that if he did, she would leave again.

            "Dad…I can't breathe…" she said in a soft voice.

            Taichi released his bear hug, and Kasumi fell back onto the bed. "You should have kept squeezing, I don't deserve to live."

            Her father could not believe his ears, "Don't say that!"

            "Why? It's true." She turned her head to look out her window, portions of the city were in ruing, thanks to Blimpmon's attack. "Look! That's my fault!"

            "No, it isn't! You didn't do it, the Demons did!"

            "Dad, I _am_ a Demon!" She showed him a handful of her blond hair, "See! See!"

            "Your appearance doesn't…"

            "Then what about Asami?" she interrupted, "It was my fault!"

            "We're gonna get Asami back. As soon as this Cabinet meeting over and your uncle Mitsuo's ready."

            This seemed to make her feel better, but she still kept staring out the window. Taichi slowly exited, closing the door behind him. Sora and Piyomon were waiting.

            "How is she?" Sora asked.

            Taichi sighed deeply. "She blames herself for what happened."

            "I'm going to talk to her," Sora said.

            "I don't think that's going to do any good," he sighed, "Right now she just needs to be alone."

            "But…"

            "He's right," Agumon X said, "She and Yuki Agumon just need some time by themselves right now."

            Piyomon nodded slowly. "If you think that's best."

            Taichi looked at his watch, "Well, I'd better get going. You guys are gonna be at the hospital, right?"

            Sora nodded. "Yeah."

            "I'll call you later." He kissed her on the cheek, "Bye."

111

The Prime Minister called a special session of his Cabinet following the attack on the city. The Minister of Infrastructure was reporting, "…the damage to the city hasn't been calculated yet, but it is estimated to be in the billions. Tokyo Electric has managed to restore power, but with the lost of one of the facilities, the others have to…pick up the slack, so to speak, this will skyrocket prices. Not to even mention the loss of life."

Taichi Yagami sat within the seat, his eyes carefully studying each of the other members. They were staring back, their faces a mixture of fear and suspicion. "_Do they think I had something to do with it?"_

            The Prime Minister nodded. "Yes, I understand." He glanced to Taichi, "Do you have any leads?"

            Taichi sighed, "We believe the entire incident was a plan to steal an item from DATS headquarters."

            "Really?" another Minister asked, "So, they were after _you?"_

"Uh, um…"

            The Prime Minister sighed, "I believe that part of the problem is the lack of…knowledge, I suppose, of DATS agents to call for such an emergency."

            Taichi flinched, "Um..if _you_ want to know…"

            "I think it should be more then just that," he replied.

            He hesitated. "I…um…"

            He sighed deeply. "In addition, I feel it may be best to re-examine DATS operations."

            "W…what?"

            "The public will be looking for blame," he explained, "and it may be best to determine where to place that blame, so to speak. While the investigation is occurring, I'm afraid that DATS will be…temporarily suspended."

            Taichi blinked, "What? Sir, a…a DATS agents is being held in the Digital World! We have to put together a team to save her!"

            He hesitated for a long while, "I am sorry. As of now, this session is closed."

            The Ministers rose from their chairs and began to exit. Taichi was the last to leave. Before he exited, the Prime Minister called to him and told him to the close the door."I want you to know," he said, "That this is not my decision. I am being pressured by other Ministers, as well as the Diet. They want to know why they have been spending money on DATS, if when the threat came, they couldn't stop it."

            Taichi was about to speak, but the Prime Minister cut him off. "As of now, DATS is suspended, and the investigation will not happen for a few days, so government agents will be monitoring your building to make sure you're still not operating. But, they probably won't get there until the day after tomorrow, so if you were to make a dive…"

Taichi just nodded slowly. "Well, unfortunately, most of my agents are injured. I was going to call for help from the other countries, but that would take too long."

The Prime Minister nodded. "I can hold them off for just a week, maybe a little more. Whatever you need to do, you had better do it. I'm sorry?"

Taichi just nodded and limped carefully on his cane as he trailed in the rear. After he entered the limo, he grabbed his cellphone. A woman's voice answered on the other, "Hello?"

            "Hi, it's me."

            "Well?" Sora asked, excitingly.

            Taichi sighed. "We may have a problem. How's it going over there?"

111

            Sora glanced around the hospital room in which she was standing. "Well, Mitsuo's okay, just a little sore, but Hikari…" She stared at the brown-haired middle-aged woman, whose left arm and shoulder were being fitted for a cast, "…it's not just her arm."

            "Yeah," Taichi frowned, thinking of his niece. He shook that thought from his mind for the moment, "What about the others?"

            "Well…" Sora glanced over to where Noriko was seated, Jyou moving a pen in front of her face. The woman's eyes followed each movement exactly.

            "Good," Jyou said, "I think we can say that you won't have any long-term affects from the trauma to your head when you landed.

            "Yeah," her Plotmon said with a smile, "Luckily she landed on the part that won't do that much damage, right Noriko?"

            Noriko glanced down at her, then at Jyou and Yamato. "Who are you? And who's Noriko?"

            Yamato sighed, rolling his eyes. "You're not nearly as funny as you think you are."

            She glared at him, crossing her arms. "Well, maybe I really _should_ forget."

            "Noriko's fine," Sora said into her cellphone.

            Kenji had been watching from the doorway. He examined each of the adults before slowly walking away.

111

Kasumi was lying on her bed, staring up at her ceiling. She had been in that position since yesterday morning, she was tired, but she could not even sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she could only see herself hurting her friends. As those memories began to dance across her mind, her heart began to race and she began to shake.

            "Kasumi?"

            She turned to see her partner, lying motionless on the floor. "I can't take it anymore."

            "What?" the girl asked.

            "I can't take it, everything we did!"

            Kasumi sighed, "Yeah, I know." Tears began to form in her eyes, "I know…."

            There was a knock on the door. The teenage girl quickly dried her eyes and opened the door to see a blond haired-girl with a large bag in her arms. "L…Lizzie?"

            "Hi!" she said cheerfully, placing the bag down on Kasumi's desk.

            "W…what are you doing here?"

            "Well," the other girl said cheerfully, "Gabe told me that your hair didn't turn back."

            Kasumi grabbed a handful of her blond hair and stared at it, "Yeah, so?"

            Lizzie held up a small box from inside the bag, "So, let's dye it!"

            "I…I don't know…"

            She grabbed the other girl's hands and dragged her to the kitchen. "Come on."

            Lizzie threw a plastic cover over Kasumi's torso, leaving her head free, before forcing it into the sink, where she began to soak it with water. As she scrubbed and washed the blond strands, she took a deep breath, "So, do you want to talk about it?"

            Kasumi winced, but she forced a smile. "Talk about what? Everything's fine."

            Lizzie sighed, "You know, you _can_ talk to me."

            "Why are you even asking?"

            The other girl just shrugged. "Well, Akira told me that you usually talk to Asami, and since…well…I…I figured that since I was closer to your age then Eliane and Yasu, you might want to talk to me."

            Kasumi hesitated. "I…" she sighed, "I…I just feel like…" she sighed again, "…like shit. Everyone gonna hate me."

            "We don't hate you," Lizzie said with a smile, "We all know why you did it, don't blame yourself so much."

            "But…"

            "Don't, okay?" she said again. She rinsed the soap from Kasumi's hair, then dried her hands. "Okay, now for the hair dye."

            Kasumi eyed the blond girl cautiously. "Uh, you do know what you're doing, right?"

            "Yeah, I dye my mother's hair all the time. It'll just be like at the salon."

            She was silent for a moment. "Okay…"

            Lizzie stared at her. "You never went to a hair salon before?"

            Kasumi slowly shook her head. "No."

            "Really?" the other girl gasped, "Wow…who cuts your hair?"

            "Mom does," she replied.

            "And you never thought about dying it before? Jeeze, you never went with any of your girlfriends?"

            She shrugged. "I'd rather play soccer with Shiro then go with Asami or Yasu."

            Lizzie smiled, "Well, whatever, I guess. This is gonna be your first time."

            In the living room, the two digimon were watching television. When a commercial came on, Alruamon turned to Yuki Agumon. "So, um…what was it like?"

            The white dinosaur looked to the ground, "It…was horrible. I…I had no control over myself. It was like watching a movie…" She shook her head, "I wanted to stop, but I just couldn't…"

            Alruamon smiled and hugged her friend, "It'll be okay, I promise."

111

As soon as Sora opened the door to her apartment, her ears perked when she heard Kasumi laughing. She dropped her shopping bags and even forgot to remove her shoes as she charged into the kitchen. When she saw Kasumi seated at the table, a towel wrapped around her head, laughing along with Lizzie, she nearly broke into tears of happiness.

            "Mom," her daughter gasped, "H…hi…"

            "Kasumi…!"

            Her daughter began to blush. "Mom, we…uh…"

            Lizzie blushed as well. "Mrs. Yagami, sorry we used your sink for…"

            Sora glanced at the sink, which appeared to be stained in a brown color. "No, that's fine…" She could barely contain her emotions, "I'm…I'm just happy to see that you're smiling." She ran to grab her groceries and walked back into the kitchen, "Lizzie, do you want to stay for dinner?"

            "Um…yeah, thanks."

            Kasumi scratched her head, "How much longer do I have to keep this thing on?"

            "A little while yet," Lizzie replied, "Just relax."

            "Your father probably won't be home tonight," Sora sighed.

            "What?" Kasumi gasped, "I thought he was getting out of the hospital…"

            "He is," Sora replied, "But he's going to at the office." She frowned.

            "Why?" Yuki Agumon asked, "What happened?"

            Sora frowned, "It's…" she sighed, then smiled, "It's nothing to worry about. Now, how would you guys like pizza?"

            "Really?" Kasumi asked, "But, it's the middle of the week, you never let us…"

            The redheaded woman hugged her daughter, "But you're back, that's why it's so special."

            "Yeah, but…Asami…"

            Sora winced, then stared at the floor. She had forgotten about the capture of her niece, being overwhelmed with excitement at her daughter's happiness. "Right, yeah…"

            Yuki Agumon glanced at everyone, "Wait, we can still have the pizza, right?"

            Sora gently rubbed the dinosaur's head, "Yeah, I guess."

            "Aren't we going to go look for her?" Kasumi asked, "I told Dad where the Demon's base is!"

            Sora opened the freezer door and stared inside. "Um…we'll talk about it later, okay?"

            The girls and their partners stared at one another. "Mom…?"

            A small egg timer began to buzz. "Oh!" Lizzie gasped, "Kasumi, your time's up."

            "Really?" The teenage girl reached up and pulled the towel from her hair. Long brown locks fell around her shoulders.

            "Wow," she gasped, "It…it worked!"

            "Of course," Lizzie replied, handing her a mirror. She stared at her face, "Well, except for my eyes, I look…normal…"

            "We can get contacts or something," Sora smiled. Her daughter was happy, she was going to do whatever she could to keep her that way.

            Unfortunately, her hair began to grow lighter and lighter, until the dark brunette was replaced by bright blond. Kasumi frowned, dropping the mirror, "I'm gonna look like this forever….This damn Gift of Demons is stronger then the fucking X-Antibody!"

            Sora frowned, as her daughter stared at the floor, defeated. "Oh Kasumi…"

111

Taichi's boss, the Minister of Defense, Watanabe, joined the adults as they sat in a conference room of the DATS hospital. Taichi told them of the Cabinet and Diet's investigation.

            "They're shutting down DATS?" Yamaki gasped.

            "What's going to happen to my hospital?" Jyou demanded.

            Watanabe raised his palm, "As long as I am the Minister of Defense, they will not close DATS. As of right now, they are simply investigating it." He turned to Jyou," And your hospital will remain open."

            "And what about my daughter?" Yamaki shouted.

            Watanabe looked to the ground, "The Prime Minister has said that he can hold off the investigation for a few days, and I can give you a few more, but until then, DATS will be closed."

            "But Asami's been kidnapped!"

            "We could make a dive," Taichi said, "But…let's face it, we're a mess. We're in no condition to do any kind of mission. It was my plan to bring Michael, Mimi, Dingo, Anna and the rest here to go after her, but that would take too long. By the time they get here, government agents will be swarming all of DATS."

            Hikari spoke up, "And by the time everything's all sorted out, Asami will be d…" She broke down in tears, comforted by her husband.

             Taichi sighed again. "It gets worse, the Ministry of Finance wants a list of all DATS agents."

            "What?" Noriko gasped, "But…that's classified!"

            "Not to the government."

            "But…I don't want everyone to know I'm a DATS agent!" she gasped, "I'm just a housewife!"

            "Thinks goes beyond you," Taichi replied, "Our careers will be practically over, our children won't be allowed in schools. We might be okay if the government decides to keep funding DATS, but any chance of a normal life will be over."

The room fell silent. Watanabe cleared his throat, "I do have a plan, a…last ditch effort, if you will."

            "What?" Taichi asked.

            "Let's just leave it at that for now. The real problem is how you're going to rescue young Asami."

            Sora frowned, thinking of her niece, "We're going to need a miracle."

            Unknown to them, Kenji had been silently watching from a door that was cracked open.

111

It was quiet at the Yagami apartment. Kasumi and Yuki Agumon had managed to fall asleep, but it was far from rest. Their dreams were overflowing with memories of their past deeds, their battle against the DATS agents.

            Kasumi's eyes twitched beneath her eyelids, her dreams overwhelming her. Six of her demon personalities were overwhelming her, while the seventh, the Pride-Kasumi, was off to the side, roaring with laughter. "We're still here," she sneered, "You can never get rid of us!"

            She woke with a start, sweat pouring down her face. She threw her fists into the bed, tears in her eyes. "Damn it! I…I can't, I just can't…."

            She slowly climbed out of her bed and crept into the kitchen. Entering the kitchen, she grabbed one of her mother's knives.

            "Kasumi?"

            Turning she saw Yuki Agumon standing in the doorway. "Yuki, what are you…"

            The white dinosaur mentioned to the knife. "If you do that, what's going to happen to me?"

            "I…I don't know…" She waited for her partner to protest, to stop her, but when Yuki Agumon said nothing, Kasumi slowly put the knife to her wrist…

            "Kasumi!"

            She dropped the knife and spun to see Akira standing in the hall. "Kasumi, what are you…?" His eyes drifted to the utensil, a wave of fear washing over his face ,"No….no!"

            He charged at his sister and knocked the knife from her hand. It knocked into the floor, cutting a small hole in the tile. "What are you doing? Kasumi, don't!"

            She stared at him, amazed at how grown-up he could act, he knew exactly what she was doing. Why did she stop him? Wouldn't it be better if she wasn't there anymore?

            He was staring at her, he expected an answer. "Go away!" she snapped, "Just leave me the hell alone!"

            "I'm not leaving you alone if you're just gonna…gonna kill yourself!" He was starting to panic, tears forming in his eyes, "Kasumi!"

            The teenage girl stared down at her brother, she stared at his face, his tears. "I…I was just getting a snack, jeeze."

            "What?"

            She lifted the knife from the ground and grabbed an apple from the basket that was hanging near the sink. She cut the piece of fruit in half. "See?" she said.

            Akira narrowed his eyes. "Y…you were?"

            She nodded. "Yeah, jeeze, calm down." Once she finished the apple, she put the knife into the sink, "I'm going back to bed."

            She and Yuki Agumon returned to their room, and shut the door. Kasumi slid down the wall until she landed on her rear. She was beginning to shake, tears falling down her face. Yuki Agumon snuggled closer to her, and she hugged her partner tightly.

111

Shiro sat at the desk in his room, his history textbook lay open before him.. He stared at the words on the page, but his mind kept wandering. He was happy Kasumi was back, but he thought of Asami; why was it she was taken and no one else?

            He sighed deeply and closed the book. He grabbed a pad of paper, the pages were covered with sprawling notes and words. "Okay," he said to himself, "The Demons want Asami, it must have to do with whatever they tested her for, but me and Yasu were tested too. The three us have something in common, but what?"

            He examined his notepad, "The most obvious power Asami would have would be Fate, her mother, uncle and cousin all displayed it at one point or another, and her grandfather _was_ Yuushi, but me and Yasu aren't descended from Yuushi…but maybe we could be…"

            He flipped to a page where names and dates were written. He had been researching his family tree, his father was born in 1988 to Hiroaki Ishida and Natsuko Takaishi. Hiroaki was born in 1966, nothing seemed odd about his family line.

            However, Natsuko's family tree did have information missing. She was only 16 when she gave birth to Yamato, she was born in 1972, _her_ father was born in 1944, but her _mother_, Evette, was born in 1950. The tales he heard were that she was a strong-willed, spirited woman who left home early, so not much is known about her parents. Yuushi could be her father, but it was unlikely. Yuushi would have only been 16, possible, but not probable. Plus, Natsuko's father looked exactly like Takeru, so he was definitely her real father. So, unless Yuushi had the ability to change sex and was really Natsuko's mother, the answer was not in her family, and Yamato's father was too old for either of his parents to be Yuushi. Also, Noriko's father's family history was solid, and her mother was Chinese, Yuushi was Japanese.

            He sighed deeper and lay back in his chair, running his heands through his hair. This was a dead end, there had to be another reason why he, Asami and Yasu were test. What did they…

            He suddenly gasped, sitting up in his seat. Could it be that simple? He needed more information…the _Codex_, that would have what he needed.

111

Akira was staring at his sister during breakfast. The apartment was silent, Taichi, Sora and their partner obviously had something on their minds that they did not want to tell their children, but the redheaded boy seemed to care less. He was watching her suspiciously, she seemed okay, but…

            "When are you going to rescue Asami?" Kasumi finally asked.

            Taichi and Sora glanced nervously at one another. "Don't worry about that," Taichi replied.

            "But…"

            Sora glanced at the clock, "Hey, isn't it time for you to meet the others?" Her children glanced at one another, then left to table to pull on their shoes. Once they were gone, Sora fell into one of the chairs. "What are we gonna do? We have to tell them."

            "N…not yet," he sighed, "I'll think of something."

111

Kasumi and Akira gathered at the small where they were going to meet the others. They sat in the food court, their partners disguised in the usual trench coats. "I'm gonna look for the others," Akira said.

            Kasumi just nodded. The redheaded boy stared at her for a moment, then slowly left. The teenage girl and her partner stared at the ground, motionless. A group of teenagers from Kasumi's class walked past, as they did, one of the boys, Shou, caught sight of her.

            "Hey."

            "Hi," she responded.

            He moved closer, "Are you new around he?"

            Kasumi adjusted her sunglasses. "_Is he coming on to me?"_

            "Cause I haven't seen you in school."

            "You picked a bad time to move here," one of the girls, Ami, added, "A digimon attacked and destroyed a power plant or something. We won't have school for at least a week."

            She just nodded.

            "So," Shou continued, "What's your name?"

            _"He _is_ coming on to me!"_

            "Hey Kasumi," Akira's voice sounded, walking over with the others. When he saw the group of teenagers, they stopped. Ami stared at Kasumi and started to laugh."Oh my god! Yagami dyed her hair!"

            Another girl joined in the laughter, "Is that where you were last week? Getting a makeover? Well, you still look like trash!"

            "Hey!" Lizzie snapped, "Leave her alone!"

            "Yeah!" Yasu growled. Eliane stood beside her as well.

            Ami rolled her eyes, "Whatever. Let's go."

            The teenagers began to leave, not even Shou looked over his shoulder. "_Wow_," Gabe thought, _"I guess no one really likes her."_

            The group sat down. "Well," Gabe said, "What'ja wanna see us about?"

            Kenji sighed, "They're not going after Asami."

            "What?" Gabe shouted.

            "That can't be," Shiro added, "They have to!"

            The older boy shook his head. "No, I heard them."

            "Yeah, he was spying," his Shellmon said from beneath his jacket.

            Kenji gently kicked him and continued, "They can't go after her because they're going to shut down DATS."

            "What?" the group shouted.

            Kenji waved down at the table, "Keep it down." He sighed, "The government is angry because we couldn't stop Blimpmon's attack on the city. They want to know why they're paying for something that couldn't do the job when it needed to."

            "Fucking politicians," Gabe muttered.

            "Hey," Akira said, "My _Dad's_ a politician."

            "Yeah, sorry, but what about Asami?"

            Kasumi had remained silent, staring numbly at the table. Asami had given herself up to save _her_, it was her fault. Her cousin was captured because of her…

            "We'll do it!"

            The others stared at her. "What?" Yuki Agumon asked.

            "We'll go save Asami," she replied.

            The others simply continued to stare at her. "Look," she said, "We've been to Neodigital before, _I_ know where they probably took Asami, we can do this!"

            "We'll need supplies," Shiro said.

            "We can get them."

            "It's gonna be dangerous," Yasu said.

            "So, who cares? We've been in danger before, right?"

            "No, she's right," Gabe said, "We've got to save Asami, if we don't, who will? By the time they figure what to do about DATS, she could be killed, or worse….We have to do it!"

            "Yeah," Lizzie grinned, "Let's go!"

            The group began to cheer and nodded. Kenji stared at them, a group of teenagers that worked together many times before, but that was always with an adult in charge. Could they really become the team the First Chosen and their parents were?

            He cleared his throat, "We're going to need a leader or something."

            Kasumi was going to respond, but stopped herself, "Yeah, we will…"

            Gabe nodded as well. "Yeah…" Both teenagers stared at one another, then twisted away.

            Kenji sighed, "I assume the two of you want the job?"

            "Yes!" they both shouted at once.

            "Fine," he sighed again, "Anyone else?" He glanced at the other teens, "Please?"

            "What about you?" Shiro asked.

            He shook his head, "Nah, I don't think that's a really good idea. What about you?"

            "Yeah!" Yasu grinned, "Oniichan'll be great!"

            Kenji grabbed a stack of napkins from the table and ripped them into small squares of paper. He handed one to each of the Chosen and their digimon partners. "Now, write your choice on the paper, fold them and give it to me. And just remember, you can't vote for yourself."

            "So then why are we voting at all?" Gabe asked, mentioning to Shiro and Kasumi.

            "Hmm, good point."

            The three candidates rolled their eyes and crumbled their papers.

            The group quickly scribbled their votes and handed the folded papers to Kenji. He tallied the votes. "Okay, for Kasumi…"

            The girl looked hopeful.

            "…one vote."

            She snarled, and Gabe started to snicker. Kenji continued, "For Gabe…no votes."

            "What?" he gasped while Kasumi began to laugh even harder.

            "And for Shiro, nine."

            The blond boy blinked, then glanced around at the others. "Well, I don't know if…"

            "You'll be perfect," Yasu grinned, hugging him.

            "_Oui__,"_ Eliane nodded.

            Shiro sighed, nodding his head. "All right." He thought for a moment, "We're going to need supplies, we could be gone for a long time, so take as much as you can."

            They nodded.

            "Then we're going to get inside of DATS to use the Digital Gate." He glanced at Kasumi, "And you can show us where the Demon's Base is, right?"

            She nodded. "Yeah."

            "All right," Shiro nodded, glancing at his watch,  "It's ten thirty  now, let's meet in front of the mall at five o'clock tonight. "

            "What about our parents?" Akira asked.

            "Mom'll kill us," Kasumi shivered.

            Her younger brother stared at her, an image of last night in his mind. _"She seems okay now…maybe that was just…a one-time thing…or maybe because she wants to save Asami? I don't know, I'm not a doctor._"

            "_Your_ Mom'll kill you?" Yasu gasped, "You don't want to know what my Mom'll do."

            "Let's just leave them a note or something," Kenji suggested, "They would try to stop us."

            Shiro sighed, "I don't like that idea, but I see your point." He took a deep breath, "All right, let's go."

            They rose from their chairs and began to walk away. Kasumi turned to her partner. "Thanks for voting for me."

            "I didn't vote for you," Yuki Agumon replied, "I didn't know I could vote."

            Kasumi blinked. "You didn't vote for me? So who did…?"

            "Does it really matter?"

            "As a matter of fact, it does!"

111

When Gabe and Lizzie returned to the Yamaki apartment, Hikari and Plotmon X were lying on the couch, staring at the television. "Let's not disturb them," Lizzie's Alraumon whispered.

            "The t.v.'s not even on," Kotemon gasped.

            The two siblings glanced at one another, then Lizzie slowly approached. "Mrs. Yamaki?"

            Hikari spun around, it was clear that she had been crying. "Oh, hello. I didn't think you would be back so soon."

            "Yeah," Gabe said, "We just…"

            Hikari rose to her feet and walked into the kitchen. "Would you like something to eat?"

            "No…we're fine," Lizzie replied, pushing Gabe down the hall to enter the guest room. The teenager shook her head. "Poor Mrs. Yamaki…"

            Gabe clenched his fists. "We'll get her back, we have to!" He began to throw clothes into a backpack, "_I'm coming Asami, just hang on. I'll do whatever it takes, I _will_ save you!"_

111

Yasu was staring at the clothes on her bed. She examined a pair of jeans, then glanced at a pair of shorts. "What do you think?" She lifted both articles of clothing to show Eliane, "The pants or the shorts?"

            Before the French girl could answer, Yasu threw them onto the bed and mentioned to her usual outfit, "How about the skirt? Do you think it would be a good idea?"

            Eliane shrugged. "I don't know. You are not going to pack…uh…many clothes, are you?"

            "I don't know, why?"

            "Well, you will have to carry it all…"

            Shiro walked past his sister's room as he entered his own. "Ready?"

            Psychemon nodded, examining the backpacks on the floor, "Yeah, I think so. What did you get?"

            "Well," he sighed, "We don't really have any kind of refrigerator, so I just got cans."

Psychemon grimace as he examined one can, "I didn't know they made eggs in cans?"

            Shiro made a face, "Eggs in cans? Oh great, this is what we're going to be eating. I hope the others got at least some decent food."

111

Taichi and Sora were not home, so Kasumi and Akira were able to raid the cabinets with ease. As his older sister pulled bread from the cabinets, Akira watched cautiously, particularly when she approached the knifes. He wanted to talk to her about it, he really did, but he just could not find the words. They had not really even spoke since Gabe saved her…he wondered if she even thanked him, probably not.

            She was finished packing the bags and walked into her room. If he wanted to say anything, now was the time. He walked to the door and cautiously peeked inside, she was just throwing clothes into a backpack. "Um, Kas?"

            "What?" she asked.

            "I…um…"

            "What?" she asked again, obviously annoyed.

            He ignored her mood. "I…um…I'm glad you're back."

            She stared at him. "What?"

            "Um…I'm glad you're back to normal."

            She stared at him for a moment, then frowned. "I'm not back to normal." She mentioned to her blond hair, "I'm a freak, I'm still a Demon!"

            Akira hesitated a moment, "Well…you're still my sister, and…and…I don't want you to…y…you know…."

            She flinched, he must be talking about…"I…"

            "Do you want to talk about it?"

            She hesitated once again, "I…." She then smiled, "T..talk about what? Nothing's wrong."

            He blinked. "Kas, what are you…?"

            "Hurry up, we're gonna be late to meet the others."

            The younger boy sighed, then walked into his room to finish packing. Kasumi sat down on the edge of the bed and stared at the floor, images of her fighting the DATS agents running through her memory. Her guilt was almost overpowering, like pressure building under her skin, it was too much for her to take, she needed to release it.

            She was about to run to the kitchen, but she stopped herself, she thought about Asami, trapped and alone. She needed to be strong for her cousin, she _had_ to save her, she simply had to.

111

The group met up outside the mall as planned. They were all burdened by heavily stuffed backpacks. "How did we all do?" Kenji asked, "Clothes, food?"

            They all nodded. "I brought soap and shampoo," Lizzie added, "And washing detergent, just in case we get to a lake or something."

            "And I've got the medical equipment," Kenji added, mentioning to his backpack.

            Shiro nodded. "All right, let's take the train to DATS command. Hopefully we'll be able to get inside without needing to sneak in."

            Of course, he was wrong. When they reached the DATS command building, there were already government agents standing on the front steps, they were also guarding the port entrance, and there were even more of them around the train entrance, the one that had been destroyed by the battle between the DATS agents and the Demon Master. The teenagers had been travelling into that building since they could walk, and before that they were carried inside by their parents. They knew where every window, door and entrance was located. There was one window that could be opened from the outside-it had never closed properly, but it was on the fourth floor. They could have used their partners to access it, but that would have alerted the government agents. So, by climbing the drainage pipes and small ledges, they arrived at the window and easily opened it and entered. Once inside, they quickly arrived at the room containing the Digital Gate.

            "Okay," Shiro said, "Just give me a few minutes to get it going."

            The others sat around the room, eerily quiet. The silence eminated for a full five minutes before Gabe spoke, "Hey, how long is it gonna take?"

            "Almost there," their blond leader answered.

            "Gabe!" Lizzie snapped.

            "What? I was just asking a question."

            "He's doing his best!" his sister snapped.

            They were not aware, however, that Shiro was not loading the gate program, at least, not at the moment. He was currently accessing Reika Ootori's and Megumi Onodera's study of both Codexes, Machina and Digital. They had scanned the lines of text, and he was downloading them into his D-terminal. He did call up images of the digitized texts, specifically the passages on the First Chosen. He scanned the text quickly, until locating the passage he had been searching for; when he read those lines, his eyes jumped open in shock. He would have gasped, but he stopped himself, hiding his surprise.

            "Oniichan?" Yasu asked.

            He forced a smile, "Only a few more minutes."

            After locating the information he was seeking, he now activate the gate, which sprang to life in mere moments. "There."

            He grabbed his bag and walked to the glowing circle on the wall. He took a deep breath, but before he could speak, another voice spoke out, "And where do you think you're going?"

            The team spun around and saw Taichi, Yamato and their partners entering the room. "Dad?" Shiro gasped.

            "What are you doing here?" Akira asked.

            "I could ask you the same thing?" Taichi replied, crossing his arms, "Did you really think we weren't going to notice all that food missing?"

            "Don't try to stop us!" Kasumi yelled, "We're going to save Asami."

            Yamato simply smiled. "Who said we're going to stop you?"

            The teenagers looked surprised. "What?" Kenji asked.

            Taichi sighed. "Let's face it, we can't go, the government's going to be all over us. I might have to give them the identities of all DATS agents."

            Gabe stared at Kenji, "You didn't mention that!"

            "So," Taichi continued, "I might get called before the Diet, so I need to be here. Mitsuo'll probably need to go with me, I wouldn't trust Hikari to be in the Digital World right now. And if the government's looking into_ me_, they're going to be looking into Sora's buisness, and Yamato's and Noriko's, and Jyou's going to be under investigation too. We're not going to be able to leave."

            Yamato smirked, "Plus, you're still not cleared for active duty, right?"

            Taichi shot him a glare, "And what about you, huh?"

            The blond man grumbled, crossing his arms. "Yeah, yeah." He looked to the teenagers, "But the point is, we're not going to be able to do it, so you're going to have to."

            "And you think we can?" Shiro asked.

            "Yes," Taichi smiled, "We know you can."

            "What about Mom?" Kasumi asked.

            Taichi flinched, "Uh…we'll take care of your mothers."

            "Easy for you to say," Yamato whispered.

            "Just believe in yourselves," Agumon X added, "You all have more power then you think you do."

            Gabumon X nodded, "Just do your bests."

            Kasumi and Akira hugged Taichi, while Shiro and Yasu hugged Yamato. Lizzie frowned, "Our parents are in America…" She reached over and hugged her brother.

            "What are you doing?" Gabe gasped.

            "Just hugging you, it might be the last time," she hugged even tighter.

            "Stop it!" he shouted, trying to get out of her grip, "You're embarrassing me!"

            "I know," she grinned slyly.

            Kenji and Eliane stood off by themselves. He looked to the younger girl. "You don't want to hug or anything, do it?"

            She blushed and did not answer.

            The team gathered in front of the gate. "Just remember to stay in touch, "Yamato added.

            Taichi added, "We'll send reinforcements as soon as we can. Good luck."

            The teenagers gave a final wave before stepping into the light of the Digital Gate and vanishing from Earth.

            "Do you really think it was a good idea to let them go?" Gabumon X asked.

            "Yeah," Yamato said, wiping his eyes, "They can do it, their our children after all, right?"

            Taichi smiled, "Yeah, I can't think of anyone else better suited to the job." He sighed deeply, "_Kasumi, just believe in yourself."_

            They took one last look at the Digital Gate before slowly exiting, leaving the room in silence.

To be continued……

Author's Note: Now we enter the second arc. This chapter was originally going to have the kids fighting the DATS security, some kind of robots or something, but I dropped it.

            Kasumi is suicidal, her guilt is overwhelming her, but she's either too proud or too embarrassed to talk about it. Why didn't Akira tell anyone about Kasumi's attempt, he doesn't really know what to do, and part of him doesn't want to really believe that his sister could kill herself.

            Enjoy.


	21. Departure: Chapter 2

_

* * *

_

My name is Yamato Ishida, a member of DATS…at least, for the time being, DATS could very well be shut down soon. The Demon Master, Masanori, had the Demons attack Tokyo so he could get the Flail of Chance from DATS command. Taichi and Sora's daughter, Kasumi, was part of that attack, but Michael and Mimi's son, Gabe, was able to save her. But we couldn't stop the Demons from destroying a large portion of the city. The Diet blamed us, saying we didn't do our job properly, and now wants to investigate DATS. Taichi's the head of DATS, so he and Mitsuo had to stay on Earth, and the rest of the team was injured, so we're stuck here too. Our kids then snuck into the Digital World to save Asami, who was kidnapped by Shinji of the Demon Chosen.

_Departure:_

_Chapter II_

Yuuto of the Decima Demons ran through the darkness of the forest, in his arms was the unconscious Asami and Leormon. Shinji had handed the DATS girl and her partner to Yuuto to transport back to the Demon's Base while he battled against Gabe and the Hunters. Now, he was trying to reach that base before Shinji returned.

"I still don't understand why I couldn't just gate into the base," he wondered, "It was like a force field or something."

He continued to run along the path until he arrived at two large trees with black bark that were growing on both sides of the path. As soon as he passed between the trees, Asami's body began to glow and it seemed as though she and Leormon crashed into an invisible barrier. They fell out of the Demon's arms and fell to the ground.

"What?" he gasped. He lifted Asami and attempted to walk through the trees again, but while he passed through, she simply could not. He pulled on her arm, but she would not pass through the two trees.

"Damn," he frowned, "This is why I couldn't gate in, her power won't let her enter the boundary of our base."

He glanced over his shoulder, the base was still half a mile away. He was alone, he did not have a communicator, and he could not bring Asami with him into their boundaries. He stared at her, she and Leormon were unconscious. "I don't have a choice," he frowned. He took one last look at her before running towards the Demon's base.

* * *

When the DATS teenagers arrived in the Digital World, Eliane and her Mushmon could hardly contain their joy, "Zis is amazing!" the girl gasped, "Simply…I…I have never zeen anyt'ing zo…amazing!" She then began to speak in her native language. Mushmon responded in kind.

Yasu, wanting to practice her French, attempted to add to the conversation, but after she finished, Mushmon began to laugh. "What?" she asked in Japanese.

"Nothing," he giggled, "you just said that you were happiest when we were going to the world of computers."

"Mushmon!" Eliane snapped. She turned to her friend, "_Je suis désolé,"_ she apologized, "You just have not learned enough yet…"

Yasu did not seem convinced and was in a bad mood from embarrassing herself.

The others were gathering their supplies. Kenji looked around, "Where are we anyway?"

"This looks like Clotho," Kotemon commented.

"Light Continent?" Kasumi gasped, "We're supposed to be on the Dark Continent, that's where the Demons' Base is!"

"Sorry," Shiro said with a slight shrug, "My coordinates must have been off."

"Then let's move!" Kasumi shouted, hoisting up her backpack, "We've got to get to a port or something."

"Hey!" Yasu snapped, "You're not in charge, Oniichan is!"

She snarled at the younger girl, "Does _Oniichan_ have any better ideals?!"

"Well," Shiro said, rubbing his chin, "To get to the Dark Continent, we're going to need to cross the ocean."

"Ha!" Kasumi laughed.

"But we're gonna have to pay for it," Gabe added, narrowing his eyes.

"Pay?" she asked.

Psychemon nodded. "If we do get to a port, I'm sure the digimon there aren't going to take us to the Dark Continent for free."

"Then we'll just force 'em!"

"Force 'em?" Akira gasped, "Oneechan, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"We all want to get Asami back," Shiro said, "But we can't let the ends justify the means."

"What?" Kasumi asked.

The blond boy sighed, "Let's just go to the shoreline and check it out."

The pony-tailed girl grumbled and crossed her arms. _"You're doing this for Asami…you're doing this for Asami…your doing this for your only cousin_…"She sighed deeply, Asami was the sweetest, kindest girl in the world…far more likeable then Kasumi herself, and, as the newly-transformed Demoness thought back on the years, she realized she was never that nice to her younger cousin, teasing her and annoying her, but, she now realized, it was only because she was jealous of her. But no matter what, Asami still respected her and still did everything to save her. Kasumi held her head low, she deserved to be a Demon, that is what she really was…

She shook her head fiercely, she could not think like that, her parents had always taught her that it was never to late to change, she could make things right again…she _would_ make things right again. _"Asami, I'm coming."_

Gabe's head was focused firmly on the horizon in the distance, his eyes were burning with determination, his fists clenched tightly together. His family watched him with concern. "Hey, are you okay?" Lizzie's Alruamon asked.

"Fine," he growled.

His sister placed her hand on his back and pulled it back quickly. She could feel the tension beneath his skin, "I think you need to calm down a little, Big Bro."

"I am calm," he retorted.

"Oh, I…I see," she said, not knowing how to reply, "Um…"

"I am perfectly calm," he said again, "I'm going to save Asami!"

His sister sighed, "Gabe, I understand, but you can't do everything yourself!"

"I don't care about the danger, I'm going to save her!"

She sighed again, shaking her head. "There he goes again, it's like talking to a freakin' brick wall.."

Shiro stood at the head of the group, his mind wandering. He was the leader, he should be focusing on their mission, but his mind kept wandering back to the discovery he had made before they entered Neodigital. He was having a difficult time believing it himself, but he knew it was true. How was he going to tell the others?

* * *

When Yuuto returned to the Demon's Base, he quietly snuck into the Decima's quarters. When he entered his room, he found his partner seated on the couch, watching television. "Phelesmon!"

"There you are," the fire digimon replied, rising to his feet, "Why did you go to Earth and not bring me?"

"That doesn't matter right now," he whispered, "You've got to come with me, I left Asami Yamaki outside the…

"You left her there?" a female voice shrieked.

Yuuto turned to a girl that was dressed similar to all Decima females-a gray school uniform, in this girl's case, a sailor fuku."Hiroko," he said with relief, "I thought you were Yuuji."

"Yuuji is not coming back," she said with a slight grin, "Apparently she was killed by Kasumi Yagami."

"I knew that she would not remain under control for long," Yuuto said with a smile, "But what of Shinji?"

"He is speaking to the Master now," she replied, "Now, why did you leave Asami Yamaki…"

"She could not pass through the barrier to our land," he answered, "We have to grab her and attempt to bring her through before Shinji or the Master knows that I have returned. Are you with me sister?"

Hiroko nodded. "Yes, just let me find Lampmon."

"Just hurry."

Unfortunately, it was too late, the Demon Master had been listening from behind the closed door. Now, enraged, he kicked the door with such force that it flew from its hinges. Before Yuuto could speak, he leapt across the floor and wrapped his right hand around the lesser Demon's neck.

"Where is Asami Yamaki?"

Yuuto struggled to break free, his Phelesmon partner too afraid to move.

"Where is she?"

He struggled to speak, but no sound emerged. The Demon Master pulled Yuuto closer to his face, "Listen to me right now! That girl is the key to opening the gate, and you just _left her alone in the forest?_ If you don't bring her back here, I will hunt you down and _rip the skin from your bones!"_ He threw him into a wooden table, shattering it into splinters.

He glared at Hiroko, "Do not come back empty-handed!"

* * *

Unbeknownst to the Demons, Asami and Leormon had regained consciousness shortly after Yuuto left them in the dark forest. The teenager girl was glancing around, jumping at every sound. "W…where are we?"

"I don't know," her partner replied, "But we're in Neodigital…it doesn't smell like Earth."

"This is the D…Dark Continent?" she asked, holding her hands near her chest.

"Yeah."

"But…Shinji gave us to that other Demon Chosen, why are we here? This isn't the Demon's Base, is it?"

Her partner thought for a moment, "No, this doesn't look like it."

"Then why did he just let us go?"

"I don't know..do you want to wait to find out?"

The teenager girl shook her head, sending brown hair flying into her face, "No, but how are we going to know which way to….wait! I know!"

"What?"

Asami reached into the pocket of her skirt and pulled out her D-terminal. "Are you going to call someone?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm not getting a signal, but that doesn't matter. Dad made us download a map of Neodigital, remember? So…ah, here we go. The Light Continent is to east of us, so…"

She scanned the sky until she saw the sun dipping towards the horizon. Due to the darkness of the Dark Continent, it appeared to be behind a sea of dark clouds, but she could still see it. "Now my D-terminal's clock says that it's almost nighttime, so that means the sun is setting, so if the sun is setting…there," she pointed, "That must be west, so east is in the other direction."

"Wow," Leormon smiled, "I'm impressed, good work."

She just smiled, "Yeah, I'm not as smart as Shiro, but…"

"But nothing, let's just move!" her partner ordered as he began to run. The teenage girl nodded and ran after him.

* * *

Shiro and the others did find a port town along the shoreline. The digimon inhabitants were hospitable towards the humans, either that, or they just did not care. Money was money as far as they were concerned, thankfully they accepted the Japanese currency…probably to sell as an exotic item or something.

They found a hotel near the center of the town, but there were not many rooms left, so the boys had to crowd into one room, with the girls in the other. Gabe was not happy however…

"Nice and comfy," he said, almost in a sneer, "And while we're getting pampered, Asami's probably being torture!"

"I don't think so," Shiro said.

"What?"

"If they wanted someone to torture, why didn't the Demon Master take one of our parents when they fought him? I mean, Mr. Yamaki was there, he would certainly know more then Asami."

Gabe was not about to let the argument end. "Then she's probably already dead!"

"Why got to the trouble of kidnapping her?" Psychemon asked, "They want her alive for something, and they're probably going to at least give her a room and a bed until they get it."

Gabe just crossed his arms and stared out the window. Shiro placed a hand on his shoulder, "We all want to save Asami, but what good is it going to do us to travel in the middle of the night when we're tired as it is?"

The other boy sighed, "Yeah, I guess."

Meanwhile, in the girls' room, after throwing her bags onto a bed, Lizzie charged into the bathroom, where she saw a: sink, a toilet and a shower. "Yes!" she shrieked, "That was all I needed, I'm in heaven, oh…"

The other girls all rolled their eyes as they claimed their beds. Kasumi was nearest to the far corner, and she lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling, motionless. Yuki Agumon was lying beside her, her eyes already begin to droop. Nearest to the door were Yasu and Eliane. The French girl pulled off her shirt, revealing the red splotches along her back. Kasumi knew how uncomfortable it was to change for P.E. as it was, but Eliane would need to reveal her BD-2 infection to the rest of her classmates every time…Unless she went to a private school. Her family had money, so probably. Kasumi thought of the problems that Akira had to face and she even felt sorry for Yasu, who did not even have a right hand. She wished she could just save them, get rid of the BD-2, make them normal…

She found herself smiling slightly. Lately, she had been experiencing feelings she had not felt before…at least, not in this intensity. She knew about Eliane's problem, but when she thought of it, she knew she was supposed to feel sad, but…she did not _feel_ sad, but now…

But, she knew she was snapping at everyone, her temper seemed worse than before. Did she really change, or was it just fake, a way to overcompensate for being turned into a Demon?

"Hey Kas, do you want to get in there?"

She turned to see Lizzie emerging from the shower, wrapped in a robe and her head was wrapped in a towel. Kasumi shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

The other girl sat down on the bed next to hers and smiled comfortingly. "Still upset, huh?"

Kasumi sighed, "This is like a fucking nightmare that I just want to wake up from…" She sighed deeply.

Lizzie patted her shoulder, "I know, but, we'll get through this, we'll help you."

Kasumi shook her head. "No, it's…" She sighed again, "It's like this is it, like this is what my whole life has got me. Like…this isn't the real me. I'm so fucking confused right now, I have no idea who I really am!"

Eliane and Yasu had walked over to join the conversation. "Like ze real you is sleeping inside you?" the French girl asked.

Kasumi pointed at her, "Yeah, yeah, that's exactly it! How did you come up with that?"

Eliane smiled slightly, "_Without change, something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken."_

"Where'd ya get that?" Yasu asked.

She gave a slight nod of her head, "From ze book, _Dune._"

They all gave her blank expressions. "Maybe Oniichan would know it," Yasu suggested.

Yuki Agumon rolled her eyes, "A little melodramatic, aren't you?"

The teenage girl lightly punched her partner in the back of the head. "Hey, what was that for?"

"For your big mouth again."

"Oh yeah?" the white dinosaur asked, tackling her partner into the bed. Yasu and Labramon were giggling.

"This is funny?" Alruamon gasped.

"They do this all the time," Labramon replied, "So I guess it just means they're getting back to normal."

After the girls showered, they met the boys in the dinning area where a Bakumon in a apron waited on them. After placing their orders, they sat in silence around the table, everyone was too focused on their mission to speak. As a Floramon walked past, Kenji's Otamamon suddenly said, "Hey Kenji, remember Kara?"

"Kara?" Gabe asked.

"She was Kenji's girlfriend," Shiro answered.

"No she wasn't!" Kenji protested, "She was just a friend, all right?"

"What happened?" Lizzie asked. Suddenly, there was a conversation, and she was not about to let the silence returned, "Did you have a jilted love affair?"

Kenji stared at her, "No, I met her when I was an exchange student in America."

"Oh," the girl replied, somewhat sadly, 'So, there was nothing between you two?"

"No, we were just friends!"

"Yeah," Otamamon declared, teasing his partner, "Mr. Langelet's the one he wanted to kill."

"Langelet?" Yasu asked, recognizing the French name.

Kenji glared at him, "Why did you bring that up?"

Now the entire table was listening. "Who was he?" Akira asked.

Kenji sighed, glaring again at his partner, "Well, now that I _have_ to tell you." He kicked Otamamon beneath the table, "Mr. Langelet was one of the teachers I had when I was in America. "

"He was French?" Yasu asked.

"Canadian I think. Anyway, he wasn't really, um…"

"He was an ass," Otamamon interrupted, climbing back into his seat.

"Yeah, an ass," Kenji sighed, "He used to insult me because he thought I didn't understand English. Plus, he was one of those teachers that believed in 'jocks,' and 'nerds.'

"And you were a nerd," Kasumi said without thinking.

"What happened?" Shiro asked quickly, "You never mentioned him before."

Kenji closed his eyes, an image of Mr. Langelet-thin, with a nose like a vulture-being led to a police car…"Nothing, he was just an ass."

Otamamon knew when to push his partner, and when not to; this was a time to just let it be.

"I zaw Canada once," Eliane spoke up, "It was when my family was traveling through North America."

"So you were in the United States too?" Lizzie asked.

"_Oui,"_ she nodded, "Momma and Papa brought me zere every summer."

"You're lucky," Kasumi frowned, "Our parents don't take us anywhere."

"Dad never has the time," Akira sighed. He looked to Yasu, "Did you like America?"

She nodded. "_Oui,_ it was zo nice just to be away from…" She caught herself and stopped.

"Away from…?"

She hesitated, "I…um…"

The others stared at her. She sighed, "From ze other children." She closed her eyes, "Zey would tease me so awfully…"

"Because of your infection?" Yasu asked.

Eliane nodded. _"Oui._ Ze ot'er girls…zey…" She shook her head, tears coming to her eyes, "Zey would make me feel zo...zo…" She searched for the right word, "So ugly."

Her Mushmon stared at the floor, a sad look in his eyes.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Lizzie said.

Eliane sniffled, "And zose girls zat were nice to me…zey would go to ze beach, but I could never go, because I would near to wear a swimsuit, and…and sleepovers…and…" She began to sob. Yasu looked down at her missing arm, then hugged her friend.

"It's okay."

"And Momma and Papa…zey couldn't stand me either! I'm just an embarrassment to zem!"

The table gasped. "What?" Yasu exclaimed.

"Zey just left me here!"

"Oh Eliane," her Mushmon said, embracing her.

Yasu stared at Eliane, trying to think of what to say, but surprisingly, Kenji walked over to her. He placed at hand on the French girl's shoulder. "Hey, don't cry, all right? Your parents just brought you here so you could learn how to take care of Mushmon," he mentioned to her partner, who was hugging her tightly, "And maybe they just wanted your to make some friends that knew what you were going through."

She sniffled, her tears stopping, "R…really?"

"Sure," he smiled back, "We're all your friends."

Gabe nodded, "And our parents left us here too," he mentioned to Lizzie, "So we kinda know, you're just homesick, that's all."

The French girl chuckled slightly, "_Oui_, I guess…"

Lizzie giggled, "I know what will make you feel better, after we eat how about a chocolate sundae?"

The younger girl's eyes lit up. "Really?"

Akira stared at her, then at his sister.

"Something wrong?" Gabe asked, who was sitting next to him.

"That was what my Mom did when Kasumi was upset," he replied," What is it with girls and dessert? "

He shrugged. "Who knows."

"The same thing with boys and greasy burgers!" Yasu shouted from the other end of the table.

Gabe sighed slightly, "Yeah, yeah…" He placed a hand on Akira's shoulder, "Just take my advice when it comes to girls, flattery will get you everywhere." He moved closer to Akira's face and whispered, "Listen, if you want to get Eliane's attention like that, you should really said she's pretty or something."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you just heard her said how ugly she thinks she is, if you tell her she's not..well…" He flashed a quick smile.

"But…isn't that, like…"

"Like what…"

"Using her or something…?"

"Look, do you think she's ugly?"

"No…"

"Then how is that using her problems? First of all, you're just trying to make her feel better, and second of all, well…you're trying to make her feel better."

The younger boy nodded. "O…okay…Should I tell her now?"

"No…no! Make it romantic. Later tonight, take her on a date or something, watch the sunset, see the stars, that kind of thing."

"All right, I understand, thanks."

"No problem," Gabe said, leaning back in his chair, and exhaling deeply, "Yup, trust me, when it comes to women, I'm kind of an expert…"

Lizzie began to roar with laughter, "Yeah, okay, _Don Juan,_ when was the last time you even had a date? When the dinosaurs roamed the Earth? Ha ha ha!_"_

He made an annoyed expression, but said nothing.

* * *

Tsuragi could not help but chuckle when he saw Shinji in the infirmary, lying down on one of the beds. "So, I hear you had a little problem with Kasumi Yagami, huh?"

He glared at his rival, "I see Shigeru has quite a homely nurse."

The other Demon sneered, "Is that really the best you can do?" He glanced around, "So, where's Yuuji?"

Shinji smirked, "She fulfilled her duty."

Tsuragi stared at him. "You really are a heartless…"

Before he could continue, Araki entered. She was a teenage girl, around the age of the other Demons, with long brown hair and draped in a yellow dress with a bronze cape trailing behind her; her feet were covered by a pair of yellow heeled sandals. "Tsuragi, I see you're doing better."

He flexed his arm, "Yeah, thanks to you, Doc."

Araki turned to Shinji, "Now, for the results, your defeat from Orochimon damaged your body so much that the Gift of Demons has to work even harder to repair it, because of that, you man expearence transitions back to your real form."

Tsuragi began to laugh, "So, we'll be seeing more of that dainty…"

"I'm not that person anymore!" he snapped, "I am Shinji of the Demon Generals! He sat up and clenched his fist, "And once the secret of evolution is revealed through Kasumi Yagami, I'll be more powerful then anyone!"

Araki pushed him back down, "Until then, you need to relax and heal, understand?"

Shinji did not reply. The girl excused himself and returned to her private room. Masanori was waiting, "Hi, I wasn't expecting you," she smiled.

He shrugged, "I am Master, I go where I please."

Araki's smile grew, "I am eager to begin the extraction…"

"Those idiots have bungled this simple operation," he sighed, "Asami Yamaki has escaped."

"What?"

"Yuuto and Hiroko are searching now."

Araki was silent for a moment, "There may be another way."

The Demon Master blinked, "What? Explain."

"Shinji believes that the keys to ascension lie with Kasumi Yagami, and her Gift of Demons power is that of Decima, which has come from your own. Therefore, if he unlocks the secret, we may be able to use it to boost your own strength, rather then rely on Asami Yamaki to augment it."

"Shinji's way is a fool's path. Even if he is able to evolve, doing so without a force to contain it would result in near-mindless state. Even Gennai knew that when creating those crests, he knew Yagami and Ishida could not control their Mega digimon without them. However, we will keep an eye on his progress, maybe it will prove…useful." He smirked, "If nothing more than to turn him against the Agent of Destruction once the seal is broken." He frowned, "But we must hurry. Father is growing impatient."

* * *

When Yuuto arrived at the area where he had left Asami and saw that she was no longer there, he felt a wave of ice shoot up his spine. Hiroko sighed, "Your expression does not fill me with confidence."

"She was right here!" he gasped, "Damn it! Come, we must find her or…" He shivered at the thought.

* * *

It was just past midnight when Asami and Leormon had reached the shoreline of the Dark Continent. The brown-haired girl frowned as she stared across the waters. "I was hoping we would have found that Goblimon village…"

"Who care?" her partner asked, "We can just get to the Light Continent."

"How?"

They glanced around until they spied a wooden dock jutting out from the beach. They ran over and saw a small wooden stand with a wooden sign hammered into the ground, "TIRED OF FROGMON'S EXPENSIVE PRICES? WANT A BETTER FERRY FOR LESS? THEN RING THE BELL."

The girl and the digimon glanced at each other, then she gently clanged the clapper against the metal cylinder. A small pink mouse popped his head over the counter. "Chuumon?" Leormon asked.

The mouse stared at them. "What do you want?"

Asami was a little taken back, but answered, "Um, please forgive me, but we would like you to ferry us across the ocean?"

"Customers?" he gasped. He began to shuffle under the counter. He emerged later with a tea pot and two cups, "Have something to drink?"

Before they could respond, the Chuumon threw down onto the counter a large map. "So, where is it you want to go?"

They both studied the map. There was a large continent shaded with a dark coloring, complete with an image of a smiling Chuumon; they gathered that this was the Dark Continent. Asami pointed to another continent, one that was nearly white in color. "That one."

Chuumon nodded. "Right, right. I should be able to get you there for about…let's say, 2,000 yen?"

Asami blinked. "That's all?/Wait, how do you even know about the yen?"

"What are you talking about? We've always used the yen?"

_"This gets stranger and stranger,"_ she thought as she reached into the pockets of her denim skirt and emerged with neatly coins and folded bills, which she handed over. The Chuumon nodded.

"Great! One moment…" He whistled loudly and instantly they were covered by a large shadow as two Flymon descended, carrying a large basket between them, like a hot air balloon. When the basket had landed, the Chuumon jumped inside and mentioned with his hands, "Come on."

Asami and Leormon climbed inside as well and the Flymon took to the air. The small lion was laughing as the wind rushed over his fur. "Ha ha!"

Asami, however, was crouching inside the basket, her head buried in her knees. "Just tell me when it's over."

* * *

"How could you just let them go?" Noriko screamed.

Yamato glanced to the other parents, a helpless expression on his face, "Um, honey, listen, we…"

She was shaking her head, "They can't handle this alone!"

"They're more experienced then we were," he replied, mentioning to Taichi, Sora and Jyou.

"And they were the only hope to get Asami back," Taichi added.

Hikari frowned. "You shouldn't have sent them…what if they get hurt?"

Sora smiled warmly and placed a hand on the younger woman's shoulder, "Hikari, you don't have to worry, they'll be fine and sow will your daughter."

"They're stronger then you all think," Agumon X said.

Piyomon looked to him, "But, they don't know…w…what if something happens if they have something they can't handle? What if someone…dies?"

The room fell silent and all their eyes stared blankly at the floor. "They'll be fine," Taichi forced a smile, "They'll save Asami and come home as soon as possible."

Mitsuo frowned, "And we can't even help them since we can't even get into DATS!"

"That'll work out too," he added quickly, "I've got hope."

Sora palced a hand on her husband's shoulder, "Yeah?"

He sighed, "Yeah, I _have_ to believe it."

* * *

"20,000?" Kasumi screamed, "That's a fucking rip-off!"

Alruamon looked to Lizzie. "How much is that in dollars?"

The teenage girl hesitated, then scratched her head. "Um…uh…"

"It's about 200 dollars," Gabe replied, "And I've got to agree with Kasumi."

Shiro sighed, "We've got no choice, none of our digimon can fly, except for Diatrymon, and I doubt he's going to be able to carry all of us that far."

Falcomon nodded, "Yeah!"

"So we're going to have to pay," Psychemon said, "Everyone…hand it over, come on."

The group grumbled and dug into their pockets, pulling out all the money the had; all except for Yasu, who held tightly to her purse. "No way! I'm saving up so I can get my ears pierced!"

"We don't have all day!" Kasumi shouted.

Akira nodded. "Yeah, we all had to pay. I wanted that new video game, but…"

The girl was not convinced. She shook her head fiercely, "No!"

"Why don't you just ask to be reimburse?" Lizzie suggested, "I'm sure your parents'll…"

"They're not gonna give me money for that!" she protested, "They won't let me get my ears pierced yet!"

Lizzie blinked, "Oh, yeah, I…hmm…"

Shiro sighed again and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Yasu…."

She stomped her foot and threw her bag into her brother's hands. He calmly pulled out her money and handed it back to her. He had obviously dealt with her mood swings before. "All right, I think we've got enough."

He walked back to the large metal stand that was resting in front of a series of wooden docks. There was a strange frog creature with two metal arms seated behind the counter. Shiro placed the money down, "Here."

Frogmon counted it then nodded. "All right, climb on aboard."

Shiro mentioned with his hand and the rest of the team followed him down the dock to where a large Whamon was floating in the water, there was another Frogmon seated atop the giant digimon. "Hiya, I'm your captain, welcome aboard."

Once on top, Yasu glanced around, there were just a group of seats attached like a saddle. "All that money for this! Ohhhh," she gently rubbed her ear lobes.

* * *

Asami and Leormon had arrived in the same village as the others, unaware they had already left. The digimon population seemed uninterested in her as they were with the others, so they did not even mention meeting other humans. The pair had been running for most of the night, so they check into the same hotel as the others had, only hours ago.

Asami broke into a smile when she saw the bathroom, complete with shower. "Oh, I'm in heaven!"

Leormon sniffed the air, "I think we're going to need to do laundry."

Asami examined her clothes, "Yeah, I smell really bad." She chuckled and entered the bathroom. She slid off her knee-high boots, then unbuttoned her skirt and let it slid down her legs and fall to the floor. She unbuttoned her blouse and threw it into the pile. She stared at her reflection and ran a hand along her side. She frowned, thinking of the super-models in the fashion magazines. She shook her head and removed her pink bra and panties, throwing them into the pile before climbing into the shower.

After she was finished, she pulled on the white robe, which hugged her curves tightly and exited. Leormon was lying on the bed, staring at the television, a pile of food lying around him. When he saw her staring at him, he smiled sheepishly, "Uh…room service?"

The teenage girl just sighed.

* * *

The others were currently seated atop Whamon's back as he sped through the ocean. The Frogmon in the captain's seat glanced at the group. "So, why are you heading towards the dark lands?"

"We need to rescue someone," Gabe replied.

"Oh really? Figures those lousily bastards would do something like that/"

"What bastards?"

"You know, those Goblimons. They're evil, why else would they live in that place?"

Yasu narrowed her eyes. She was already mad over loosing her allowance money and wanted a chance to vent that anger. "Why are they evil just 'cause they live in darkness? Darkness isn't evil! It's 'cause of people and digimon like you that make it seem like just 'cause there's not light, then it's bad!"

"Jeeze, sorry," he said, turning back to the water.

Eliane placed a hand on Yasu's shoulder. "Please, calm down."

Kasumi frowned, staring down, _"Yeah, when I became evil, my hair turned blond, not darker."_ This thought only brought her depression back, and her eyes moved to the water as Whamon swam, "_If I jumped off, would it kill me? No! Don't think like that, you've got to save Asami! Save Asami, save Asami!"_

Suddenly, an explosion of water erupted into a geyser that showered the DATS team. Whamon slowed to a stop as two large digimon appeared hovered them: one was Phelesmon-a devil creature with red wings and carrying a pitchfork, the other was Lampmon-a green genie. They were both carrying their partners on their backs: Yuuto and Hiroko respectively.

"Demons!" Shiro declared.

Yuuto smirked, "Well, DATS brats, huh? Hand over Asami Yamaki!"

The team glanced confusingly at one another. "We don't have her," Gabe said, "_you_ do!"

Akira smirked, "What happened, did you lose her?"

"Idiot," Hiorko sighed deeply, rolling her eyes before glaring at her brother.

Yuuto frowned, "Whatever. I'm certain that if we were to bring our master the heads of the DATS chosen, it would prolong our punishment…"

Shiro gasped, "Get ready to fight!"

"Oh no!" the Frogmon shouted, "You guys are on your own!"

Whamon began to flip and twist from left to right. The DATS team could not hold on and where thrown into the water. The massive digimon displayed an almost impossible display of agility to twist around and swim back to the Light Continent. The Demons were not interested in Frogmon and Whamon, and kept their attention focused on the water, waiting for the DATS team to surface. Instead, a massive snake tail whipped from beneath. Phelesmon and Lampmon twisted in opposite directions as the tail flew beneath them. It did not strike, but it did allow enough of a distraction for the rest of Orochimon to surface, her eight heads each containing: Shiro, Psychemon, Gabe, Kotemon, Yasu, Labramon, Eliane, Mushmon with the eighth in the center reserved for Kasumi herself. Shellmon surfaced a moment later, with Kenji, Akira, Falcomon, Lizzie and Alruamon.

"Great job with that!" Shiro complimented, "Good quick thinking."

Kasumi smiled, "Thanks, but it was just fear of drowning, right Orochimon?"

The snake chuckled, then turned all of her heads back to the sky. The Demons hovered back over them. "Good move," Hiroko smirked, "But not good enough, you traitor."

Akira stared at Kasumi, "You know them?"

The Demoness sighed, "I was with them for a few weeks, remember?" Her frown turned to a smile, "But, these two were the stupidest out of all of them."

"You bitch!" Yuuto snapped, "Phelesmon…"

"Attack!" Kasumi ordered. Orochimon's tail began to jab at Yuuto and Phelesomon, but the flying digimon simply floated to safety. Kasumi knew that her partner's heads would be better, but with the other riding atop them…

"Orochimon, you're gonna have to use the electric tail attack…"

"Are you insane?" Gabe shouted, "We're surrounded by water!"

"You got a better idea? We're sitting ducks!"

Shiro answered, "I think Weregarurumon and Mystimon can help." He nodded at Psychemon, who nodded back.

"Right," Gabe and Kotemon nodded. Both humans gripped their digivices and the evolution began.

"Kotemon evolve to Gladimon! Gladimon evolve to Mystimon!"

"Psychemon evolve to Gururumon! Gururumon evolve to Weregarurumon!"

The two Fully Evolved digimon stood firmly on Orochimon's heads. "What about us?" Eliane's Mushmon asked.

"Leave it to us," Mystimon answered. He executed his Core Dart attack, sending a wave of flaming daggers into the air, which Phelesmon darted aside with ease. Weregarurumon used his Kaiser Nail to send a wave of energy into the devil's side. He dodged that as well, but when Orochimon's tail charged him, he was forced to block with his trident, and with a twist, he sent the tail twirling backwards. Weregarurumon attacked again, but with his trident, Phelesmon was able to bat it aside.

Mystimon stomped his foot onto the head on which he was standing, "Hey, fling me into the air!"

The Demonic Dragon whipped up her head as high as she could; Mystimon began striking his swords at the hovering demon, but he blocked every time with his own weapon. However, as gravity took hold again, Mystimon was able to clip his leg before landing back on the head.

Phelesmon growled and pointed his trident at the team. "Shit!" Kasumi gasped, "Everyone hang on, hang on, _hang on!"_

"Demon Shout!" Phelesmon screamed, a blast of air and sound exploded from his mouth. Orochimon could not maneuver that well on land, and in the water it was impossible. They were tossed about; the current grabbed them and pulled them racing through the waters. They approached a rock jutting up from the sea, the Demon Dragon wrapped her tail tightly around it, and they stopped with a jolt.

Yuuto and Phelesmon were right behind them. The devil raised his trident once again…

All of Orochimon's heads whipped into the sky, "Sake Breath!"

The alcohol-induced breath enveloped the Demon Chosen and his partner. Weregarurumon readied his claws and fired. "Kaiser Nail!"

The attack hit its mark and Yuuto and Phelsemon sank in to the water. Unfortunately, the shockwave destroyed the rock and Orochimon vanished into the current, along with her passengers.

* * *

Shellmon, meanwhile, was having a more difficult time against Lampmon and Hiroko. He continued to fire his Hydro Pressure, sending a geyser of water forth from the tip of his shell at the hovering Demons, but they maneuvered through the air with ease. Diatrymon floated beside them, but could not get close enough to execute a proper attack. He could only unleash his Destruction Roar again and again, which passed through the smoky body of Lampmon. Hiroko was riding atop the lamp itself, which Lampmon's actual body was attached to.

Alruamon frowned as she watched Diatrymon fight, "I wish I could help…"

"You can't fly," Lizzie reminded her, sadly.

The plant digimon stared at Hiroko riding atop the lamp, "Still…"

"No worries," Akira said with a smile, "We've got this. Diatrymon, don't give up!"

"Destruction Roar!" his partner screamed.

Lampmon darted out of the way, and his turban suddenly came to life, wrapping tightly around the Ancient Bird. "Phantom Turbin!"

Akira gasped, but Shellmon was ready. "Hydro Pressure!" The colom of water passed straight through the evil genie's body.

"Sorry," he smirked, "Those kind of attacks just wont work. You can't win against us, none of you have an energy attack powerful enough to defeat me."

"Just give up," Hiroko snickered, "Make it easier on yourselves, maybe the Master'll just make you a slave, you'll still be alive, right."

Kenji sneered as he held tightly to his partner, "Don't give up guys, come on, we can do this."

Lampmon snickered as his turban tightened even tighter around Diatrymon, "No, you can't."

"Yes we can!" Lizzie shouted, "Now!"

Alruamon held out her hands and her vines whipped forward, wrapping tightly around Hiroko and the lamp. The Demoness gasped in horror, "No!"

The Plant digimon grinned, "Oh yeah!"

Lizzie grinned as well. "I guess that's your weakness, huh? It was really just a shot in the dark…"

Hiroko tried to free herself from the vines, but could not; Lampmon seemed paralyzed, and his turban unwrapped itself from Diatrymon, and the Ancient Bird shot back to safety. Shellmon executed his Hydro Pressure, which now was successful. The evil genie and his partner were caught in the attack and sent flying into the distance.

"Yeah!" Lizzie cheered, hugging her partner, "Yeah, we did it!"

Kenji did not join in the celebration, he was too busy searching the water, there was no sigh of the others, "What now?"

* * *

After her clothes were washed and dried, Asami and Leormon wandered through the village to locate a place to eat. They found a small café run by a Kongoumon, a gold beetle with multiple arms. They sat at the bar area, and overheard a conversation between a Frogmon and the owner.

"…and then these other humans came out of nowhere and attacked us!"

"_Other humans?"_ Asami thought.

"And then what?" the Kongoumon asked.

"Well," the Frogmon said, "I had no business interfering in whatever problem those groups had, so I ran out of there as fast as I could." He shuddered, "And that one female was still complaining about by prices. Said she was saving up to lance her ears or something."

The owner nodded, "Humans are so strange."

Asami thought on that statement. "_I don't know if any of the Demon girls had their ears pierced, but all of the DATS women did, me and Lizzie had them done a few years ago…so did Kasumi, even if it was only once in a blue moon that she wore earrings…but Yasu _didn't,_ and she was complaining to her mother about wanting them…"_

The teen jumped up and ran over to the Frogmon. "That girl, did she have brown hair in two long pigtails?" She used her own hair to illustrate what she meant.

He nodded quickly, "Yeah, so what?"

"Where did you take them?" she demanded.

"To that evil continent."

Asami and Leormon stared at one another. "They're going to rescue us?" the small lion asked.

"And they don't know we escaped!" she gasped, then sighed, "We've got to go back."

Yuuto and Phelesmon found Hiroko and Lampmon floating atop the water. "What are you two doing?" Yuuto snapped, "They're getting away!"

"You have some nerve!" the Demoness snapped back, "Now, because of you, we will be punished by the Master."

"Don't worry," he grinned, "See where they're going?" He mentioned to the Dark Continent.

"Yes, what is your point?"

"They are going to attempt to rescue her, not knowing that she has already escaped. My guess would be, once Asami Yamaki hears of this, she will come back to find them." His smile grew, "And then we will have her!"

_Next: Death!_


	22. Death: Chapter 1

_My name is Sora Yagami, wife of Taichi Yagami, and mother to Kasumi and Akira Yagami…and the aunt to Asami Yamaki. My niece was kidnapped by the Demon Generals because she has a mysterious power that they want. Our children went into Neodigital to rescue them, but Asami and Leormon had escaped from Yuuto and Hiroko of the Demon Generals. Kasumi and Akira and the others went into the Dark Continent, the Demon's Base, to find her. They were attacked and separated. What's worse, now Asami and Leormon are going back into the Dark Continent to find them._

_Death:_

_Chapter 1_

Shiro had a sharp pain in his neck when he awoke. He sat up, rubbing his injured body, "I didn't think sleeping on the ground would hurt so much."

Psychemon frowned, "You gave your…_our_ sleeping bags to Yasu and Labramon, remember?"

"They lost theirs when we were pulled into the ocean, remember?"

"Yeah, I know, I know, I had to use a rock for my pillow."

The blond boy stared at him, "Why did…"

He blushed, "Don't ask."

The teenager looked around the campsite, there were various backpacks and sleeping bags lying around a pile of sticks that contained a smoldering flame. "Where is everyone?"

"Gabe wanted to see if Kenji or the others were nearby."

Shiro frowned. "Yeah, that's a good idea."

The duo wandered from their camp site to the shoreline of the Dark Continent, Gabe, Kasumi, Yasu, Eliane and their partners were at the water's edge, surveying the rolling waters. His sister was the first to spot him, "Oniichan, you're awake."

"Yeah, why didn't you wake me up?"

"We wanted to let you sleep," she said, hugging him.

Shiro gently rubbed the top of his sister's head, then turned to Gabe, "Any sign of them?"

He shook his head, "No. That battle pushed us pretty far apart."

"Hopefully they're all okay," Kotemon added.

Shiro frowned, and stared at the ground, "I was supposed to be the leader, and I couldn't even keep the team together."

Gabe stared at him, "It wasn't your fault! You didn't have any choice when those Demons attacked us!"

Yasu nodded quickly, "And if it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have made it at all! You told Kasumi to carry us on Orochimon's heads!"

Gabe rolled his eyes, "And she could've killed us if she used that electric tail attack while we were in the water."

Shiro sighed again, "Yeah, I know…"

"They just weren't thinking," Yasu said, "They really don't…"

Kasumi and Yuki Agumon were standing a few feet away, but they both heard the conversation. The teenage girl kept her attention on the water, trying to spot any sign of Akira and Falcomon, but simply could not. _"_What's wrong with us?" she whispered.

"I don't know," Yuki Agumon replied, her eyes drooping, "I just wanted to use my Strike of Heaven attack so badly, it was like I didn't care if we were killed."

"I know," she frowned, "Are we turning back?" She grabbed a fist full of her blond hair, "The Gift of Demons is still inside us, it's never going away. We're just going to turn back again." She looked to the others, Shiro, Gabe, Yasu and Eliane were all together, watching the water, while she and Yuki Agumon were alone by themselves. "We don't belong with them, we're dangerous…we could just snap and…."

"What about Asami?" the dinosaur asked.

Kasumi shook her head. "Yeah, you're right, Asami, save Asami. I've got to hold on long enough…"

"Hey Kasumi!"

She blinked and turned her head around, Yasu was calling to her, "Come on, we're gonna go eat breakfast. Hurry up or we're gonna leave you behind."

They did not respond as they slowly followed the younger girl.

* * *

Kenji's group, meanwhile, had been carried by the current back to the Light Continent, where they were rescued by a group of Gomamons who had been fishing in the ocean. They brought them back to their village. As the DATS team walked through the main street, surrounded by houses and buildings, one thing came to their mind.

"Where is everyone?" Akira asked.

The Gomamon who had been leading the others frowned. "What's wrong?" Lizzie asked.

The group of digimon glanced at each other nervously. "What?" the teenage girl asked again.

"You are the same Chosen that helped the Lampmon village, right?" one of them asked.

"Yeah," Akira's Falcomon nodded.

"Then we need your help with something too."

"What?" Kenji asked.

"The reason why this village is empty is because….because so many of our fellow villagers have been taken prisoner, taken as slaves to help an evil group of humans."

"The Demons Generals?" Akira asked.

One of the Gomamon answered, "They called themselves Hunters."

Each of the DATS teams shivered. "Hunters?"Kenji gasped, "I don't know if…"

The Gomamons continued, "Please, help us, please."

The DATS team turned to one another in conference. "We're not match for the Hunters," Kenji said.

Lizzie shook her head, "But…they're being made into slaves…"

"What about Kasumi and the others?" Akira protested.

"They're probably on the Dark Continent," the teenage girl protested, "How are we even gonna get there?"

One of the Gomamons spoke up," Excuse me, but one of our captured members is a Zudomon, he can probably take you across the ocean if you rescue him."

"We're going to rescue him because he's been captured," Lizzie quickly said, "Not for any other reason, right guys?"

"You're not even worried about your brother?" the redheaded boy asked again.

"Yeah, I am, but aren't we here to help the Digimon too?"

"I thought we were here to rescue Asami," Kenji's Otamamon pointed out.

"Yeah, we are, but we can't just leave them here _now_ can we?" she mentioned to the Gomamon, "Not after they asked for our help, right?"

"But Asami…" Kenji said again.

"I think she would want us to help them. They need our help."

Kenji sighed deeply, "Well…none of us are going to stay a chance against a Hunter, but…let's go take a look."

Lizzie grinned in triumph.

* * *

Yuuto of the Decima Clan had been warned by the Demon Master not to return to base until he and his sister, Hiroko, had recaptured Asami. However, hoping to increase their favor, and decrease his wrath, they did communicate back to base that the DATS children were on the Dark Continent.

"….and Kasumi Yagami's probably leading them right to you," Yuuto reported.

Shinji was the one to receive the communication. "Good. Tell me, did you battle them?"

"Yes."

"And Kasumi, was she able to use Orochimon?"

"Yes…she nearly killed her teammates when she attempted to use her tail attack in the water, but yes.

Shinji nodded to himself, "Good. I will grab Tsuragi and Ami and come to your location at once."

He ended the communication and lean back in his seat. "So, Kasumi's coming straight into my hands, what a stroke of luck." He left the com-room and marched into the Demon Master's throne room; Masanori was seated upon the throne, but Araki, the Demon Priestess, was seated upon his lap, her long legs crossed sexually. "Master!" he saluted.

"What is it?" he demanded.

"Sire, Yuuto has reported in that the DATS children are heading towards our location, most probably in a means to save Asami Yamaki."

"And they don't know that idiot fucked it up?" he asked, rubbing his chin, "Intriguing."

"Yes, it may not be Asami Yamaki, but still, we are running low on soldiers, DATS has killed most of our members."

"We still have Sabia," Araki said.

Shinji grew pale, "We don't need him, not yet."

"What are you saying?" the Demon Master asked.

"Let Tsuragi, Ami and myself aid Yuuto and Hiroko, together we will be able to annihilate the team, and bring Kasumi Yagami back into our folds."

"You want her back?"

"She is still a Demon, my lord, your Gift does not dissipate so easily, and she would make a fine replacement for Yuuji."

"Very well," he nodded, "Go."

Shinji bowed before marching out of the room. Once gone, the Demon Priestess turned to the Demon Master, "He's scheming."

"What does it matter?" the Master chuckled, calling for the Flail of Chance, which landed in his lap, "I am still far stronger then he. But enough about him, are you prepared for the ritual?"

"Yes, as soon as Asami Yamaki is brought here, I can begin the extraction."

"And the Hidden Gate, it is still secure?"

"Yes, my Phantomon and the Bakemon have seen to that."

"Excellent, we only need Asami Yamaki before the seal can be broken and we may begin our ascension to Gods!"

"But the Agent of Destruction?"

"Don't fear him, after all, why else were the Demon Generals created?"

Tsuragi and Ami were in the Uni section of the Demons' Base, the sole occupants now. The teenage girl stared at the empty beds along the wall, "They're not coming back." She turned to Tsuragi, "We need more members, or else the Uni Clan's gonna disappear."

"What do you want me to do?" he asked, "I'm not going to go 'converting,' like Shinji does."

Ami sighed, he was right. Tsuragi's attitude had always been that he and Ami chose this life of their own free will, he would not trick others into joining them like Shinji does, all of Uni's members had been chosen by Araki, who had acted as the head of the Uni Clan until Tsuragi had joined. Of course, that made her think of the question all the Uni members had asked since arriving, if Masanori, while serving as the Demon Master, was also the head of the Decima Clan, for their power had come from him, where did the Uni's power come from? It could not have been Araki, so who?

Her mind began to drift back….

1

_The little girl was seated peacefully in the playground area outside the building. The sun was beating down overhead, and while the other children were playing on the jungle gym, or pushing one another on the swings, or even simply running around in hyperactive burst of energy, the girl chose to park herself beneath the large tree. She held a simple doll in her left hand while she used the right to brush through the strands of fake hair. She was happy in her own little world…that it, until she heard twigs cracking. She glanced up and saw a trio of boys standing before her. "Oh, hello."_

_"Nice dolly there," the leader smirked, "What's her name?"_

_"Erika," she replied, feeling more at ease._

_"Can I see her?"_

_She hesitated, but then agreed. Once the doll was in hand, he broke the legs and arms with ease. The girl felt tears well up in her eyes. "You broke her!" Anger overtook her common sense and she leapt to her feet. She began to pound her fists in to the boy's chest. He easily pushed her back and she tumbled to the ground, rolling in the dirt. One of the boys smirked, "Hey, I wonder if her arms'll do the same thing…"_

_She turned to run, but they grabbed her by her long hair. Suddenly, they were assaulted by a barrage of stones and rocks. Displaying their true cowardice, they ran in terror. The girl felt herself being hoisted to her feet and was looking at a boy who appeared to be only a few years older then her. _

_He rubbed his nose, "Those guys are freaks," he spat, "No wonder they never get adopted." He smiled at her, "You okay?"_

_She nodded slowly, "Y…yeah…?"_

_He grinned. "My name's…, what's yours?"_

_"I'm… …"_

1

_An image of the little girl standing in the multi-bedded room. There were at least a dozen boys running around in hyper-energetic screams. She nervously clutched her broken doll, while the social worker sighed deeply. "I'm sorry, but this is the only bed we have free. You're just going to have to try and get along."_

_One of the boys spotted her and ran over, it was the same boy as before. "Hi, you're--, right?"_

_She nodded, "Y…yeah."_

_He looked down at the doll in her hands. "Oh, sorry I couldn't stop them from hurting her."_

_She sniffled, nodding slowly. The boy smiled, "Here, maybe I can make something to replace her, okay?"_

_He ran back to the small dresser at the end of his bed. He grabbed a sock from the top drawer and began to work at the small table in the corner of the room. The girl wandered over to an empty bed and dropped her bag on the floor. She began to fill the small dresser at the end of the bed with clothes from her bag. She was not sure how long it was before she finished, but when she turned back around, the boy was standing there with a sock puppet on his hand. "Ruff…ruff," he barked, moving the mouth up and down._

_"W…wow," she said, her eyes opened in surprise, "Y…you made this?"_

_"Yup, it's for you."_

_"T…thank you," she said. She held the sock puppet tightly and began to cry. "Mommy…"_

_They boy hugged her, "It's okay. I miss my Mommy too. Did you have any brothers or sisters?"_

_She shook her head, "No."_

_"Well, I didn't either, so, how 'bout I be your big brother, okay? And you can be my little sister, all right?"_

_"O…Okay, w…what do I do?"_

_"Don't worry about that, _I'm_ the big brother, it's my job to protect you, so if you need any help, just come get me, all right?"_

_She nodded, grinning wildly, "Sure!"_

1

"Ami!"

She blinked, returning to reality. Tsuragi was standing in the doorway, "Come on, we've got a mission."

"Right, right…" As she followed her 'older brother' through the halls of the base, her mind racing at her memory. She thought of Kasumi and Akira, Shiro and Yasu and Gabe and Lizzie…even though she and Tsuragi were not true brother and sister, but they cared for each other just the same. If she were to kill Kasumi or Shiro or Gabe, their younger siblings would be left alone, how would that be any different then if one of them killed Tsuragi and left her alone?

* * *

The Gomamon lead Kenji's group through the thick grass of the Light Continent, leading them to a large valley, where they could see a structure at the base, a temple covered with green paint. It resembled a temple or a castle, with a square base and tall towers. There were three towers, one in the front and two in the back. Each tower had a large statue facing in each of the three directions. There was a massive group of Gizamons, Ikkakumons and one Zudomon carrying stones and dirt from the dig site around the temple, while others were carrying supplies and dragging thick blocks in all directions. There were a group of humans standing near the temple. "Hunters!" Akira gasped.

"There's Orion, and Mixcoatl and…and that boy that helped to free Kasumi," Kenji said, "Just perfect."

Lizzie stared at the group, "What about the other one?"

Akira sneered, "That's Mixcoatl's little brother, but there were those two girls with them last time, where are they?"

His Falcomon replied, "Does that matter right now? We're lucky their not here if you ask me."

"What are they doing down there?" Lizzie's Alruamon asked.

"Looks like they're excavating something," Kenji replied. He looked to the Gomamon guide, "What's down there?"

The digimon shook his head, "I don't know."

Lizzie looked to Kenji. "All right, how are we gonna do this?"

The older boy sighed, "I'm not so sure we _should_ do this."

"Kenji!" she gasped.

"That's Orion down there! He almost _killed_ Mr. Ishida! What chance are we gonna have?"

"But we've got to try!" she protested.

Akira looked to the older boy, "Kenji?"

"All right, all right," he sighed, "But they're gonna know if a whole army of slaves suddenly leaves!"

"Wait," Otamamon said, "Look."

Orion must have said something to the others because they all nodded and the Hunter jumped into the air and flew away in a burst of light. "Well, that takes care of one problem," Kenji said.

And then, a miraculous event occurred, all of the remaining Hunters entered the temple, leaving the enslaved digimon alone and unsupervised.

"No way," he gasped.

Otamamon snicker, "Looks like you've got better luck then your Dad."

"Who cares, let's move while we can."

They all quickly slid down the valley wall and ran to the enslaved digimon, held in place with thick chains. Knowing they did not have time to unshackle the braces from their legs, they disconnected the chains from one another, allowing the slaves the ability of mobility, so they could all run to freedom. However, while the slaves were running to safety, DATS was not so lucky, while they newly-freed digimon were escaping, the Hunters stepped outside of the building.

"Oh shit," Akira exclaimed.

"DATS," Mixcoatl said with a slight smile.

Lizzie pointed at Masa, his face hidden behind the helmet, "You helped us save Kasumi, why did you take those slaves?"

"It wasn't our idea," Adan replied first, "We didn't have a choice."

"What are you doing here?" Kenji asked. He mentioned to the temple, "What is that?"

"We don't know," Masa replied, "That's why we're here, to try and figure it out."

"You don't know?" the other teenager asked, genuinely interested.

"No," Adan said, "Our master, Lord Sentry, ordered us to investigate. He is interested about something, but it is not our duty to question why."

"And unknown temple," Akira smiled, "Wow, Shiro would probably love this."

"Well," Mixcoatl sighed, "I'm actually sorry about this, but you know the drill."

Akira stared at the group of Hunters. Mixcoatl was the only one that seemed to want to fight, and even he was reluctant. What would Kasumi do if she was here? Probably fight them no matter what, but his mother would want to know why they did not want to fight, and his father would use it to his advantage. If they were not so eager _to_ fight them, maybe they could fight _with_ them…

Akira took a deep breath, "You don't have to fight us…"

"Yes we do!" Mixcoatl shouted, "It's our duty!"

Adan, Mixcoatl's younger brother, stared down at his Gotsumon partner, "I'm sorry, but I have to do what my brother wants."

"Listen," Lizzie said, "Whatever you think you need the Hunters for, we can do the same."

Masa stared at her, "I don't need your help, I'll save her myself."

"Who?"

He gasped, realizing he said more then he meant to. He then masked his embarrassment with anger. "Shut up! I'll really take no pleasure in this, but I have no choice!"

Dorumon sighed at his side, "So I guess I have no choice either…"

His partner held out his palm and summoned the Staff of Fate. The DATS team stared in surprise. "A weapon?" Kenji's Otamamon gasped.

"You've got a weapon too?" Lizzie gasped.

Akira could not believe his eyes. "Is that the…the Staff of Fate?"

Before Masa could respond, Mixcoatl summoned his own weapon, the Spear of Earth. He looked to the other three members of his team, "Get ready!" They each reluctantly reached for their digivices, while their partners waited to began the battle.

Kenji grimaced. "_This isn't good,"_ he thought, _"They've got Fully Evolves and we've only got Adults…Scratch that, Fully Evolves and one Mega, we can't win this at all. Damn it, I never wanted to come here to begin with…"_

Suddenly, the Staff of Fate and the Spear of Earth began to glow bright with gold and brown light respectively. Mixcoatl's Patamon and Masa's Dorumon waited for the familiar burst of energy…yet none came. They both turned to stare at their partners. "Well?" Patamon asked.

Mixcoatl was staring at his glowing Spear, "I didn't…"

Before he could answer, the entire temple began to shake wildly. All eyes turned to the structure, specifically, the three towers, which looked as thought they were about to come crashing apart. Both DATS and the Hunters ran to safety as the statues began to crack and shatter, throwing large pieces of stone to the ground…but not nearly enough stone for those large statutes. All eyes once again turned to the sky as three armored beings dropped to the ground, fully mobile, fully animated, and fully alive.

The one that was in the front resembled a beetle, with his bottom legs red in color and his upper body covered with blue armor, the second was a female in purple armor with green wings, and third was a massive creature covered with fur.

The group of Chosen were silent, but Masa stepped forward. "Who are you?"

The beetle answered. "I am Ancient Beetmon, this is Ancient Irismon and Ancient Megatheriumon, we are three of Ten, Ten tasked by the Dragon Warriors to defend it from those that would destroy it."

"Dragon Warriors?" Masa asked, "The First Chosen? You knew the First Chosen?"

"We were tasked by them to destroy you!" Ancient Irismon shouted.

"Us?" Lizzie asked, "What did we do?"

"We will not allow you to crack the seal and free the Agent of Destruction."

"Agent of Destruction?" Kenji asked.

Mixcoatl shook his head, "I don't know."

"Oh really?"

"I'm telling you the truth! I don't have any idea what she…" he turned to face the armored warriors, "…what _you're_ talking about!"

"I'm supposed to believe that?"

"He's telling the truth," his Patamon replied, "That's why we're here, 'cause none of the Hunters know!"

"Who's the Agent of Destruction?" Akira asked, stepping forward, "What are you talking about?"

Ancient Beetmon whipped his clawed arm before him, "If you truly do not know, then that is all the better, but we know that the path you and the rest of the Demons are traveling will awaken the Agent from his slumber."

"Demons?" Masa gasped.

"They're behind this?" Lizzie gasped.

"We're not the Demons!" Mixcoatl shouted.

"We're the descendents of the First Chosen," Akira explained.

"You are the descendents of Ceria, you do not hold the Three Angels in regard, you worship the Gods, those the Angels did vanquish from the Digital World forever!"

"We don't know what you're talking about!" Lizzie protested.

"We're not the Demon Chosen!" Kenji stressed, "We're the descendents of the First Chosen, the Dragon Warriors!"

Ancient Irismon waved her palm and her eyes glowed slightly. She mentioned to Akira, "Hidokoro's power is within him," she mentioned to Adan, "And Montenegro's power is within him…."

"You believe us?" Akira asked, hopefully.

Ancient Irismon continued, pointing at Masa. "But you, your energy betrays your disguise, it is you that will awaken the Agent! The Great Priest of the Gods must remain sleeping!"

Ancient Megatheriumon, who so far had remained motionless, suddenly roared, "Freezing Blizzard!" An explosion of wind and ice suddenly erupted from beneath the Ancient Beast's scraggly fur, showering the Chosen and forcing them to shield their eyes. Ancient Irismon executed a burst of speed and darted within the ice storm, grabbing the frozen Akira, Adan and their partners before all three of the mysterious armored group vanished through the temple doors.

When the storm had faded, those that remained instantly realized that some of their group was missing. "Adan!" Mixcoatl screamed.

"Akira's missing too!" Lizzie gasped, "Oh, Mr. and Mrs. Yagami's gonna kill me…"

"They took them inside the temple," Mixcoatl's Patamon answered.

The Hunter charged forward, but Masa stepped in front of him. "Get the fuck out of my way!" he screamed.

"Calm down!" the older boy snapped.

"Move it!" Mixcoatl went to run around him, but Masa grabbed him by the shoulders and spun him back. He was not happy.

"You fucking little…"

"Listen to me!" he shouted, "We're going to go after them, but if you run in there like that, you're gonna get us both killed! Calm down, understand?"

Mixcoatl did not answer, but did take a deep breath. Masa looked to the DATS agents, "Well, looks like we're going to need to work together again."

Kenji mentioned to the temple doors, "I don't understand, why did they take them?"

"Maybe because they were able to see the First Chosen energy?" Dorumon suggested.

Masa frowned beneath his helmet, "But…what did they mean, I was the one trying to awaken this…Agent or whatever?"

"We'll figure that out later," Mixcoatl said, struggling to keep his temper under control.

Masa nodded. "Right, let's go."

The Hunters ran for the temple doors, but Masa looked over his shoulders to the two DATS agents, "Well?"

"Come on," Lizzie mentioned, lightly touching Kenji's palm.

"Right."

The group of four and their partners made it to the large doors of the temple and Mixcoalt kicked them open. Inside appeared to be nothing more then a simple place of worship, with a circular column in the center.

Lizzie's Alruamon glanced around. "Where the heck did they go?"

"Over here," Kenji's Otamamon called. He was standing in the corner of the room, where a section of the floor was mysteriously absent. In it's place was a hole leading to a dark tunnel, which seemed to lead deep underground.

"Another complex?" Masa asked, "Underground…interesting…"

Mixcoatl pushed past the others and jumped through the hole. The others took a deep breath and joined him.

* * *

Back on Earth, the investigation of Hypnos had begun. While Taichi and Mitsuo were forced to lead the government agents through their organization's building (the investigator's wanted to see Yamato as well), their wives gathered together for lunch. Sora, Noriko and Hikari tried to enjoy themselves as they ate, but their minds continued to drift to their children.

"I hope their safe," Hikari said, her fork poking at her salad.

Sora forced a smiled. "I'm sure they are, they all know how to handle themselves."

Noriko frowned, "I know Shiro'll be okay, but I'm worried about Yasu."

"The older kids will be watching out for her and Akira," the redhead replied.

Noriko just nodded, staring down at her food.

They trio sat in silence for another few minutes before Sora spoke, "I've been thinking about Maria a lot lately."

The other two smiled sadly. "Yeah," Hikari sighed, "I still miss her so much, even fifteen years later."

"Her and the others," Noriko added, "Iduia, Keeya and Catherine."

Sora nodded, "But we've got Catherine back."

The other two looked at her oddly. "I mean her niece," she explained, "Eliane."

"Oh," Noriko frowned, "Yeah, Iduia, Keeya and Maria's family is with the Hunters."

Sora sighed, "When I saw them…Bolade and Ines…It was like seeing Keeya and Iduia, and Adan…I swear, it was Maria's eyes." She frowned, staring down at the table. "I feel like I let them down."

"What?" Hikari asked.

"We should have found them, we should have looked for them, but the Hunters found them first."

"We can save them," Hikari stressed, "We have to."

* * *

The two captured Chosens and their partners were bound with mysterious rope and thrown atop Ancient Megatheriumon, helpless as they traveled deeper into the subterranean caverns. Akira and Falcomon struggled to free themselves. "Any luck?" the redhead asked.

His partner sighed, "No, we're trapped."

He nodded, "What do you think they want with us?"

"No idea."

Akira turned to the other prisoners, "What about you?"

Adan and his Gotsumon were staring at the walls of the tunnel, which were adorned with strange symbols and paintings. "Look," the rock digimon said, "More paintings of those knights."

"Knights?" Akira asked.

Adan looked to him, then mentioned to the wall. There were images of nine armored warriors, each one slightly different from the last and each one carrying a distinct weapon. They were standing in front of a large dark shadow.

Falcomon mentioned to the wall, "Look, there's that tree again."

They carefully studied the wall, which contained the same mysterious image of the tree they had seen scattered about Neodigital, but this image had twelve giant beings standing around it. These beings attempted to be in battle with three heavenly beings that the Chosens and their partners recognized as the three Angels.

"Seraphimon, Ophanimon and Cherubimon!" Akira gasped, "I mean, I've never seen them, but it's got to be them."

Adan nodded. "Yes, and it appears they are fighting the ones with the Tree." He frowned, "Just like it said in Juro's book."

Akira and Falcomon stared at each other. DATS had taken the Gospel of Juro from the Hunters. "What do you mean?" the red head asked.

"And the Angels did battle the Gods of the Digital World, banishing them from the realm forever. And all those that did worship the Gods were struck down and buried and the wrath of the Angels were upon them."

The three warriors stopped walking and Ancient Megatheriumon tossed the prisoners to the ground. Ancient Beetmon and Ancient Irismon turned to stare at the prisoners. "What?" Akira asked.

Ancient Beetmon pointed one of his blades at them. "If you know of Juro's forbidden book, then our suspicions are accurate. You must be executed at once!"

"We were just reading it!" Adan protested.

"The knowledge contained therein was forbidden by the Dragon Warriors!"

"What's so bad about it?" Adan's Gotsumon questioned, "Huh?"

"The Dragon Warriors were called by the heavenly Angels to destroy those kingdoms that yet worshiped the Gods-and now those pagan kingdoms have been reborn!" Ancient Irismon declared, pointing at the Chosen.

"Us?" Akira gasped, "What the hell did we do?" He pointed at Adan and Gotsumon, "It's them!"

Adan glared at him, "Traitor!" he snapped, "I thought we were in this together!"

"Regardless," Ancient Beetmon said, "All of your actions will doom this Digital World! You Chosen are _not_ the Dragon Warriors, and your presence will destroy everything!" He raised a blade on his hand, but a metal ball crashed into the blade, nearly cracking it in half.

"Nice shot!" Lizzie's Red Veggiemon cheered as Dorugamon's Metal Meteor found its mark.

"Thanks," the dragon digimon nodded.

Masa was staring at the three armored warriors. "So, the Angels fought these…"Gods," huh?" He turned to Mixcoatl, "I guess your translation of Juro's book was right after all. Good job.""

The other Hunter sneered. "Don't patronize me!" He looked to Ancient Beetmon and Ancient Irismon, "So, who were these Gods, huh?"

"We don't know, it was enough what the Angels and Dragon Warriors told us."

"The First Chosen knew about the Gods?" Kenji said to himself.

"So what do you know?" Mixcoatl asked.

"That they created the Digital World, and planted Yggdrasil, their demonic tree as their connection to their world, but when the Angels were victorious, that evil tree was uprooted," Ancient Beetmon commented, glancing around, "But, it's roots are everywhere in this reconfigured world…"

"And we had nothing to do with that," Adan stressed, "Please, you don't have any reason to attack us."

Ancient Irismon sighed deeply. "You do not listen, do you?"

"Whatever," Masa sighed. He looked to his partner, "Do you want to show them what Dorughoramon can do?"

Dorugamon nodded."Yeah!" He needed to return to his Child form before Warp-evolving, but as soon as he regressed to his base form, Ancient Megatheriumon attacked.

"Freezing Blizzard!"

Once more, a blast of cold wind flew from beneath his woolly exterior, but this time, it was entirely focused on Masa and Dorumon. The arctic wind encircled them, freezing the water particles around them and trapping both of them within a sheet of ice. The others only stared in shock: Masa was easily the strongest of them all, and he was the first to fall. Even Mixcoatl had a worried expression on his face…one which passed quickly. He summoned his Spear of Earth, "Ready Patamon?"

His partner was about to evolve, but Ancient Megatheriumon fired another Freezing Blizzard. However, now knowing the Ancient's attack, the pair was ready to dart to safety in time. Patamon continued evolving to his Adult form, Kentarumon, and quickly fired his Galloping Cannon, which ripped alongside the Ancient's body, cutting a section of his scraggly hair that fell to the ground.

Mixcoatl attacked with his own Hunter power by jabbing his spear into the ground, throwing up a large amount of stones that burst into flames and came flying into Ancient Megatheriumon. The Hunter smirked, "Take my fire and brimstone! Not even your ice can harm that!"

The Ancient responded by executing his Freezing Blizzard once more, and to the horror of the Hunter, easily turned his flaming stones into ice chunks that fell to the ground."Great Snow Blow!" He suddenly leapt forward with tremendous speed, knocking into Mixcoatl and Kentarumon, sending both of them tumbling along the ground before stopping, motionless.

"Brother!" Adan shouted. He and his Gotsumon instantly ran towards the fallen Hunter, but were easily grabbed back by Ancient Irismon.

Lizzie was nervously holding her hands near her face. "Oh, this is bad! This is bad!"

Ancient Beetmon mentioned to his large partner, "Hurry and be done with them! We have to take the others to the Chamber!"

Akira watched helplessly as Ancient Megatheriumon walked towards his fellow DATS agents. "_I'm completely useless, if Mixcoatl and the other one were beaten, what am I gonna do? I've got the power of fire, and I can't…"_

He gasped, an memory popping into his mind.

1

_Sora__ watched with excitement as she could sense her son's fire power generating within him. "Good, hold it, hold it…."_

_Akira had his fists clenched tightly, his body shaking. He held for as long as he could before his tension vanished and he panted heavily. His mother smiled and gently rubbed his shoulder. "Good job."_

_Akira was panting and needed to sit down on the floor of the DATS training room. "It's not a good job," he frowned, "It's not what you can do."_

_His mother blinked. "What?"_

_"I can feel your energy, it's so much stronger then mine!"_

_Sora sat down beside him. "Akira, you're still just discovering your power, it'll take time before you get…good at it." She sighed, "Besides, I didn't have anyone to teach me about it, I had to learn on my own, and I didn't even discover it until I was _twice_ your age, so you've got time and experience on your side, kiddo."_

_He just nodded. "But what about powering someone up?"_

_Sora smiled, "Ah, you mean what Aleksey and Joey did to Asami and Gabe, right?"_

_Her son nodded. "Yeah…"_

_She took a deep breath, "Yes, that's another one of our powers, you can give your energy to another Chosen so that he or she can evolve their partners to the neck level."_

_"Like you did for Dad, right?"_

_"Yes, that's right, but we've found that it's dangerous to evolve a partner to Mega without something to help…control that power, I guess. Your father and Mr. Ishida both had Crests during our first adventure, and then they used their weapons, so, and this is important, don't give your energy to a Chosen with a Full Evolved partner unless that Chosen has a weapon or something, understand?"_

_He nodded. "Yeah…yeah…but, what about from an Adult to Fully Evolved?"_

_She hesitated for a moment. "Yes, but…only if the situation is desperate enough." She pointed her finger at Akira, "and I mean it, understand? Only if the situation is desperate enough."_

1

"_Well, I think it's desperate enough,"_ he thought, eying Kenji and Lizzie, "_I can hit them with my power, but I've always used my hands, and they're tied behind my back. Hopefully I can still do this…_"

He took a deep breath, calling upon the power of Fire that lay within his Chosen blood. He manipulated this energy, and with his arms bound behind his back, he push that energy to the next best place he could, his shoulders. He bent down and fired two beam of red energy from his shoulder blades, flying past the three Ancient warriors towards his fellow DATS agents.

Kenji and Lizzie stared with shock. "What the hell is that?" the girl asked.

Before Kenji could answer, the red energy smashed into both teenagers and their partners, causing their bodies to spasm and shake. They yelled in pain before collapsing to the ground.

Falcomon stared at Akira, "What did you do?"

The young teenager was gasping, "I…I…"

The three Ancients turned to stare at Akira. "What was that you did, boy?" Ancient Beetmon asked.

Panic was starting to overtake him. "I….I…."

"Does it matter?" Ancient Irismon asked, "They are disposed of, it is time to bring these two to the Chamber."

They threw Akira, Adan and their partners back onto Ancient Megatheriumon's back and the Ancients continued their trek through the tunnel. Adan turned to Akira, "You tried to empower them, didn't you?"

The redhead nodded sadly. "Yeah…"

The other boy nodded as well. "When I empowered my brother, the same thing happened, he fainted because of the sudden influx of energy."

"Really?"

"Yes, if your friends can handle the power, they'll be okay in a little bit, if they're not…"

"They will be," Akira said quickly, "They're strong, both of them, they'll be fine."

"Yeah," Adan's Patamon said, "Let's just hope we're still alive when they wake up."

* * *

Shiro's group was following Kasumi's directions to find the Demon's Base. The group was walking in near silence, each one's mind was wandering.

_"Still no sign of Kenji, Akira or Lizzie,"_ Shiro thought, _"I'm supposed to be the leader, and look what happened, I couldn't even keep the group together."_

_"I hope Asami's still okay,"_ Gabe contemplated, "_If they touched a hair on her head, I'll shove their fucking heads up their ass!"_

_"I hope Akira's okay,"_ Yasu thought to herself, "_I don't want to think about him de…dead…"_

Kasumi was staring at the ground, "_What if I lose control again and end up killing everyone? I'm just a threat to everyone."_

Eliane was staring at the others, "_Everyone's so quiet. I hope we can still work together."_

They were all so lost in thought that they did not notice the blast of energy sailing through the sky until it crashed into the ground before them, throwing a shower of dirt and stones into the air. They were all caught in the maelstrom, throwing them tumbling along the ground. They recovered quickly and leapt back onto their feet to watch as the Demon Chosen appeared before them; Tsuragi, Ami, Yuuto, Hiroko and Shinji.

"Oh shit," Shiro swore, staring at his opponents.

Shinji appeared to be leading the group, as his eyes darted at the DATS team, "Well, this is quite a party, isn't it?"

"Get lost!" Gabe snapped, "I'm not in the mood for you!"

"We're here too you know!" Yasu shouted.

Yuuto smirked. "We only care about Asami Yamaki, where is she?"

"If we knew, you think we'd tell you?" Gabe snapped back.

The Demon just shrugged, "Well, we can continue searching for her after we bring your heads to our master."

Gabe was clenching his fists, but Shiro stepped in front of him. "Listen, we really don't want to fight you right now, but we will if we have to. I'll give you one chance to leave…"

He could not even finish as the Demon's began to roar with laughter, all except for Ami, who could not help but notice how similar in appearance Shiro was to Yasu; the girl had the brown hair and brown eyes of their mother, while Shiro had the blond hair and blue eyes of their father, but their faces were an amalgamation of the two…in fact, they could almost be twins.

She looked at Tsuragi and felt a pang of jealously, he was as close to a brother as she would ever have, it just was not fair! She was overcome with envy and rage, she wanted to kill the little brat, make her older brother feel the emptiness she felt…but no, she could not, not with him watching, she could not kill her right in front of him…

…but her? Her eyes drifted to Kasumi and she smirked wickedly. "I want the one with the fucking mouth."

Kasumi's eyes narrowed, "You're one to talk! You swear worse then I do! And besides, I don't dress anywhere near as slutty as you do!"

Ami snorted and crossed her arms, "Right, you dress just like a boy!"

Both teenage girls narrowed their eyes in rage. Shinji grinned, "I've learned not to interfere when two females are arguing." He mentioned to Yuuto and Hiroko, "You two, deal with them." He pointed to Gabe and Shiro.

Gabe grinned and grabbed his digivice, "Ready?"

Kotemon nodded. "Yeah."

The teen turned to Shiro, "What about you, bud?"

He sighed, "I'd rather not, but…"

Kotemon and Psychemon evolved to their highest forms: Mystimon and Weregarurumon. Yuuto's Phelesmon and Hiroko's Lampmon shot into battle. An early victory was scored for the Demons, when Phelesmon managed to whack Weregarurumon's chin with his pitchfork.

"Ah!" Yasu's Labramon gasped.

"Oniichan!" Yasu shouted.

Ami sneered. "Oh, how cute, the little baby's calling for her brother."

Yasu whirled back, an angry pout on her face. "Who are you calling a baby?"

"You. You can't do anything without your precious "Oniichan holding your hand, can you?"

The pig-tailed girl growled with anger. "I'll show you!" She grabbed her digivice and pointed it to the sky, "Labramon!"

Her partner galloped forward, "Labramon evolve to Dobermon!"

Ami waved her hand and her own partner, Astamon, leapt in front. The demon digimon whipped his gun out and began to fire. Dobermon was saved when Eliane's Woodmon knocked into the canine, throwing him safely to the side. Woodmon was spared as well, being much shorter then Dobermon, he simply dropped to the ground, and Astamon-who had been aiming for the taller Dobermon-watched in anger as his bullet tore through empty air.

Ami glared at Eliane, "Stay out of this you freak!"

The French girl blinked, "F…freak?"

The Demoness sighed in annoyance, "I'm talking about BD-2 infection, all of those giant saucers on your skin!"

Kasumi glared at the Demon, her mind thinking of Akira…

Eliane blinked, trying to stay in control, but it was clear her emotions were starting to overtake her. Her mind raced with images of the other children taunting her, excluding her from everything, physically teasing her…

Ami's smile grew, her feelings about not having a true sibling relationship were being masked by her cruelty. "I bet you don't even have one friend, do you? And guys? Forget about it, you'll never get a date, you'll be lucky if they don't toss you in the freak show at the circus!"

Kasumi began to scream, "You fucking bitch! Leave her alone!"

Yuki Agumon ran past her partner, evolving to Orochimon in an explosion of light. All eight of her heads tore through the air to attack Ami, but Astamon spirited her to safety.

Tsuragi was about to rush in to help his 'sister,' but Shinji stopped him. "Let's let her handle it for now."

"What?!" he exclaimed.

"Something's clearly got her going, just let her get it out."

The Uni Demon sighed and turned to watch the battle.

With Yasu tending to Eliane, Kasumi and Orochimon's attention was on Ami and Astamon. The Uni Demoness was grinning. "And why do you even care, huh? You're not her sister."

Kasumi was still radiating with rage, her fists clenched tightly. "My brother is going through the same thing as Eliane! The same thing as Yasu!"

Despite her cruelty, Ami's true feelings pushed through, "Your brother…"

Kasumi continued, "Yeah, that's something you'd never understand."

"Oh really?" she snapped, "I wouldn't understand it, huh? You don't know anything about me!"

She sighed, closing her eyes, "Tsuragi…he's everything to me…"

_The little girl was seated peacefully in the playground area outside the building. The sun was beating down overhead, and while the other children were playing on the jungle gym, or pushing one another on the swings, or even simply running around in hyperactive burst of energy, the girl chose to park herself beneath the large tree. She held a simple doll in her left hand while she used the right to brush through the strands of fake hair. She was happy in her own little world…that it, until she heard twigs cracking. She glanced up and saw a trio of boys standing before her. "Oh, hello."_

_"Nice dolly there," the leader smirked, "What's her name?"_

_"Erika," she replied, feeling more at ease._

_"Can I see her?"_

_She hesitated, but then agreed. Once the doll was in hand, he broke the legs and arms with ease. The girl felt tears well up in her eyes. "You broke her!" Anger overtook her common sense and she leapt to her feet. She began to pound her fists in to the boy's chest. He easily pushed her back and she tumbled to the ground, rolling in the dirt. One of the boys smirked, "Hey, I wonder if her arms'll do the same thing…"_

_She turned to run, but they grabbed her by her long hair. Suddenly, they were assaulted by a barrage of stones and rocks. Displaying their true cowardice, they ran in terror. The girl felt herself being hoisted to her feet and was looking at a boy who appeared to be only a few years older then her. _

_He rubbed his nose, "Those guys are freaks," he spat, "No wonder they never get adopted." He smiled at her, "You okay?"_

_She nodded slowly, "Y…yeah…?"_

_He grinned. "My name's…, what's yours?"_

_"I'm…"_

1

_An image of the little girl standing in the multi-bedded room. There were at least a dozen boys running around in hyper-energetic screams. She nervously clutched her broken doll, while the social worker sighed deeply. "I'm sorry, but this is the only bed we have free. You're just going to have to try and get along."_

_One of the boys spotted her and ran over, it was the same boy as before. "Hi, you're--, right?"_

_She nodded, "Y…yeah."_

_He looked down at the doll in her hands. "Oh, sorry I couldn't stop them from hurting her."_

_She sniffled, nodding slowly. The boy smiled, "Here, maybe I can make something to replace her, okay?"_

_He ran back to the small dresser at the end of his bed. He grabbed a sock from the top drawer and began to work at the small table in the corner of the room. The girl wandered over to an empty bed and dropped her bag on the floor. She began to fill the small dresser at the end of the bed with clothes from her bag. She was not sure how long it was before she finished, but when she turned back around, the boy was standing there with a sock puppet on his hand. "Ruff…ruff," he barked, moving the mouth up and down._

_"W…wow," she said, her eyes opened in surprise, "Y…you made this?"_

_"Yup, it's for you."_

_"T…thank you," she said. She held the sock puppet tightly and began to cry. "Mommy…"_

_They boy hugged her, "It's okay. I miss my Mommy too. Did you have any brothers or sisters?"_

_She shook her head, "No."_

_"Well, I didn't either, so, how 'bout I be your big brother, okay? And you can be my little sister, all right?"_

_"O…Okay, w…what do I do?"_

_"Don't worry about that, _I'm_ the big brother, it's my job to protect you, so if you need any help, just come get me, all right?"_

_She nodded, grinning wildly, "Sure!"_

1

"Wait," Kasumi said, "You two…you're not really brother and sister?"

"None of the Demons are," she explained, "That's just how we're paired up: one boy and one girl."

Yasu spoke up, "How did you…?"

"Become like this?" she asked, mentioning to herself, "Become a Demon?"

1

_The pair had been in the orphanage for the next five years, overlooked by couples, forgotten by the few friends they had. After another day of standing to the side as the other children were adopted, the duo retreated to their room. The girl fell onto the bed, tears in her eyes, "It's not fair! What's wrong with us? Why doesn't anyone want us?"_

_The boy frowned slightly, "It's 'cause we don't want to be separated. No one will adopt us if we're together._

_The girl sniffled, using a tissue to wipe her face before putting it back into the pocket of her green dress. "Well, then I don't care if we ever get adopted, so long as we can stay together."_

_"Maybe I can help you with that."_

_The duo twisted to see a teenage girl seated on one of the beds in the room. "Oh," the girl said, "I didn't see you come in."_

_The boy studied the teenage girl, "You don't look familiar, did you just get here?"_

_"My name is Araki, and I'm just here looking to adopt, you could say."_

_"Adopt?" the girl asked, "You're only a few years older then us, right?"_

_Araki continued to smile, "Yes, but what I mean by 'adopt,' is taking your from this place and bringing you to another place, a place where you can have the family you always wanted, a place where you will be together forever."_

_The boy and girl glanced at each other, then back at Araki. "What do you mean?" the boy asked._

_Araki reached into the pocket of her jacket and emerged with two palm-sized gold pyramids. "If you're tired to being treated like nothings, overlooked, forgotten, disregarded. If you're tired of being the bottom of society, if you want power and acceptance, take these Gifts that I give you…"_

_The boy and girl once again looked at each other. "Well?" the girl asked._

_"I…I don't know," the boy replied._

_"I'll do whatever you want," she said._

_The boy nodded. He stared at Araki's two pyramids, then slowly reached out with his hand. The girl nodded and followed his lead. When their hands touched the objects, a gold glow passed from the pyramid and flowed up their arms, soon enveloping their entire bodies._

_Araki's smile grew, "Welcome to Uni, Tsuragi and Ami."_

1

Kasumi sneered, "So, that was it, huh? Jeez, at least _I_ didn't have a choice! You two sold your souls!"

"We had no choice," Ami retorted, "If we wanted to stay together."

"You sold your soul!" she screamed, "You're talking about how lonely you were, think about how lonely Eliane is! You hated being alone, you're just making it worse for her! Don't give me your fucking sob story, you're no better then any of the other fucking Demon Chosen! Orochimon, attack!"

Ami simply stood in place as Astamon rushed past her to engage the giant snake.

1

Gabe and Shiro were too busy with their own battles to comment on the girls' conversations. They were battling what they hoped were the last of the Demon Generals. Shiro's Weregarurumon was fighting against Yuuto's Phelesmon, while Gabe's Mystimon battled Hiroko's Lampmon.

"Full Moon Kick!" the wolf man shouted, spinning his foot into the hovering devil, but Phelesmon blocked with his trident, nearly breaking his ankle in the process. The wolf man was able to execute a perfect back flip. Once he was on his feet he unleashed his primary attack, "Kaiser Nail!"

"Demon Shout!" the devil screamed, blasting sound waves into the Kaiser Nail, throwing it into disarray. Weregarurumon took this opportunity to leap into the air and began to slash and jab with his claws, but each attack was blocked by Phelesmon's trident, all except the last one. As Weregarurumon fell back to the ground he swipe his claw across the devil's shin, taking a chunk out of his red skin.

"Ah!" he yelped, "Damn you! Demon Shout!"

Weregarurumon landed on the ground and threw up his arms to shield his face from the sound waves. Once the assault was over, the wolf man executed his Kaiser Nail once again, sending a wave of energy sailing into the hovering devil. Phelesmon began to twirl his trident at a fantastic speed, creating a circle of energy that deflected Weregarurumon's attack. The wolf man darted beneath and leapt into the air, slicing a large gash into Phelesmon's back.

"Hey, that's not fair!"

Weregarurumon snorted, "Right, this coming from a Demon!"

Yuuto sighed and rolled his eyes. "I'm getting tired of this, just finish him off already!"

"Weregarurumon!" Shiro shouted, "You can do it! Believe in yourself!"

His partner leapt into the air, swinging around his foot. "Full Moon Kick!"

Phelesmon went to block with his trident again, but the wolf man suddenly darted beneath, continuing his kick into the devil's already injured back. Pain erupted through his body and he was unable to defend himself when Weregarurumon threw him into Yuuto. The wolf man did not stop as he dropped to the ground and whipped his claws around. "Kaiser Nail!" The attack tore through Phelesmon and Yuuto, ripping their bodies to shreds.

Weregarurumon panted heavily, "That's two more down…"

1

Lampmon was grinning wickedly at Mystimon's attacks; the warrior digimon slashed and hacked with his sword, but to no avail, each and every attack simply passed through his smoky form. Hiroko stood off to the side, staring intently at Gabe. The DATS agent, however, had no interest in her. "Come on, Mystimon!" Gabe shouted, "Come on!"

The Magic Warrior swung his sword in a half circle, "Core Dart!" A barrage of flaming projectiles shot into the hovering Demon Man, but he only smirked as his attack passed through his body.

"Not good enough!" the evil genie chuckled. He made a motion with his hand and generated a cloud of smog in his palms, "Golden Smog!" He flung the cloud of smoke into Mystimon, and it completely enveloped him. The mysterious cloud penetrated into the Magic Warrior's body, and he yelled in pain.

"Mystimon!" Gabe shouted.

His partner had fallen to his knees, panting heavily, "My entire body is on fire!"

"And believe me," Hiroko chuckled, "It's only going to get worse. Give up, make it easier on yourselves."

Gabe smirked, "In case you haven't been listening, we're DATS, we don't give up!"

"Your partner is defeated."

"That's what you think."

Hiroko and Lampmon turned their attention back to Mystimon, who was slowly rising to his feet. "Bravo," the Demon Man digimon chuckled, "But you're still no match for me! Phantom Turbin!"

Mystimon fought through his pain and rolled to the side to avoid Lampmon's living headwear. The turban twisted and followed, but the Magic Warrior cut through the fabric with his flaming sword. He rolled again, arriving behind the hovering demon. He swung his sword once more, executing his Core Dart attack, but once again, the attack simply passed through. Lampmon's smoky form shifted so that his face was now peering down at Mystimon. "Sorry, that won't work either!"

Mystimon swung again, "Core Dart!"

Lampmon roared with laughter as the projectiles past through again. "You don't learn, do you?"

The Magic Warrior smirked, "You tell me."

Hiroko suddenly shouted to her partner, "Lampmon, you idiot!"

Her partner's head spun around and realized that when he had shifted his form so that his back and front were reversed, the lamp that was connected via a trail of smoke swung around like a tail, and was now directly behind him…right in the line of fire for Mystimon's Core Dart! He attempted to dodge, but simply could not. The flaming daggers ripped through the lamp, destroying it.

Lampmon's fogy body began to shake and spasm. Mystimon leapt into the air, twisting around so that Lampmon and Hiroko were lined up perfectly. The Magic Warrior lifted the magic orb in his left hand, which began to glow brightly with orange light. "Blast Fire!" A column of flame erupted forth, annihilating Lampmon and Hiroko.

Mystimon smiled slightly at Gabe, "That two more…"

The teenager nodded, whipping his forehead, "Hopefully there's not too many more left, I don't know how much more of this I can take."

1

Shinji and Tsuragi were instantly aware when Yuuto and Hiroko were defeated. "We're dropping like flies!" the Uni Demon snapped.

"Yes," Shinji replied. He mentioned to Shiro and Gabe, who were running to Kasumi and Ami's battle, "Maybe you should keep then occupied."

Tsuragi's eyes narrowed, "Are you giving me orders?"

"Wouldn't dream of it, but your sister won't be able to handle three Fully Evolved digimon…"

He was silent for a moment, then spat, "Fine, let's go, Neodevimon!"

His demonic partner growled with agreement and stomped after them. Shinji smirked as he turned his attention back to Kasumi. "Now, it is time to experiment…"

Yasu, Eliane and their partners stood to the side as Orochimon and Astamon battled. The Demon Dragon unleashed her greatest advantage, her eight heads, which snapped and nipped at her opponent. The lesser demon lord used _his_ advantage, his speed. While not the fastest digimon, he was certainly faster then the stationary Orochimon. One of the Demon Dragon's heads shot at Astamon, but he darted to safety and unleashed rounds of bullets from his gun, striking the snake head.

"Ah!" Kasumi exclaimed, "Orochimon, are you okay?"

The middle-head nodded while the remaining heads shot at Astamon. Kasumi smirked, "Well, at least she's got seven more, _he's_ only got one!"

Ami sneered, "But at least my partner can move, yours is stuck in place!" Her anger started to rise, "Astamon, kill them all!"

Yasu stepped forward ,"Why do you hate us so much?"

"Because of your brothers! Because you have a real family! I had nothing, you had everything! You had someone to talk to, someone to care for, someone to be there, and I was alone! Tsuragi was the only one there for me, and I won't let you take him from me!"

Kasumi winced as Astamon flung his knife into another of Orochimon's heads. "Fuck, she's completely off her rocker…"

Orochimon, now down to six heads, lost another two when Astamon fired his gun and flung his daggers at the same time. "Damn it!" Kasumi snapped, "Why the hell are we losing so badly?"

"Because you're only fooling yourself."

She spun around, but saw no one, so she began to twist her head in all directions, "Where the hell are you, Shinji?"

"Don't worry about that," he replied, "I'm just here to tell you the truth."

"Oh really, what's that?"

"That you're lying to yourselves."

"What?"

"You are a Demon, you can't deny it."

"I'm not a…!" She caught herself, she was no longer a brunette, but a blond. Her entire body had been changed, she was no longer the person she once was, "I…"

"Listen to me," Shinji continued, "Ami is defeating you, humiliating you. You're so much stronger then her, but you're letting her win."

Kasumi did not respond.

"Yes, look at her, she's nothing compared to you, you're stronger, more powerful, you have the power of the Decima Clan within your veins, don't let the weaklings of the Uni Clan defeat you."

Once again, no response.

Shinji chuckled, "I bet Gabe could defeat her."

Kasumi twitched, a familiar feeling welling up inside her. _"No!"_ she shouted to herself, "_No, stay calm, stay calm…"_

"Ami doesn't even have a real partnership with Astamon," Shinji continued, "He was given to her after she became a Demon. You have a real brother, you have a real partners, you're better then her."

Kasumi was still twitching, "_She's….she's nothing compared to me…_

"Do it!" Shinji called, "Give into your envy, your rage, give into your pride!"

Kasumi suddenly yelled out with power and rage. She ran to her partner and leapt onto Orochimon's center head. She continued to yell, her body glowing brightly, that same glow spread from her legs and into her partner, enveloping them both in a bright light.

Yasu and Eliane could only stare in horror. "Kasumi…" Yasu mumbled.

The battle between Tsuragi and Gabe and Shiro was over before it had begun, as they were staring in surprise and fear, Ami and Astamon stared in confusion, and Shinji stared in triumph.

"She is doing it, she's evolving! She embraced her Pride, her greatest trait, and now…now I know how to achieve that power for myself!" His smiled grew, "But now, I wonder what they'll evolve into. Show me…show _us_ how stronger your Pride truly is…"

All of Orochimon's eight heads began to wrap around her body, curling tightly into a ball, trapping Kasumi inside in a sphere of glowing light, which quickly turned from white to black. Eight leathery wings erupted from its back, a twisting tail snaked from behind, two giant legs emerged from the bottom, while a scaly body grew from the top. Orochimon and Kasumi had evolved together into a tremendous black dragon carrying a ball of darkness in its hands.

The Demons and DATS stared, their mouths unable to form words. Shinji, however, was admiring the evolution. He appeared beside Tsuragi and crossed his arms. "Well, Lucemon Satan Mode, I should have suspected, after all, the great Demon King was the Demon of Pride. But I sincerely doubt she's as strong as Cahiti was."

Tsuragi was shaking his head, "But…the Master warned us about what would happen if we evolved like that! She's gonna go nuts and attack everything!"

As if on cue, Lucemon Satan Mode began to growl deeply. He stared at the DATS team, his mind unable to comprehend what he was seeing, memories seemed to be struggling for control, but he was not able to understand them properly. He stared at Tsuragi and Shinji, his anger starting to rise, and when he stared at Ami and Astamon, he roared so loudly that the dark trees surrounding them began to bend.

"Ami!" Tsuragi shouted, "Get out of there!"

There was no time for the girl to move; Lucemon Satan Mode expunged a geyser of fire, "Purgatorial Flame!"

Ami stared in horror at the wall of fire coming straight for her. Astamon leapt in front of her and was incinerated instantly, but his sacrifice did save Ami…if only briefly, for his vanishing data deflected the flames enough to not kill the teenage girl outright, but the attack still ripped across her body, turning her into a smoldering figure of flesh. She did not even have enough energy to stumble, she fell onto her back, staring up at the sky.

"Ami!" Tsuragi screamed, running to her side, "Ami!"

She weakly stared up at him, "Y…you were the only family I even had…g …goodbye…b..r…oth…."

As her eyes closed for the final time, her body began to shift and change. Like a full-body suit that was melting from the heat, her skin fell away from her body, revealing another body beneath. No longer a teenage girl wearing a yellow tank top and denim skirt, but a ten year old girl with shoulder-length brown hair, wearing a green jumper-type dress, and carrying a sock puppet on her hand.

"That's what she really looks like?" Gabe gasped.

"That's what happened to Kasumi," Shiro added, "When she took the Gift of Demons, it turned her hair blond and her eyes blue, it changes the user to match the Demon Clan they belong to! It turned that ten-year-old girl into the…"

He was cut off as Lucemon Satan Mode began to roar into the sky, thrashing his wings about, stomping his feet into the ground. Shinji appeared beside Tsuragi, "I think it would be best if we made a hasty retreat."

Tsuragi was staring down at the dead girl, "Ami…"

Another roar from Lucemon Satan Mode, and he reluctantly followed Shinji as they fled into the dark forest. The DATS team, however, could not run.

The Demon God flung his wings from side-to-side, shredding trees and creating such a windstorm, that none of the remaining digimon could even move to plan an attack. "This is bad!" Weregarurumon shouted.

"What the hell are we supposed to do now?" Gabe demanded.

Shiro did not answer.

"Oniichan!" Yasu yelled, running to his side, "Is that really Kasumi?"

"Yes, I think so."

"We have to zave her!" Eliane gasped.

Lucemon Satan Mode roared loudly into the air.

When Asami and Leormon had arrived back on the Dark Continent, the feline digimon was using his elevated sense of smell to track the DATS team. They had found Shiro's camp site, so with hopeful vigor, they were following their trail when Asami suddenly felt a chill shoot up her spine.

"Asami?" Leormon gasped.

"It's…it's that feeling again," the teenage girl panted, "Just like when Kasumi…."

She gasped, "Kasumi!"

"What?"

"Something's happening to Kasumi, something even worse then before!" She ran past her partner.

"Hey, wait up!" he shouted.

Lord Sentry, leader of the Hunters, smirked when his Timepiece of Asuka began to spin once again. "Interesting…"

_To be continued…_

.Author's Note: I wasn't too happy with this chapter, things just felt…off, but it needed to be done, because something major happens in the next chapter, and the chapter title should give you a pretty big clue.

**NAME:** Katsuharu

**GENDER:** Male

**AGE:** Appears to be 15

**ETHNICITY:** Demonic

**OCCUPATION:** None

**PLACE OF BIRTH:** Unknown

**DATE OF BIRTH:** Unknown

**KNOWN RELATIVES:** Chiaka-'sister"

**GROUP AFFILIATION:** Demon Generals

**SUB-GROUP:** Uni Clan

**EDUCATION:** Unknown

**HEIGHT:** 5'7

**WEIGHT:** 152 lbs.

**EYES:** Brown

**HAIR:** Brown

**POWER:** Gift of Demons

**DIGIMON:** Blimpmon

**WEAPON:** None

**BIO:** A Demon who attack Tokyo for the purpose of acquiring Asami Yamaki.

1

**NAME:** Chiaka

**GENDER:** Female

**AGE:** Appears to be 15

**ETHNICITY:** Demonic

**OCCUPATION:** None

**PLACE OF BIRTH:** Unknown

**DATE OF BIRTH:** Unknown

**KNOWN RELATIVES:** Katsuharu-'brother'

**GROUP AFFILIATION:** Demon Generals

**SUB-GROUP:** Uni Clan

**EDUCATION:** Unknown

**HEIGHT:** 5' 1'

**WEIGHT:** 108 lbs

**EYES:** Brown

**HAIR:** Brown

**POWER:** Gift of Demons

**DIGIMON:** Locomon

**WEAPON:** None

**BIO:** A Demon who attack Tokyo for the purpose of acquiring Asami Yamaki.

1

**NAME:** Shou

**GENDER:** Male

**AGE:** Appears to be 15

**ETHNICITY:** Demonic

**OCCUPATION:** None

**PLACE OF BIRTH:** Unknown

**DATE OF BIRTH:** Unknown

**KNOWN RELATIVES:** Kiyoshi-'sister'

**GROUP AFFILIATION:** Demon Generals

**SUB-GROUP:** Uni Clan

**EDUCATION:** Unknown

**HEIGHT:** 5'5"

**WEIGHT:** 146 lbs

**EYES:** Brown

**HAIR:** Brown

**POWER:** Gift of Demons

**DIGIMON:** Marine Devimon

**WEAPON:** None

**BIO:** A Demon that attacked the city of Fortuna on the island of Atrops to locate the Oracle at Digiphi.

1

**NAME:** Kiyoshi

**GENDER:** Female

**AGE:** Appears to be 16

**ETHNICITY:** Demonic

**OCCUPATION:** None

**PLACE OF BIRTH:** Unknown

**DATE OF BIRTH:** Unknown

**KNOWN RELATIVES:** Shou-'brother'

**GROUP AFFILIATION:** Demon Generals

**SUB-GROUP:** Uni Clan

**EDUCATION:** Unknown

**HEIGHT:** 4'10"

**WEIGHT:** 111 lbs.

**EYES:** Brown

**HAIR:** Brown

**POWER:** Gift of Demons

**DIGIMON:** Infermon

**WEAPON:** None

**BIO:** A Demon that attacked the city of Fortuna on the island of Atrops to locate the Oracle at Digiphi.

1

**NAME:** Kenichi

**GENDER:** Male

**AGE:** Appears to be 15

**ETHNICITY:** Demonic

**OCCUPATION:** None

**PLACE OF BIRTH:** Unknown

**DATE OF BIRTH:** Unknown

**KNOWN RELATIVES:** Sawa-"sister"

**GROUP AFFILIATION:** Demon Generals

**SUB-GROUP:** Decima Clan

**EDUCATION:** Unknown

**HEIGHT:** 5'6"

**WEIGHT:** 159 lbs

**EYES:** Blue

**HAIR:** Blond

**POWER:** Gift of Demons

**DIGIMON:** Karatenmon

**WEAPON:** None

**BIO:** A Demon that attacked DATS so Shinji could test Kasumi; later attacked Tokyo to acquire Asami Yamaki.

1

**NAME:** Sawa

**GENDER:** Female

**AGE:** Appears to be 15

**ETHNICITY:** Demonic

**OCCUPATION:** None

**PLACE OF BIRTH:** Unknown

**DATE OF BIRTH:** Unknown

**KNOWN RELATIVES:** Kenichi-'brother'

**GROUP AFFILIATION:** Demon Generals

**SUB-GROUP:** Decima Clan

**EDUCATION:** Unknown

**HEIGHT:** 5'2"

**WEIGHT:** 104 lbs.

**EYES:** Blue

**HAIR:** Blond

**POWER:** Gift of Demons

**DIGIMON:** Kukimon

**WEAPON:** None.

**BIO:** A Demon that attacked DATS so Shinji could test Kasumi; later attacked Tokyo to acquire Asami Yamaki.

1

**NAME:** Yuuto

**GENDER:** Male

**AGE:** Appears to be 15

**ETHNICITY:** Demonic

**OCCUPATION:** None

**PLACE OF BIRTH:** Unknown

**DATE OF BIRTH:** Unknown

**KNOWN RELATIVES:** Hiroko-sister

**GROUP AFFILIATION:** Demon Generals

**SUB-GROUP:** Decima Clan

**EDUCATION:** Unknown

**HEIGHT:** 5' 6"

**WEIGHT:** 167 lbs.

**EYES:** Blue

**HAIR:** Blond

**POWER:** Gift of Demons

**DIGIMON:** Phelesmon

**WEAPON:** None

**BIO:** A Demon that capture Asami Yamaki, but lost her on the way to the Demon's Base; was sent to retrieve Asami Yamaki, but succeeded in separating the DATS children on their mission to Neodigital.

1

**NAME:** Hiroko

**GENDER:** Female

**AGE:** Appears to be 15

**ETHNICITY:** Demonic

**OCCUPATION:** None

**PLACE OF BIRTH:** Unknown

**DATE OF BIRTH:** Unknown

**KNOWN RELATIVES:** Yuuto-"brother"

**GROUP AFFILIATION:** Demon Generals

**SUB-GROUP:** Decima Clan

**EDUCATION:** Unknown

**HEIGHT:** 5'1"

**WEIGHT:** 123 lbs.

**EYES:** Blue

**HAIR:** Blond

**POWER:** Gift of Demons

**DIGIMON:** Lampmon

**WEAPON:** None

**BIO:** A Demon that was sent to retrieve Asami Yamaki, but succeeded in separating the DATS children on their mission to Neodigital.


	23. Death: Chapter 2

_My name is Yamato Ishida, a soldier in the Japanese Air Force, and known only to a certain group of people, a Chosen and a members of the Digital Task Force, or DATS. After an attack by the Demon Chosen, DATS was closed down by the Japanese government, we were locked out of Neodigital, but Asami and Leormon were trapped inside. Our children, lead by my son, Shiro, decided to strike out on their own to rescue her, but they were separated. Kenji, Akira, and Lizzie encountered Mixcoatl, his brother, Adan, and Masa of the Hunters. They were attacked by three of the Ancient Ten warriors, and Akira used his fire power to try and give Kenji and Lizzie enough power for a Fully Evolved evolution, but they passed out._

_Shiro, Gabe, Kasumi, Yasu and Eliane were attacked by the Demons, and Shinji forced Kasumi to give into her Pride, and she evolved to Lucemon Satan Mode! She even killed Ami._

_--_

_Death_

_Chapter 2_

_--_

"Do it!" Shinji called, "Give into your envy, your rage, give into your pride!"

Kasumi suddenly yelled out with power and rage. She ran to her partner and leapt onto Orochimon's center head. She continued to yell, her body glowing brightly, that same glow spread from her legs and into her partner, enveloping them both in a bright light.

Yasu and Eliane could only stare in horror. "Kasumi…" Yasu mumbled.

The battle between Tsuragi and Gabe and Shiro was over before it had begun, as they were staring in surprise and fear, Ami and Astamon stared in confusion, and Shinji stared in triumph.

"She is doing it, she's evolving! She embraced her Pride, her greatest trait, and now…now I know how to achieve that power for myself!" His smiled grew, "But now, I wonder what they'll evolve into. Show me…show _us_ how stronger your Pride truly is…"

All of Orochimon's eight heads began to wrap around her body, curling tightly into a ball, trapping Kasumi inside in a sphere of glowing light, which quickly turned from white to black. Eight leathery wings erupted from its back, a twisting tail snaked from behind, two giant legs emerged from the bottom, while a scaly body grew from the top. Orochimon and Kasumi had evolved together into a tremendous black dragon carrying a ball of darkness in its hands.

The Demons and DATS stared, their mouths unable to form words. Shinji, however, was admiring the evolution. He appeared beside Tsuragi and crossed his arms. "Well, Lucemon Satan Mode, I should have suspected, after all, the great Demon King was the Demon of Pride. But I sincerely doubt she's as strong as Cahiti was."

Tsuragi was shaking his head, "But…the Master warned us about what would happen if we evolved like that! She's gonna go nuts and attack everything!"

As if on cue, Lucemon Satan Mode began to growl deeply. He stared at the DATS team, his mind unable to comprehend what he was seeing, memories seemed to be struggling for control, but he was not able to understand them properly. He stared at Tsuragi and Shinji, his anger starting to rise, and when he stared at Ami and Astamon, he roared so loudly that the dark trees surrounding them began to bend.

"Ami!" Tsuragi shouted, "Get out of there!"

There was no time for the girl to move; Lucemon Satan Mode expunged a geyser of fire, "Purgatorial Flame!"

Ami stared in horror at the wall of fire coming straight for her. Astamon leapt in front of her and was incinerated instantly, but his sacrifice did save Ami…if only briefly, for his vanishing data deflected the flames enough to not kill the teenage girl outright, but the attack still ripped across her body, turning her into a smoldering figure of flesh. She did not even have enough energy to stumble, she fell onto her back, staring up at the sky.

"Ami!" Tsuragi screamed, running to her side, "Ami!"

She weakly stared up at him, "Y…you were the only family I even had…g …goodbye…b..r…oth…."

As her eyes closed for the final time, her body began to shift and change. Like a full-body suit that was melting from the heat, her skin fell away from her body, revealing another body beneath. No longer a teenage girl wearing a yellow tank top and denim skirt, but a ten year old girl with shoulder-length brown hair, wearing a green jumper-type dress, and carrying a sock puppet on her hand.

"That's what she really looks like?" Gabe gasped.

"That's what happened to Kasumi," Shiro added, "When she took the Gift of Demons, it turned her hair blond and her eyes blue, it changes the user to match the Demon Clan they belong to! It turned that ten-year-old girl into the…"

He was cut off as Lucemon Satan Mode began to roar into the sky, thrashing his wings about, stomping his feet into the ground. Shinji appeared beside Tsuragi, "I think it would be best if we made a hasty retreat."

Tsuragi was staring down at the dead girl, "Ami…"

Another roar from Lucemon Satan Mode, and he reluctantly followed Shinji as they fled into the dark forest. The DATS team, however, could not run.

The Demon God flung his wings from side-to-side, shredding trees and creating such a windstorm, that none of the remaining digimon could even move to plan an attack. "This is bad!" Weregarurumon shouted.

"What the hell are we supposed to do now?" Gabe demanded.

Shiro did not answer.

"Oniichan!" Yasu yelled, running to his side, "Is that really Kasumi?"

"Yes, I think so."

"We have to zave her!" Eliane gasped.

Lucemon Satan Mode roared loudly into the air.

When Asami and Leormon had arrived back on the Dark Continent, the feline digimon was using his elevated sense of smell to track the DATS team. They had found Shiro's camp site, so with hopeful vigor, they were following their trail when Asami suddenly felt a chill shoot up her spine.

"Asami?" Leormon gasped.

"It's…it's that feeling again," the teenage girl panted, "Just like when Kasumi…."

She gasped, "Kasumi!"

"What?"

"Something's happening to Kasumi, something even worse then before!" She ran past her partner.

"Hey, wait up!" he shouted.

The teenage girl rushed into the darkened forest, caring not about any danger should might be facing, she only cared about her cousin…and the darkness she felt from her. She darted through the trees and arrived in an area where the trees had been flattened, ripped from their roots by a tremendous force, and when the pair saw the giant black dragon, they knew the cause. They did not even take notice of the other DATS agents scattered about.

"What is that thing?" Leormon gasped, "Is that a digimon?"

Asami stared at the dragon, a mix of sadness and fear in her eyes. "Kasumi…"

Gabe blinked and twisted his around. His eyes shot open, "Asami?"

The others turned to look as well, but their relief was short-lived, as Lucemon Satan Mode erupted once more, screaming with such force that it sent the fallen trees tumbling backwards. Gabe tackled Asami to the ground just as a series of wooden splinters showered over their heads. The teenage boy was holding the girl tightly, and when they both rose, they could not help staring at one another. They were silent for a moment, lost in one another's eyes. "A…are you okay?" Gabe asked.

The girl nodded. "Y…yes, I…I think so…"

"Watch out!" Eliane screamed.

The two teenagers twisted their heads and stared in horror as Lucemon Satan Mode descended upon them. The black dragon stared down at them, images flowing into his mind. The boy hold memories of anger, of rage, and the girl gave jealousy, loneliness, abandonment. These two brought anger and pain, he must destroy them! The black dragon roared again, moving closer to the two teenagers…

"Kaiser Nail!"

Weregarurumon's attack struck the side of Lucemon Satan Mode's head, throwing him off balance. The massive dragon twirled to see Shiro, Yasu, and Eliane standing with their partners beside them. Lucemon Satan Mode stared at them, mixed emotions overtaking him, each one of them, these three and the other two…they humiliated him….they all must pay!

"Divine Atonement!"

The dragon sent forth a massive wave of energy that tore through the ground. The digimon leapt in front of their partner, shielding them with their bodies. Gabe and Asami held tightly to one another as Mystimon and the newly-evolved Raiamon leapt in front to protect them.

"Why iz zhe attacking us?" Eliane gasped, shielding her face with her arm.

"She's out of control," Shiro exclaimed, "She doesn't know what she's doing!"

"Are you sure about that?!" Gabe snapped.

Lucemon Satan Mode began to whip her wings back and forth, creating a massive wind storm. "This is like a typhoon!" Shiro shouted, bracing himself against the wind storm, "Kasumi, Yuki Agumon, you've got to get control of yourself!"

Lucemon Satan Mode responded by whipping his tail into the ground, throwing Weregarurumon and Shiro backwards. "Oniichan!" Yasu screamed, "Dobermon, get her!"

"Wait!" Eliane's Woodmon called, but to no avail, Yasu's giant canine digimon galloped into battle.

"Black Beam!" he shouted, firing a beam of black light from his mouth, erupting across the dragon's head. Lucemon Satan Mode glared down at him, a growl escaping from his lips, so loudly that the ground shook.

Woodmon leapt to his friend's aid. "Woody Smash!" Unfortunately, his missiles of tree bark had no effect what-so-ever on the dragon's scaly skin. With simple ease, Lucemon Satan Mode sent both Dobermon and Woodmon flying backwards with a flick of his tail. Once they smashed into the ground, they regressed to their Child forms. The girls ran to their fallen partners.

"Are you okay?" Yasu asked, gently lifting Labramon in her arms.

"Too strong for us…" he mumbled.

Lucemon Satan Mode turned back to face Mystimon and Raiamon. He began to stomp his feet, throwing his wings from side-to-side. The two DATS digimon stood their ground. Mystimon whipped his sword around, throwing a series of flaming darts into the dragon. Lucemon Satan Mode winced, but retaliated with a flick of his wings. Raiamon tackled into Mystimon's legs, knocking the warrior onto his back. The lion digimon darted from side of side, avoiding Lucemon Satan Mode's attacks.

"Thanks," Mystimon said, "Can you get me closer?"

"I'll try," Raiamon responded.

Lucemon Satan Mode began to spit balls of fire from his mouth, but Raiamon successfully dodged each one, bringing them closer and closer until Mystimon was able to jumped into the air. His intention was slam his sword into the dragon's back, but Lucemon Satan Mode twisted his head back and managed to grab hold of the warrior with his mouth.

"Mystimon!" Gabe shouted.

Asami gasped, "Oh no."

"She's gonna eat him!" the boy screamed.

"Raiamon, save him!"

The lion digimon stared at the dragon, his eyes studying the dragon. _"Yes, but how?"_

Inside Lucemon Satan Mode's mouth, Mystimon was using all of his strength to keep the massive jaw from closing around him. _"This is not exactly the most attractive side of you, and believe me, I've been downwind of you too."_

Outside, Raiamon had jumped up to Lucemon Satan Mode's neck, positioning his claw over what he assumed to be a major nerve. "Critical Strike!" His claw pricked through the thick scales, sending a shot of pain through the dragon's neck. He whipped from side to side, throwing Mystimon into the ground. Raiamon was flung into the air, but landed gracefully back on his feet.

The lion glanced around, all of the other DATS digimon were scattered. "Asami!" he shouted, "I'm the only one left, you've got to use the Claymore!"

The girl nodded nervously. She held out her hand and summoned the Claymore of Wind. As with each time she called for it, she could not hold the weapon, and it fell from her hands. She lifted it again, but the tip of the sword was still lying against the ground. She began to walk towards Lucemon Satan Mode, dragging the weighty sword behind her. She ignored Gabe's cries and continued forward. She was not aware of it, but the closer she moved to Lucemon Satan Mode, the lighter the sword became, easier to handle. She was able to actually lift the weapon! She swung it around, and it began to glow…right when it was pointing at the giant dragon!

_"It's reacting to her,"_ she thought, "_Probably because I have to fight it, even my weapon wants me to fight her. My partner, the others…she's going to kill all of us, I have to stop her, but…she's my cousin…"_

"Asami!" Raiamon screamed.

The teenage girl stared at the dragon, then slowly lowered her sword. "No, I'm not going to fight."

"What?"

"That's still my cousin!" she snapped, "And Yuki Agumon's always been like your cousin, how can you be so ready to fight them?"

Raiamon flinched. He turned away, staring at the ground, "Y…yeah…m…maybe you're right, but they're completely out of control!"

Asami stared bravely at Lucemon Satan Mode. The dragon was staring back, their eyes meeting, "They can get control of themselves, they're strong, they can do it."

The giant dragon stared down at her, more memories overcoming his mind. Two young girls together, the younger one placing a bandage over the older girl's scrapped knees. Another image, this time of the older girl handing the younger girl a cone of ice cream, without one for herself.

Lucemon Satan Mode began to roar again, twisting and shifting about. "Asami, get away from there!" Gabe shouted.

"No, it's fine," she responded, "They're not going to hurt me, right?"

The dragon slowly lowered his head so it was only inches from the teenage girl. Asami slowly walked over and gently rubbed the dragon's neck. "Kasumi, Yuki Agumon…"

Lucemon Satan Mode twisted his head away. "**Monster…."**

"No, you're not a monster," she replied.

The others cautiously approached. "She's got through," Gabe said, "Wow."

Mystimon nodded. "Yes, their connection is deeper then anything we could have. They're flesh and blood, probably the same thing would have happened if it was you and Lizzie."

Gabe crossed his arms, "Yeah, maybe. Ya ask me, she's still dangerous, a loose cannon."

"Maybe," Shiro snapped, "But she's still our friend, even if she's not yours."

The other boy flinched, then turned away. Shiro walked over to join Asami. "Is she going to be stuck like this?" she asked.

"I don't know," Shiro whispered.

"I don't understand," Psychemon said, "When their energy runs out, shouldn't they just turn back."

"If their energy runs out…"

"It has to be that Gift of Demons, right?" Leormon asked, "Maybe the Demons know how to turn her back?"

Yasu snorted, "Right, like they're gonna be so eager to tell us."

"Maybe we can capture one of them," Gabe suggested.

"What?"

He shrugged slightly, "If we capture Shinji or Tsuragi, if they're our prisoners or something, maybe we can…I don't know, force them or something?"

The others were silent, until Eliane spoke. "I…Tsuragi waz angry when Ami died, he cared about her, maybe he iz not az bad az ze others…."

Shiro rubbed his chin, "I see, if we can try to convince him that we need his help, maybe he can." He sighed, "Well…the Demons _are_ a threat, but the Demon Master's got a Mega, we can't fight against that."

Lucemon Satan Mode began to speak, "**I…can…"**

"She's got a point," Mystimon nodded.

Shiro sighed deeply, "I don't think it's a good idea."

Asami lifted her head, "I…I want to go to them."

"What?" the others gasped.

"They wanted me for some reason, I want to know why. I want to know what makes me so special."

Shiro flinched. _"I think I know, but should I tell her? She needs to know, but how do I…I can't, not yet, but maybe it will keep her from…"_

"Oniichan?" Yasu asked, gently pulling on his arm.

He was silent for a moment, then took a deep breath, "I guess we won't have a choice later, and if we can stop them now, then maybe…" He took another deep breath, "All right, but we all need to be careful."

Lucemon Satan Mode hovered over the ground, "**Follow me…"**

The team began to run after the dragon as it flew through the trees. As they ran, Gabe turned to Asami, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

She nodded. "Yes, I have to know."

* * *

The Demon Master was not pleased to see Shinji standing before him. "Where are the others?" he demanded.

Shinji hesitated, "I…um…The DATS…"

"Killed them?" he shouted, "And where is Asami Yamaki?"

"I…I don't know…."

Masanori slammed his fist into the armrest of his chair, "I have had enough of this!" He rose to his feet and turned to the girl standing beside his throne, "Come, Araki, we take care of this ourselves!"

Shinji began to blink, "W…what? Master, are you…"

He turned to him, "If you want to continue to live, I would suggest stopping right there!"

The lesser Demon simply nodded.

* * *

"_Well, I think it's desperate enough,"_ Akira thought, eying Kenji and Lizzie, "_I can hit them with my power, but I've always used my hands, and they're tied behind my back. Hopefully I can still do this…_"

He took a deep breath, calling upon the power of Fire that lay within his Chosen blood. He manipulated this energy, and with his arms bound behind his back, he push that energy to the next best place he could, his shoulders. He bent down and fired two beam of red energy from his shoulder blades, flying past the three Ancient warriors towards his fellow DATS agents.

Kenji and Lizzie stared with shock. "What the hell is that?" the girl asked.

Before Kenji could answer, the red energy smashed into both teenagers and their partners, causing their bodies to spasm and shake. They yelled in pain before collapsing to the ground.

Falcomon stared at Akira, "What did you do?"

The young teenager was gasping, "I…I…"

The three Ancients turned to stare at Akira. "What was that you did, boy?" Ancient Beetmon asked.

Panic was starting to overtake him. "I….I…."

"Does it matter?" Ancient Irismon asked, "They are disposed of, it is time to bring these two to the Chamber."

They threw Akira, Adan and their partners back onto Ancient Megatheriumon's back and the Ancients continued their trek through the tunnel. Adan turned to Akira, "You tried to empower them, didn't you?"

The redhead nodded sadly. "Yeah…"

The other boy nodded as well. "When I empowered my brother, the same thing happened, he fainted because of the sudden influx of energy."

"Really?"

"Yes, if your friends can handle the power, they'll be okay in a little bit, if they're not…"

"They will be," Akira said quickly, "They're strong, both of them, they'll be fine."

"Yeah," Adan's Gostumon said, "Let's just hope we're still alive when they wake up."

Masa and Dorumon were frozen solid, while Mixcoatl and his Patamon lay unconscious. Kenji, Lizzie and their partners were trapped within a deep sleep, just as the first X-Chosen had done when the Daughters of the First gave their powers to them.

Kenji's mind began to twirl with images and memories.

_He ran back to his dorm room, slamming the door. Otamamon poked his head from his spot beneath the bed. "Kenji?"_

_The teenager fell into the chair by his desk, slamming his books onto the ground in the process. His partner trotted over and sat by his feet. "What's wrong?"_

_"That fucking Langelet, he's nothing but a bigot! I wish he'd have a heart attack or something, so then he wouldn't be able to teach for the rest of the summer!"_

_Otamamon was staring in shock. "Kenji, I…I've never seen you like this before." It was true, his partner had never wished for the malicious harm of another being. He fought as a member of DATS, but never took pleasure in it. _

_The teenage boy sighed deeply, staring out the window, "I…I just can't take him anymore. He's always calling me, "A dam Jap."_

_"Well, this is America, can't you complain or something?"_

_"What good would it do? I'm only here for another month, I can take it."_

_"I don't know, you look like you're about to have a heart attack…or at least a breakdown."_

_Kenji gave a slight smile. There was a knock on the door. Kenji turned to his partner, but he was already diving under the bed. The teenage boy slowly opened the door to reveal a blond girl standing on the other side. She was dressed in a tight orange t-shirt and a pair of black pants. She had a backpack around her back, which seemed to be heavy as she was struggling to keep standing. He was lost in her being for a moment, so she smiled slightly. "H…hi, I…I don't know if you remember me, but we're in Mr. Scribts's class together."_

_"Y..yeah, h…hi Kara." He mentioned to the room, "Um, d…do you want to come inside?"_

_She scooted past him and entered the small dorm room. "You're alone?"_

_He nodded. "Yes."_

_"Lucky," she said, "I've got to share a room with three other girls. We get along okay most of the time, but sometimes Anna ticks me off." She placed the backpack on the floor and she sat on his bed._

_"I'd offer you something, but my small refrigerator is empty…I really need to go shopping."_

_"That's okay," she replied, "I, um…heard what Langelet said to you in class. I don't know what his problem is, but he's really got it out for you."_

_He frowned. "Yeah, I know."_

_"But…t…the reason I wanted to see you now i…is that…um…jeeze this is harder then I thought." She took a deep breath, "The reason I wanted to see you is that I…I saw you the other night, by the lake."_

_He gasped, he had been there so Otamamon could swim. "W…what are you talking about?"_

_Kara smiled and unzipped the backpack, allowing a plant creature to emerge. "Floramon?" Kenji gasped._

_"Floramon?" Otamamon asked, crawling out from beneath the bed._

_"Yeah," Kara smiled, "I'm a Chosen, just like you."_

_The two began to spend more and more time together, something that did not go unnoticed, especially from the prejudiced Lengelet. The two were talking after class one day. "The summer program's gonna end soon," Kara said, "And you'll go back home, right?"_

_Kenji nodded. "Yeah."_

_The girl sniffled slightly, "I think I'm missing you already."_

_"What are you doing with him, huh?"_

_Both teenagers turned to see a muscular boy standing beside them. "Leave us alone, Langelet," Kara said._

_He looked at Kenji, "Why are you hanging with this fucking Jap?"_

_Kenji did not answer, but Kara snarled. "Why don't you just leave him alone?"_

_Langelet snorted and marched away. "What an ass," Kara sighed, "Can you believe he even invited me to his party?"_

_"Party?" Kenji asked._

_"Yeah, I'm not going though."_

_"Oh…um, do you want to see a movie or something?"_

_"Nah, I'm just gonna stay in tonight. Later."_

_Kenji watched her leave, and his waved his hand. "Yeah, later."_

_It was a few days later before they saw one another again. Kenji approached her one day. "Hi."_

_She looked different, sadder, heavy circles under her eyes. "Oh, hey."_

_He blinked. "What's wrong?"_

_"Oh, n…nothing," she said, turning away. When she did, she saw Langelet waltzing down the hall in his typical arrogant fashion. "I…I need to go." She ran down the hall. _

_"What was that about?"_

_He was worried about her, and decided to go to her house to see her. He brought Otamamon with him to see Floramon. But she was not there. After speaking with her mother, he found out she had gone to the park. He figured that she had taken her Floramon there so that she could enjoy the grass and the sunshine, but they were not there either. _

_"She was here," Otamamon said, sniffing the ground, "The scent's still strong, come on."_

_They followed the trail to overgrown area that was relatively unused. What they saw there caused them both to gasp aloud, Kara and her Floramon were indeed there, looking like they were about to kill Langelet, who was lying, bloodied and bruised on the ground._

_"Kara!" Kenji shouted._

_The girl twisted to him, tears pouring down her face. "Stay the fuck away!" she screamed, "Just go away!"_

_Langelet stared at her, then twisted to Kenji. His eyes stared at Otamamon, but focused on Kenji. "Come on man, please help me…."_

_Kenji turned back to Kara. He slowly approached her, "Kara, what is going on?"_

_"J…just stay away!" she screamed, "Stay away!"_

_"Listen," he said, raising his hand, "I know what a jerk he is, believe me, but he doesn't deserve this…"_

_"You have no idea! He raped me!" she exploded._

_Kenji gasped. He stared at the cowering Langelet, then back at Kara. "He what?"_

_"At his party," she panted, almost hyperventilating, "He…he g…got me d…drunk, and….and…"_

_Kenji did not even care that she lied to him about going to the party, all he cared about was stopping her from killing him. "O..okay, but you can't…"_

_"He deserves this!" she screamed, "Floramon…k…kill him!"_

_Her plant digimon instantly obeyed. "Allergy Shower…"_

_"No!" Otamamon exclaimed, tackling the plant into the ground._

_Kara was watching her partner, which gave Kenji the opportunity to grab her hands behind her back. "Let me go!" she shouted._

_"No!" he shouted back, "You can't kill him! Just stop!"_

_"No, no! I want him to pay, I want to kill him…" She broke down in tears._

_The police arrived later. Kenji used his contacts with the Japanese government to keep Langelet "quiet," about seeing their digimon partners. He was convicted and sentenced to ten years in jail. Kara, on the other hand, was brought for psychiatric treatment by DATS-friendly doctors, she was deemed to unstable to properly handle a digimon partner. The last time he heard from her, she was in a mental hospital, she was never able to recover…._

1

_Lizzie was having a recurring dream of her own. It began with the funeral, always with the funeral. She was standing with her parents on one side and her brother on the other. Her mother was crying, her father had tears in his eyes, and her brother was trying to hold back, but she could tell he was crying inside. She turned back to the grave; they had been to five funerals already, but this one, the last one, hurt the most. It was Angela's grave._

_As the Barton children approached the casket, Gabe finally began to cry. "Why? You didn't have to die for me, I'm nothing, you were everything…"_

_Lizzie began to cry as well._

_A few days later, and things were still not back to normal, and Lizzie feared it never would be. Her mother was so sad, and her brother was not the same carefree person he was, he was serious, moody, and spent all of his free time training with Kotemon. One day, she followed them to the special gym were the team usually…_use to_ train._

_She and Alraumon quietly entered, the building had been bought by their parents so there was no worry of anyone 'unauthorized,' entering, so the building was empty. All save for the main area, where Gabe and Gladmon were both panting heavily, sweat pouring down their faces._

_"I don't think just building up our muscles like this is going to make me evolve," Gladimon panted._

_"It's the best chance we've got!" he snapped, "We have to get stronger, we can't let anything like this happen again! If we were stronger, we could have stopped Azala before he killed everyone!"_

_Lizzie and Alraumon flinched from her hiding spot. _

_"But Gabe…" Gladimon protested._

_"No!" he shouted, "I don't care! We're not gonna be humiliated and helpless like that again!"_

_"Stop it!" Lizzie screamed, running out from her hiding spot. Gabe and Gladimon were too surprised to even react as Lizzie embraced Gabe, and Alraumon used her extend vines to wrap around the larger Gladimon. _

_"Lizzie, what…"_

_"Stop!" she pleaded, tears in her eyes, "Stop, you can't die too!"_

_"Lizzie, I'm not going to…"_

_"Yes you are!" she cried, "Don't fight anymore, just stop…"_

_He was not sure what to say. He pushed her back so he could look her in the eyes, "Lizzie, I need to do this, I'm a Chosen, I have to…"_

_"But…you'll die…"_

_He forced a smile. "Me? No way, I'm the best, remember?"_

_"Don't lie."_

_"Sorry, but…that's just…just a…it's something that could happen, but I can't let that worry me, right? This is just…what I…what _we_ are, right?"_

_She sniffled, wiping her nose with her sleeve, "Y…yeah, I guess."_

_Gabe slowly smiled, "Hey, do you want to train with us?"_

_Her eyes shot open. "W…what? Really?"_

_He grinned, nodding. "Sure."_

_"Yeah, that'll be so cool!"_

_That was the day her brother taught her the importance of being a Chosen._

1

Kenji and Lizzie's bodies began to glow in a bright red, the color of fire, the power from Akira. The light grew brighter, and brighter, enveloping the entire cavern.

The three Ancients and their prisoners stopped short as the light exploded behind them. They twisted around and watched as a group of figures emerged, Masa, Dorumon, Mixcoatl, Patamon, Kenji and Lizzie, along with two different digimon standing beside them: a large plant creature beside Lizzie, and a gold warrior beside Kenji.

"Alraumon and Otamamon evolved to Fully Evolved?" Akira's Falcomon gasped.

"It worked?" his partner said in amazement.

Lizzie grinned, "That's right! Meet Alraumon's Fully Evolved form, Blossomon!"

Kenji mentioned to his partner, "And this is Grademon."

Adan gently nudged Akira with his shoulder, "See, I told you they were be fine."

"Yeah…yeah…"

Ancient Irismon and Ancient Beetmon stepped in front of Ancient Megatheriumon, with the prisoners riding on his back. The wind warrior held out her sword, "Very well, if you wish to fight, then so be it!"

Lizzie threw her fist into the air, "Go show 'em what we're made of Blossomon!"

"You know what to do, Grademon," Kenji nodded.

Mixcoatl reached for his digivice, but Masa shook his head. "Don't."

"What?" he gasped.

"Let them fight for now, we're their back-up."

The other Hunter narrowed his eyes, "You're acting quite friendly with them."

"Stop being so suspicious."

The other Hunter hesitated, "You know, those Ancients might be Megas for all we know, I think it's going to take two-on-one…"

Masa stared at him, "Oh really?"

"You can stay here and…'heh,' _recover_, and me and Mammon'll handle it."

The other Hunter sighed, "Fine, but I'm watching you, and as soon as you falter, Dorumon and I are jumping in, get it?"

He did not respond as he and his Patamon rushed forward. The small digimon quickly evolved to his highest form, the massive Mammon. Ancient Beetmon was scurrying up the walls, using his legs like a spider's rather then a beetle's. He hung from the ceiling, firing beams of energy from the tip of his helmet. "Terra Blaster!"

Mammon pointed his tusks at the Ancient. "Tusk Strikes!"

The Ancient swung to avoid the projectile, then fired another Terra Blaster, Mammon shifted aside, and executed another Tusk Strikes. This continued for a good portion of the battle, each opponent firing an attack, then dodging to avoid his opponent's attack.

Mixcoatl growled. "Mammon…he's humiliating you!"

"I'm trying my best!"

The Hunter sighed deeply, then jumped into the battle, using his fire and brimstone to fire flaming rocks at the Ancient. He twisted aside, but Mammon fired at that moment, Ancient Beetmon was caught as the rock wall blew apart behind him. He tumbled through the air but held up his hands and created a dark cloud that began to fire thunder bolts at the Hunter and his partner. "Calamity Thunder!"

Mixcoatl rolled to avoid a lightning bolt, but used his spear to deflect another bolt back into the air, where it smashed against the wall. A chunk of rock fell into Ancient Beetmon's back. His arms jarred, and the dark cloud vanished. Mammon pointed his trunk at the Ancient Warrior. "Tundra Breath!"

Ancient Beetmon used the blades on his hands to slice and tear into the blast of freezing air, but Mammon kept expunging the frosty breath. The Ancient could not keep up, and was soon overpowered, his entire body turning into a thick sheet of ice.

"Yes!" Mixcoatl grinned, "All right, do it!"

"Tusk Strikes!" Mammon shouted, firing his tusk projectiles through Ancient Beetmon's frozen stomach, shattering him into pieces.

"Nice job," the Hunter nodded.

"Great Snow Blow!"

Mammon was tackled in his side by Ancient Megatheriumon. Mixcoatl did not see the prisoners atop the Ancient's back, and when he twisted his head around, she saw Adan, Akira and their partners lying against the wall, their hands still tied behind their backs. Ancient Megatheriumon must have tossed them off his back before he ran to fight. The Hunter charged to his brother.

"Are you okay?"

Adan nodded. "Yeah…"

Mixcoatl removed the ropes from the younger teen and his partner then helped them to their feet. "All right."

"Hey!" Akira's Falcomon snapped, "What about us?"

The Hunter stared down at them, but Adan stepped in front of him. "Please, brother? They were prisoners too…"

He hesitated for a moment, then tore the ropes from the DATS agents as well.

Ancient Irismon flew into the air, out of reach of the two ground-based digimon, but, that did not mean they were helpless. "Spiral Flower!" Blossomon declared, firing a barrage of lasers from her flower petals. Ancient Irismon dodged and rolled through each one, the beams smashed into the rock wall, causing small pebbles to rain down from above.

"Careful!" Lizzie shouted.

Ancient Irismon pointed her sword at the plant digimon and blasted forth a rainbow-colored beam. "Rainbow Symphony!" Blossomon had to shield herself with her vines. Grademon slunk around behind and started to ascend the wall, leaping from cliff to cliff until he was high enough to leap at Ancient Irismon, his sword directly over her back. The Ancient spun around at the last moment and with a swipe of her sword, created a gust of wind that threw him into the ground. She was about to continue her assault, but Blossomon used her vines to wrap tightly around the Ancient. However, her wings were two strong to be kept prisoner, and she used them to rip the vines from her body. Ancient Irismon turned to dive bomb to plant, but once she was close enough to the ground, Grademon was able to attack. He swung both of his swords before him,"Grade Slash!" Ancient Irismon twisted out of the way and the armored warrior's attack cut a gash into her arm. Blossomon whipped her vines around the Ancient once again. This time she pulled down as hard as she could, smashing the warrior through a few stalactites before bashing into the far wall. She broke free and shot back to continue her fight, but her advantage was lost.

"Thorn Whip!" Blossomon shouted, her vines whacking and slashing across the Ancient's body. She tried to execute her sword-attack, but the plant's vines kept the Ancient's hands from even moving her arm. Grademon held his crossed swords out in front of him in an X and shot at the Ancient, cutting through her body, "Cross Blade!"

Ancient Irismon fluttered for a moment before her slide apart, her data dissolving into the air. "Yeah!" Lizzie cheered, throwing her fists into the air, "Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah!" Blossomon and Grademon were celebrating as well. Kenji grinned, tempted to join them.

"Behind you!" Akira and Falcomon screamed.

The other DATS agents spun around to see Ancient Megatheriumon standing behind them. The Ancient beast glared down, the breath expunging from his nostrils were freezing in the air. "Great Snow…"

"Metal Meteor!"

A massive ball of iron tore through Ancient Megatheriumon's side smashed into the wall. The giant Ancient did not even have a chance to react before his body vanished before their eyes. Masa and Dorugremon walked over. "Don't start celebrating until _all_ your opponents are gone," the teenage boy said.

"I thought you guys were handling them," Lizzie pouted.

"What now?" Kenji asked.

Mixcoatl gripped his Spear, "Do you really need to ask?"

The DATS agent sighed, "Yeah, I guess I don't…"

"Wait a second," Masa said. He glanced to the tunnel, which wound deeper into the ground, "We need to keep investigating, and I know you're interested…"

"Are you serious?" Mixcoatl shouted before the DATS team could answer, "They're our enemies, remember?"

"Yes, I know," he sighed, "But who knows if more of those Ancients are going to show up? The more fighters, the better our odds."

"What if they attack us from behind?"

Akira snorted, "_You're_ the ones that'll attack _us_ from behind!"

Kenji turned to the DATS team, "We should be looking for the others, but what do you guys think?"

"I wanna know more about what's going on," Lizzie said.

"Yeah, me too," Akira nodded.

Kenji shrugged slightly and nodded at Masa. "Yeah, all right. We're in."

* * *

Shiro's group was trudging through the dark forest, keeping a safe distance behind the hovering Lucemon Satan Mode. They all knew the demonic dragon was really their friends, Kasumi and Yuki Agumon, but the sight of the black beast was intimidating. All were wary, except for Eliane, who kept her head hanging low.

_Ami glared at Eliane, "Stay out of this you freak!"_

_The French girl blinked, "F…freak?"_

_The Demoness sighed in annoyance, "I'm talking about BD-2 infection, all of those giant saucers on your skin!"_

_Kasumi glared at the Demon, her mind thinking of Akira…_

_Eliane blinked, trying to stay in control, but it was clear her emotions were starting to overtake her. Her mind raced with images of the other children taunting her, excluding her from everything, physically teasing her…_

_Ami's smile grew, her feelings about not having a true sibling relationship were being masked by her cruelty. "I bet you don't even have one friend, do you? And guys? Forget about it, you'll never get a date, you'll be lucky if they don't toss you in the freak show at the circus!"_

_Kasumi began to scream, "You fucking bitch! Leave her alone!"_

_With Yasu tending to Eliane, Kasumi and Orochimon's attention was on Ami and Astamon. The Uni Demoness was grinning. "And why do you even care, huh? You're not her sister."_

_Kasumi was still radiating with rage, her fists clenched tightly. "My brother is going through the same thing as Eliane! The same thing as Yasu!"_

"It iz all my fault," she muttered to herself, "If Kasumi had not stood up for me, zen zis would never have happened. I am a freak, and now I made her one as well…"

"You can't blame yourself…it just…happened," her Mushmon said, but the French girl was not convinced.

While Shiro and Yasu were cautiously staring at Lucemon Satamon Mode, Gabe's thoughts were fully focused on Asami. She was walking next to her transformed cousin, and the teenage boy was staring intently at her rear, twisting and shifting in her pink skirt. He thought of her in her pink bikini, wondering what she looked like without those thin pieces of fabric covering her.

_"Jeeze, I really do think a lot about girls,"_ he mumbled in his thoughts. "_I've got to at least talk to her."_

He approached the brown-haired girl. "How are you?"

Asami shrugged. "Okay, I guess, I'm just scared, what do the Demons want me for?"

"We're gonna figure it out, and then we'll help you with whatever it is."

She just nodded, turning her head away. Gabe slowly reached his arms around her and pulled her close. She did not resist. "No matter what, I'll protect you…"Their heads moved closer and their eyes started to close….

Lucemon Satan Mode suddenly began to roar loudly, and the two teenagers pushed apart. "Kasumi, what is it?" Asami shouted.

Gabe snorted, _"Fucking bitch! I finally get close to Asami, and she ruins it! What the hell is her…"_ His thoughts trailed to nothing as he saw what all the others were seeing, the Demon Master himself was descending down from the sky. With him was his Dexdorumon partner, and a teenage girl with flowing brown hair, a bronze jacket, a yellow skirt and matching t-shirt, and a pair of heeled sandals.

The DATS agents, unsure of how to react, just stood in place, staring at the two Demons. The Demon Master bowed at Shiro and Psychemon. "Good to see you again, son of Ishida." He looked at the others, "I know all of you, but you don't know me. I am Masanori, the Demon Master, this is my partner, Dexdorumon."

Kotemon looked to Psychemon, "You're right, he's just like the one that fought Kasumi and Orochimon."

Masanori mentioned to the girl, "And my…counterpart, if you like, Araki."

The girl nodded. "Yes, I am Araki, the Demon Priestess. Please meet my partner, Metal Phantomon."

The digimon creature that was hovering beside her was a massive floating skeleton who appeared to have lost his legs. He was carrying a glowing scythe, his soulless eyes glaring down at them. "He's a lot uglier then a regular Phantomon!" Yasu exclaimed.

Eliane shoved a hand over her friend's mouth, "What are you trying to do, get us killed?"

Masanori smirked, "Actually, your well-being can be assured, all you need to do it hand over her!" He pointed at Asami, and the teenage girl yelped and jumped behind Gabe.

"No fucking way!" Gabe snapped.

"He's right," Shiro added, ""There's not a chance we're giving her to you."

The Demon Master shrugged. "Very well, I suppose we'll take her by force…" His eyes narrowed and his voice deepened, "_And I won't wait any longer!"_

Lucemon Satan Mode roared. Araki smirked, "It looks like Shinji's pet has a problem with that."

Metal Phantomon nodded. "A fool to try to control her."

"He wasn't after her to control her, he was just using her for his experiment." She crossed her arms, "Although I am surprised she had some level of conscious control over her actions…"

Lucemon Satan Mode replied by fling her tail at the priestess. Metal Phantomon blocked the attack with a swipe of his scythe. Masanori grinned, "A Mega, eh? Looks like we'll need to use this." He held out his palm and summoned the Flail of Chance with an explosion of silver light. Once the weapon was in his hand, he reached for his digivice with the other. He and his snarling partner began to evolve in unison. "Dexdorumon evolve to Dexdorughoramon!"

Yasu and Eliane screamed, hugging tightly to each other, while Shiro stood firmly before them. The demonic dragon looked to Araki and Metal Phantomon. "You two take care of the rest, the demon dragon is mine."

The girl nodded. "You got it, Masanori."

Gabe smirked. "You think you can take all of our digimon on? This is gonna be the fastest battle ever!"

"Gabe," Shiro said, "I wouldn't taunt them."

"Why? They've got nothing on us! Kotemon, go!"

His partner charged at the floating metal reaper, evolving to his Fully Evolved form of Mystimon. The magical warrior jumped into the air, intending to slash his sword into Metal Phantomon's back, but the demon spun around, whacking the blunt edge of his scythe into Mystimon's chin. He whacked the warrior in the side of the head, then spun around, bashing his weapon into his legs. Metal Phantomon grabbed Mystimon's face with his hand and threw him into the ground.

"Ah!" Gabe gasped.

"Oniichan _told_ you so!" Yasu said.

"That's enough," Shiro warned his sister, "Psychemon, get in there."

Psychemon evolved to Weregarurumon, while Labramon, Leormon and Mushmon evolved to Dobermon, Raiamon and Woodmon. Araki only grinned. "More playmates? Heh heh…"

Metal Phantomon tightened his grip on his scythe. Weregarurumon swung his claws, creating a wave of energy, "Kaiser Nail!"

The cyborg grim reaper used the metal of his scythe to deflect the attack, striking the wolf man in the chest. "Weregarurumon!" Dobermon shouted, galloping over. Metal Phantomon moved like lightning, shooting in front of the large black dog. He swung his scythe, cutting a large gash in Dobermon's leg, then whacked his head with his weapon. Raiamon pounced from the right, but Metal Phantomon executed complete control over his scythe. He batted the lion digimon into Dobermon, tangling them into a ball. Woodmon fired a barrage of wooden projectiles, but the scythe was easily able to destroy each one, then whacked the tree digimon like a golf ball.

"Too easy," the metallic demon chuckled.

"Yeah," Araki smirked, "Let us know when you're ready for real."

"Attack him together!" Shiro ordered.

The digimon surrounded Metal Phantomon and leapt at the mechanical demon. His scythe began to glow and he spun around in a tight circle, unleashing a wave of energy into the digimon, "Grave Scream!" The three Adults were knocked back to Child forms, but Mystimon and Weregarurumon remained standing.

"Core Darts!"

Metal Phantomon only smirked at Mystimon's attack, using his scythe to bat the flaming projectiles back into the magic warrior. The cyborg demon ducked just as Weregarurumon leapt to attack from behind; with one quick motion, he grabbed the wolf man and threw him head first into Mystimon. Both Full Evolved digimon crashed into one of the trees in the dark forest and fell motionless to the ground.

"Now that that's out of the way," Araki chuckled, walking towards the DATS team, her eyes focused on Asami, who was cowering behind Gabe, "Let's get going."

"She's not going anywhere with you!" Gabe shouted. The other humans soon stood beside him.

Araki's face became a snarl, "I wasn't giving you a choice!" Metal Phantomon fluttered before the DATS agents and slammed his scythe into the ground, causing the ground to shake, knocking the humans to the ground. Moving like water, Metal Phantomon swooped through the air and grabbed Asami by her arm and yanked her into the air.

The screams of the brown-haired girl sounded like a dentist drill to Gabe. "Asami!"

Araki leapt into the air, landing on Metal Phantomon's back. "We've got her, Masanori!"

Dexdorughoramon nodded and growled in delight. "Excellent, but remember, her powers will not allow us to bring her past the boundary of our base. Take her to the Bakemon temple."

"Gotcha," she nodded, "Let's roll, Metal Phantomon."

Her partner, still holding Asami in his arm, took to the sky. Leormon leapt into the air and managed to slam his teeth into Metal Phantomon's cape, but it did little good. Now, being so high above the ground, if he were to release his grip, he would fall to his death. He was as trapped as his partner.

Asami, however, was overcome with fear and even tried to slip through Metal Phantomon's iron grasp. Down below, Gabe screamed, "Asami!"

The brown haired girl held out her hands, "Gabe, help me!"

Unfortunately, the teenage boy was stuck on the ground, unable to fly after the captured girl, however, Lucemon Satan Mode was not. He roared loudly and shot into the sky, but his trip was short-lived as Dexdorughoramon grabbed him by the tail and with a quick yank, flung him crashing into the ground. The demon dragon jumped back into the air, but the Undead demon was waiting for him.

"Going somewhere?" Dexdorughoramon laughed.

Lucemon Satan Mode growled loudly, "**Move…**"

The Undead dragon responded by exhaling a wave of flames from his mouth, "DORU Dinn!"

The demonic dragon shielded himself with his wings, then attacked by flicking his tail over his head. Dexdorughoramon grabbed the appendage and flung him into a group of trees. The demonic dragon leapt back into the air and charged at his opponent, unleashing his own flame attack, "**Purgatorial Flame!"**

Desdorughoramon dropped down, the flames erupting over his head. He shot up, slamming his fist deep into the dark dragon's neck. Lucemon Satan Mode shifted quickly and all of his right wings bashed into the Undead Dragon's head. Dexdorughoramon punched the dark dragon's head, then twisted around in the air and kicked him as hard as he could before retreating back into the air.

"I have to hand it to Shinji," he replied as he dove for another jab in Lucemon Satan Mode's side, "Ever since acquiring this form, I've wanted to test it out, and now I have the chance! Even if I fear it will only last for a short while."

Down below, the DATS agents were watching intently; while they all wanted to go after Asami, they could not help but watch their transformed member battling the leader of the Demon Generals, their hope…Lucemon Satan Mode would defeat him, and if there was no master, there would be no demons.

"Come on Kasumi!" Yasu cheered, "Go, go, go!"

Even Gabe was silently cheering for Lucemon Satan Mode…if nothing more then for insurance, he was a Mega after all…

"**Divine Atonement!"**Lucemon Satan Mode roared, unleashing a wave of intense energy. Dexdorughoramon easily weathered the assault, then shot forward, once again unleashing a barrage of punches and kicks, finishing his combo with a devastating uppercut, before retreating once more.

Lucemon Satan Mode was beginning to show signs of fatigue, but did not give up. "Tell me," Dexdorughoramon asked, "Why are you even fighting me?"

The dragon glared, **"Save…cousin…save…friends!"**

He snorted, "Really? You're going to save your cousin, even though she'd be so much happier without you around?! And as for your friends, you don't have any."

Lucemon Satan Mode flinched."Ah," the Undead dragon continued, "I've struck a nerve, have I? You know it's true, don't you? You're arrogant and angry, you think your way is best, and you attack anyone who doesn't think so, isn't that right?"

The dark dragon did not respond, nor did he move, he remained perfectly still.

"When was the last time you were with one of the others outside of any sort of "DATS" connection? They tolerate you, but they don't like you, they'd be happier if you just disappeared."

On the ground, the DATS agents stared in disbelief. "What's he doing?" Psychemon asked.

"Psychological warfare," Shiro snarled.

"But…it iz not true, right?" Eliane gasped, "Right?"

Before anyone could answer, Dexdorughoramon leapt to attack once more, this time by firing shards of metal at Lucemon Satan Mode, the projectiles tearing across the dragon's scaly skin. The dark dragon whipped his wings from side to side, attempting to swat the Undead dragon. Dexdorughoramon simply laughed.

"So you're still attacking me, even if it's all for naught, you won't save your cousin, the others won't allow it. Gabe wants to be the hero, he wants to save Asami, he won't ever let you do it."

Down below, Gabe flinched, but said nothing.

"And Shiro, well, he's tired of you constantly pushing him around, forcing him to only do what _you_ want to do. As for Yasu, she's never like you, she wonders why Akira got stuck with an older sister like you! And as for Eliane, well, she may have just met you, but your attitude since then has made your true self perfectly clear."

Shiro winced, and Yasu and Eliane felt cold pains in their stomachs.

"Go ahead," Dexdorughoramon snickered, "Ask them."

Lucemon Satan Mode turned to the DATS team. Each one of them stared up at the dark dragon, but only for the merest of moments, for they had to turn away. "See?" Dexdorughoramon laughed, "Now do you understand? They cannot deny it, they will not even look you in the face!"

Images were swirling through Lucemon Satan Mode's mind, he thought of his parents who were constantly yelling at Kasumi about her school work, he thought of Akira and how they would always argue, and he thought of his cousin, who always stood by Kasumi's side, even thought she probably did not want to. None of them believe Kasumi when she told them about how she was infected with the Gift of Demons, all of them were wary around her following her return to them, none of them trusted Kasumi.

**"I have no friends…my family hates me…I am alone…**

"No!" Shiro shouted, "That's not true! Kasumi, Yuki Agumon, listen to me, you've got to…"

Dexdorughoramon whipped his hand fiercely, creating a gust of wind that tumbled the humans and their partners into a tangle. He turned back to the dark dragon, "Yes, I see you understand, there is no point in continuing to fight…" He began to laugh, "You have nothing to fight for, not even yourself! You're trapped in that form, you can't return to your normal life like that! You would be stuck in the Digital World forever, and I'm sure no one would even come to see you if they _liked_ to, for who wants to visit a demonic dragon that just as soon would probably eat them?"

Lucemon Satan Mode remained motionless as Dexdorughoramon hovered in front of him. "I promise I will make this quick," he said, flames beginning to emerge from his mouth, "DORU Dinn!"

The flames erupted forth, closing in on the dark dragon. Lucemon Satan Mode remained motionless, waiting for the end…

"Wake up!" the DATS team screamed as loud as they could.

The dark dragon suddenly leapt back to life, roaring loudly. The flames were surrounding him, he had no choice but to fly directly through the geyser of fire to escape. He flew through the inferno, ignoring the pain, before arriving back in the sky.

The DATS team was cheering, while Dexdorughoramon was staring with narrowed eyes. "So, you still choose life?"

**"Not…give…up!"**

The evil blaze, however, was still effective, Lucemon Satan Mode's scaly skin was beginning to sizzle, giant welts were appearing. The Undead dragon smirked, "Well, whether you do so willingly or not, it does not matter, this is your last moment in this world!"

Lucemon Satan Mode roared again and shot at the Undead dragon, moving as fast as he could. The DATS team could not pull their eyes away, their hearts were threatening to leap out of their chests…could the dark dragon do it? Could he really defeat the Demon Master?

Lucemon Satan Mode kept his eyes focused on his opponent, "**Divine…**

Dexdorughoramon fired a massive barrage of metal shards from his hands, "Metal Impulse!"

Lucemon Satan Mode could not move in time, the stream of deadly projectiles tore through the giant black orb that the dark dragon was carrying, tearing through the Lucemon Larva Mode that Dexdorughoramon knew was resting inside.

Lucemon Satan Mode could only stare in silent shock as the shards tore through his entire being.

1

_d'Arcmon__, Oracle of Digiphi, began to scream, "I see!"_

_"What do you see?" Shiro asked._

_d'Arcmon began to pant heavily, staggering about. "I…" She took a deep breath, "One among your numbers, one who bears the mark of DATS…will soon…perish…"_

1

On Earth, Taichi was being interrogated by the government agents assigned to the investigation into DATS, when a sharp pain erupted through his torso. He clutched his chest, slipped out of his chair and collapsed onto the floor.

1

Sora, who was waiting nervously at home, felt an intense cold feeling wash over her. She pulled herself into the fetal position, her teeth chattering loudly.

1

In another section of Neodigital, the combined teams of DATS and the Hunters were walking through the tunnels beneath the mysterious temple of the Warrior Ten, when Akira suddenly burst into tears. "What is it?" Adan asked.

"I…I don't know," Akira sniffled, "All of a sudden, I…I'm just so sad, I can't explain it."

1

Lord Sentry watched as the Timepiece of Asuka, which had been spinning strangely since the Gift of Demons infected Kasumi, suddenly ceased.

1

Lucemon Satan Mode's body began to teeter, falling to the ground. Before it did, however, it began to dissolve, shedding its outside layers, until what laded softly on the ground was not a gigantic dragon, but a teenage girl and a white-skinned dinosaur. Both had a giant gash in their chests, the teenage girl's shirt was soaked with blood.

Dexdorughoramon began to laugh, "No match at all…" Suddenly, his body twitched, "Too much power too soon…I'm not ready to handle it all just yet." He glanced at the DATS team, "I could kill them all right now…but I would probably strain myself too much, I could pass our, and then be vulnerable…no, it's best to go, to deal with them later." The Undead dragon turned, then disappeared into the sky.

The DATS team took no notice of the escape of Dexdorughoramon, they were focused on the bodies of Kasumi and Yuki Agumon; both were lying so still, unmoving, there could be no doubt. The team cautiously approached, not wanting to believe what their eyes were telling them to be true. Yasu was shaking as she stared, "O…Oniichan, t…they're not….they're not…."

Shiro could only hug his sister tightly as she sobbed into his chest. Eliane was in tears as well, and with no one else, she and Gabe embraced each other. "Idiot," Gabe mumbled, "Ya had to go and prove yourself, didn't you?"

"Stop it!" Yasu screamed, "Just stop it!"

He flinched slightly, and said nothing. Shiro and Psychemon began to dig a hole in the ground, and Gabe joined him. The girls and their partners stood off to the side, that was all they could do, their emotions were too strong. Once the boys had laid the bodies of Kasumi and Yuki Agumon into the freshly dug grave, they joined them.

The team stared through tear-stained eyes. "She looks so peaceful," Yasu mumbled through her tears, "Like she's finally happy."

"They both do," her Labramon added.

"She was beautiful," Elian sniffled, "Zo much more zen she ever zought…Zank you for defending me against Ami…I only wish I could have gotten to know you better…"

"They're at peace, I think," Shiro's Psychemon said.

"Finally," Gabe's Kotemon added, "No more guilt, no more anger…."

"I guess she was in a lot of inner turmoil," Gabe added.

Shiro finally spoke, although with great effort, "I'm sorry I couldn't save you, I'm sorry I just stood there and watched you…" He clenched his eyes closed, "I'm sorry…"

He then began to bury his fallen friends until all that remained was a simple mound of dirt. "May you rest in peace," Eliane nodded.

Each of the team members said their goodbyes before turning and running in the direction that Araki had taken Asami. They ran in silence, each one wanted to do nothing but stop and cry, they did not want to continue, but they all knew they had to. There would be no time for healing, Asami was still in danger, Asami could still be saved, they had lost one, they were not about to loose another!

It was an hour before Gabe finally spoken, "L…look, a…about what I said…I…I was really out of a line, she was your friend, and I'm sorry."

He sighed deeply, "I think I hated her, you know."

The others stared in surprise, but said nothing, allowing him to continue. "I guess…I mean…before I even met her, I just heard my parents, and my other team mates talk about how strong the Yagamis were…It made me feel, like…you know, what was I? What good was all of my hard work if everyone just wanted a Yagami to be there? I hated her before I even met her, I mean, I know that she didn't like me, but…I never really gave her a chance to _not_ not like me…" He sighed again, "And now I'll never get that chance…"

"She was…hard to know, I'll admit," Shiro added.

Gabe nodded. "Yeah."

Yasu took a deep breath, "So what now?"

Shiro narrowed his eyes, "We rescue Asami, then give those Demons payback!"

Gabe nodded again. "All right, but, if you want us to follow you, I think it's time you tell us what's going on."

He blinked. "What?"

"You know what the Demons want Asami for."

"What are you talking about?"

"You've got a terrible poker face," Gabe said, "I can tell you know something."

He was silent. "Oniichan," Yasu gasped, "Is there something you're not telling us?"

The teenage boy was silent for another moment before exhaling deeply. "Well, I'm not _certain_ but…." He took a deep breath, "It started when I was thinking about why the Demons wanted Asami, it had to do with whatever it was they were testing her for."

"Back when we first explored Neodigital?" Gabe asked.

"Right," the blond boy continued.

The other teenage boy was lost in thought for a moment. "Fate?" he asked, "They're looking for Fate?"

"But," he said, "They didn't just take Asami, they tested me and Yasu too."

"Yeah, that's right," his sister said.

Shiro nodded. "So, whatever they wanted Asami for, they thought Yasu and I had to. What was the connection between us?"

"You have Fate too?" Psychemon asked.

"That's what I thought too," Shiro continued, "But studying our family trees, we're not related to Yuushi in any way."

Eliane slightly raised her hand, "Did they zink you and YAsu were Kasumi and Akira?"

"That was a thought, but no, they know too much about us to make that mistake, it had to be something else."

"They just want the powers of the First Chosen?" Kotemon suggested.

"Then why only Asami, Yasu and me? Why not take any of the others? And more to the point, why us? I understand that they might have thought Yasu and I held Darkness, but why not Kasumi and Akira for fire? It had to be something else, something else they wanted from her, something to extract from her, something they couldn't get anywhere else…"

Gabe suddenly gasped, "No, you don't mean…"

Shiro nodded. "Yeah, Asami holds the power of Chance."

Gabe was shaking his head, "B…but that…her…a…and you…t…that means…"

Shiro stared forward, "That Asami, Yasu and me are descended from Juro."

Eliane gasped, and Yasu exclaimed, "How?"

"From studying the family trees, we can surmise that Mr. Yamaki is Juro's grandson, and I believe that our great-grandmother, our father's grandmother, was Juro's daughter. He may have only been 16 was she was conceived, but that's well within the age to father a child."

"Wait…wait…wait," Gabe waved his hands, "If that's true, how come when your father fought Juro, he never said anything about it?"

"Best guess, he didn't know. If Juro was fathering children at 16, not only our great-grandmother, but Mr. Yamaki's grandfather or grandmother, he doesn't seem to me like the type of person who would wait to see if he was a father. "

"How do you know this is…true?" Psychemon asked.

"Before we left, I hacked into Miss Ootori's translation of the Digital Codex, and found my answer. Juro's hair color…blond, and his partner…Gabumon. So I think it's safe to assume, that just as Yuushi fathered the line of Chosen with dinosaur digimon, based on him having an Agumon, Juro father the line having canine type digimon. It has to be true. And if you think about the Yagamis and Ishidas, Mrs. Yamaki-Hikari, had mysterious powers as a child which may have been Fate, and our Uncle Takeru had the same kind of powers, where did that power come from? It had to be Chance. Mr. Yagami and our father were the only Chosen with Mega digimon. No, there's too many coincidences, we're descended from Juro."

"So how does Asami fit into this?" Gabe questioned.

"Her mother is descended from Yuushi, her father is descended from Juro, she had the powers of Fate _and_ Chance, a perfect hybrid. The Demons want the _mix_ or _merged_ powers of Fate and Chance, and whatever they want it for, we need to find out before it's too late."

The team fell into silence as they continued through the dark forest. "I have a question," Eliane asked, "If zere are zoes parallels between the Yagamis and Ishidas, zat Mr. Yagami is opposite Mr. Ishida, zat Mrs. Yamaki is opposite your Uncle Takeru, zen who is Miayag's opposite on ze Ishida side?"

Shiro was silent, "I…I don't know..I didn't really assume that…" He shook his head, "I don't know, and for some reason, that really scares me."

The team then fell into silence as they continued through the forest.

_Next: Purgatory._

1

Author's note: The first big revelation, I hope you liked it. That was a plot point I felt they really overlooked in Adventures, where did Takeru and Hikari get their powers from, and why was it that only Taichi and Yamato could have Mega digimon? It couldn't have just been because they're siblings, there had to be another reason.

And as for Kasumi…well….just trust me, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Later.


	24. Ascension: Chapter 1

_My name is Shiro Ishida; when Asami was captured, when went into Neodigital to rescue her, they chose me to be their leader. Some leader I've been, so far I was even able to keep the team together, we were separated, with Kenji, Lizzie and Akira ending up at a weird temple that was being researched by the Hunters: Mixcoatl, Adan and Masa. They were forced to join together in order to defeat a mysterious group calling themselves the "Warrior Ten," Lizzie and Kenji were able to use Akira's power to evolve their partners to the Fully Evolved level, Blossomon and Grademon._

_But our group, Kasumi, Yasu, Eliane, Gabe and myself had another, bigger problem. Kasumi and Orochimon had merged together and evolved to Lucemon Satan Mode. We tried to stop him, but he was too strong, Asami showed up, having escaped from the Demons. She was able to calm Lucemon Satan Mode and reach Kasumi and Yuki Agumon. They were leading us to the Demon base when the Demon Master and his Demon Priestess showed up. They recaptured Asami, but when Lucemon Satan Mode tried to fight him, he killed him! Kasumi and Yuki Agumon, they're…gone…._

_And then, I was forced to reveal what I knew, that the reason why the Demons want Asami, is because she's descended from Yuushi and Juro! And Yasu and I are descended from Juro as well._

--

_Ascension_

_Chapter 1_

_--_

Shiro's team moved in silence through the forest, the deaths of Kasumi and Yuki Agumon still too fresh in their minds. They wanted to stop, they all just wanted to run, to rest, to heal, but they could not. Asami was still in danger, they needed to save her, and they would not stop until she was safe.

_"We've got to save her,"_ Shiro thought, "_It's going to be hard enough to tell the Yagami's that Kasumi is d…dead, I don't want to tell the Yamaki's the same thing about Asami."_

Gabe's eyes were focused firmly forward, his gaze not moving from the horizon, "_Asami__…I'm gonna find you and I'm gonna rescue you, no matter what!"_

Yasu kept her gaze to the ground, _"Akira…I'm sorry about your sister…I wish we could have saved her."_

Eliane's head was drooping low too, "_I feel like this is all my fault, if she didn't stand up for me, then…then….Everyone's either picking on me, or else when they stand up for me, they only get hurt. I shouldn't even be here, I'm just a…a freak!"_

The group continued forward, keeping their attention focused on Asami, it was the only way to keep from breaking down.

* * *

Shinji and his Skull Satamon could not believe their eyes as they entered the temple in the Bakemon village, lying on an alter in the central room of the building, was Asami and Leormon, tied tightly to the metal slab. "They captured her?"

"Of course," the Demon Master replied, entering the room with Araki at his side, "Araki doesn't fail me like you!"

Shinji tried not to flinch. "Y…yes, of course…"

"Where is Tsuragi?" Araki asked.

Shinji mentioned over to shoulder to a wooden door, "Yeah, he's there, crying his heart out…" He slightly raised his voice in an imitation of Tsuragi, "Oh Ami, oh Ami… I thought he was a man, but he's just a little girl!"

Skull Satanmon was about to speak, but his partner glared at him, "Say anything, and I'll rip out your Digicore myself!"

His partner held up his palms. "I'm quiet, I'm quiet."

The Demon Master starred down at the captured girl, her eyes darting from side to side in fright. "Don't' be scared," Masanori assured her, "What we will do to you is simply to extract the special energy you have inside you…not unlike what the Demon Lords did to the Daughters of the First."

Asami gasped, "I…I have those powers?"

"Yes," he grinned, "For you see, through a…genetic time bomb, if you will, you have the powers of Fate, from your mother's side, and the powers of Chance, from your father's side."

Her eyes grew even larger, "What? D…daddy has…?"

"That's right, though he's not aware of it, trust me. He doesn't know that he's the grandson of Juro, apparently the "Fallen Chosen," was quite a lady killer. He fathered more children then we're even aware of, but, in any event, you have the power of Fate and Chance within you, perfectly merged together." He looked to Araki.

The Demon Priestess nodded, "It will be within the hour before the preparations are complete."

The Demon Master nodded, "Very well." He lend in closer to whisper to her, "Father wants to see me, in person."

She nodded. "Good luck, brother."

As he began to leave, Asami pushed past her fear and called out to him, "Wait…i…if you're descended from Juro, and…and so am I…d…does that mean that we're related?"

"Smart girl," he chuckled, "Enjoy your stay, cousin."

* * *

The DATS agents, Kenji, Lizzie, Akira, along with the Hunters, Masa, Mixcoatl and Adan, were continuing their journey through the tunnels of the mysterious temple. They had defeated three members of the Warrior Ten, but knew that there was seven more, and as such, wanted to learn what they could about their new enemies.

As they traversed the winding halls, Adan turned to Akira, "How are you feeling?"

He shrugged. "Better. I don't know what happened, I…." He shook his head, "Just like…I don't know, I just couldn't help it." He smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head, "Sorry 'bout those tears out of nowhere."

"Don't be," Masa assured him, "The hardest thing a person can do is show themselves, if you have an empathy with someone, they are probably sad, it shows the deep connection you have with that person."

Mixcoatl rolled his eyes, "_Great, there he goes again…"_

Akira was interested, however. "Then what happened? Was that person just…sad?"

"Maybe, who can be sure?"

_"Hmm,"_ he thought, "_Does that mean Eliane was sad? Nah, probably wasn't her…it was probably Mom or Dad or Kasumi."_ A cold feeling pushed into his stomach, "_I hope nothing happened to her, I know I complain about her a lot, but I don't want to be an only child!"_

Kenji moved beside Masa, on the side that Mixcoatl could not hear, "Why are you here, anyway? You're clearly not like the rest of the Hunters."

He turned to him, "Tell me, why are _you_ here?"

Kenji raised an eyebrow. "As in this mission, or as in my entire…_being_ as a Chosen?"

Masa smiled, though it was hidden beneath his helmet. "I think I'm beginning to like you. Why don't you tell me both?"

He sighed, "Well, we're here now to rescue Asami Yamaki, she was captured by the Demons."

"Really? For what?"

He shook his head. "We don't know…though Gabe told me he thinks Shiro might. We got separated by the sea…I hope they're okay."

"And the second?"

"Well, I'm a Chosen, I guess…I didn't really have a choice. Otamamon just appeared to me as a Digitama one day."

"But you don't have to be here, you could be like those nurses and physicians in your father's hospital, or like Miss Ootori and Miss Onodera, who administer DATS. They rarely fight, right? You could have been like them."

Kenji was silent for a long while before answering, "I…I guess I wanted to….to…"

"Make a difference yourself?" he asked.

"Yes…I guess so."

Masa smiled once more, "Well, there is someone I must protect, I don't have a choice."

Kenji nodded slowly, then whispered so Mixcoatl could not hear, "Are they holding someone prisoner?"

If Masa flinched, Kenji did not see it. Instead, he glanced around, "How much longer does this tunnel go on?"

Kenji only stared at him as he wandered forward.

* * *

Shinji found Tsuragi seated in a small room in the Bakemon's temple. The Uni Demon was seated on a bed, staring numbly at his hands, "Ami…"

The Decima Demon snickered, "Are you going to spend all day crying for her? She is gone, let her go, already."

"You bastard!" he screamed.

"Why are you attacking me with such hate?" he asked, "It was not I who killed her, but Kasumi Yagami of DATS."

Tsuragi glared at him, "How fucking stupid do you think I am? I know you had something to do with it!"

"Nothing could be further from the truth," he replied in a sinister tone, "It was Kasumi Yagami who killed your sister, you would do well to fuel your anger towards her."

"She's dead!" he screamed, "The Master killed her, remember?"

"Then take your rage out on her teammates; they will no doubt be coming here for Asami Yamaki. Unleash your rage upon them, and kill them all. Give into your anger, give into your wrath!"

Tsuragi stared at the floor for a long moment before the door to the room creaked open even more. They turned to see Araki standing in the door opening, "I must return to our base."

Shinji blinked in surprise, "Y…you're leaving?"

"I have to," the Demon Priestess answered, "I need time to prepare for the extraction-I must cleanse my body and soul, and that can only be done with the Gift of Demons." She pointed at Shinji and Tsuragi, "The Bakemon are at your disposal, if DATS arrives here, do not let them take Asami Yamaki from this place, or Masanori will kill you personally, understand?"

Even Shinji felt a chill up his spine. "Yes."

"Good."

* * *

Shiro's group arrived in what could only be described as a ghost town, with decaying buildings, the streets covered with debris, and an eerie feeling blowing through the village. There was a massive temple in the center, with a horde of Bakemon hovering around the top. "This must be the place," Gabe said. He crossed his arms, "Let's find Asami."

Shiro mentioned to the temple, the only building still standing, "She has to be in there."

"How are we going to get inside?" Psychemon asked.

Shiro sighed, rubbing his chin. "Well, I don't see any guards around the bottom, they're all at the top, so my guess is to walk through the front door?"

Gabe nodded. "Whatever, let's just find Asami! Come on Kotemon!" His partner nodded and they both charged for the front door.

"Wait!" Shiro shouted, watching the two run for the front door of the black temple, "Damn it, they're just as bad as Kasumi and Yuki Agumon."

He sighed deeply, and found himself smiling at the memory of his recently deceased friend. The blond boy began to run after Gabe and Kotemon, with the others following them. Yasu's Labramon sighed deeply, "Yeah, Gabe's like Kasumi all right."

Yasu smiled, "I think it's romantic."

"You do?"

She nodded, her eyes sparkling, "He's the knight in shinning armor rescuing his princess."

Her partner gave her an odd expression, "Yeah…yeah, sure…"

The pig-tailed girl continued to stare at the sky, "I can't wait until my knight in shinning armor comes for me….oh…."

Gabe threw open the wooden doors of the temple and ran inside, only to stop short. Staring back at him was a tunnel that vanished into darkness, an unnatural darkness that hung like a thick fog. Neither he or Kotemon could see further then only a few inches in front of them. When the other DATS agents caught up to them, they peered inside as well. "Well," Shiro sighed, "I guess that's why there's not any guards down here, this fog keeps everyone out."

Eliane waved her hand through the darkness, only to watch it vanish before her eyes! She yelped and pulled it back quickly, "It…it iz zo thick!" She blinked, "Wait…" She turned to Yasu, "Can you zee t'rough it?"

The other girl blinked, "What?"

"Yes," Shiro nodded, "You have Mom's powers of Darkness, can you guide us through that?"

"I…I d…I don't know, I…I never really…."

Shiro placed a hand on her shoulder, "Please, you're the only one that can."

Yasu took a deep breath, "O…Okay, but how?" She stared at the thick darkness and slowly approached it. She gently placed her hand on the edge of the blackness and closed her eyes. She breathed heavily, trying to calm herself down. When she did, she could feel it…something…like part of her was floating around her…the darkness! She was connected to it in some way! She threw open her eyes, "I can see through it!"

"You can?" Gabe gasped. He stared into the hall, the blackness was still there.

"Yeah," she grinned, "Just follow me." She began to wade through the thick darkness with the others closely behind. They were all blind, they could barely even see to the end of their nose, yet with Yasu leading them, they made every turn, every tunnel, every passage perfectly. Soon, the cloud began to lift as they exited the mysterious maze, arriving in a large room with a single door on the far side.

"Yeah!" Yasu cheered, "I did it! I did it!"

"Keep your voice down!" Labramon hissed.

It was too late, however, as a lone Bakemon was hovering, invisible, near the ceiling.

* * *

Shinji was staring down at Asami, still bound tightly to the examining table with Leormon tied in a ball in the corner. "W…what's going on?" the girl asked, trying to be brave, "W…where did that girl go?"

He smirked, "Araki, our Demon Priestess, needed to prepare for the extraction of your Fate and Chance powers, so you've got a little bit longer…"

Asami suppressed a small gasp. Shinji chuckled and lend closer, Asami's eyes were wide with fear. "Leave her alone!" Leromon shouted. He tried to leap to his partner's aid, but his four legs were tied together tightly.

Shinji chuckled, "Don't worry, I do not have any intention of harming you in _that_ way….You're a little too….young for me….hehe"

The door flew open and the Bakemon flew inside, "Sir!"

Shinji sighed in a growl, "What it is?"

"The DATS team is here."

He smirked, "They're actually later then I excepted." He mentioned with his arm, "Go and deal with them. Send all your Bakemon, overpower them, destroy them!"

"Yes sir!"

* * *

Back down below, the DATS team watched as the large wooden door slowly opened and an army of Bakemon came pouring through. "Shit!" Gabe gasped.

"Evolve!" Psychemon ordered, "Now!"

"Psychemon evolve to Gururumon! Gururumon evolve to Weregarurumon!"

"Kotemon evolve to Gladimon! Gladimon evolve to Mystimon!"

"Labramon evolve to Dobermon!"

"Mushmon evolve to Woodmon!"

The Bakemon fired out dark claws from beneath their robes, whipping towards the DATS team. Weregarurumon grabbed Shiro, Yasu and Dobermon, jumping to the right, while Mystimon grabbed Gabe, Eliane and Woodmon, jumping to the left; each of the claws striking the ground, throwing up splinters of wood. The digimon deposited their partners safely in the corners, then jumped into battle. The Bakemon fell easily; they were foot soldiers, nothing more.

Mystimon ducked to avoid a jab of a Bakemon's Hell Claw, then slashed with his sword, cutting three Bakemon in half. He dropped to the ground to avoid another attacked, then used his Core Darts to destroy another three. Weregarurumon slashed and bashed his way through, destroying Bakemon with ease. Even Dobermon and Woodmon found little difficulty. The battle was over quickly, but, as they ran through the door, they came to yet another room; this one, however, was occupied.

Shinji and Skull Satamon stood to the left. "Well, nice to see you again, heh…"

Tsuragi and Neodevimon were to the right, but they remained silent. Tsuragi was staring at them with narrowed eyes, body quivering.

The Decima Demon continued speaking, "Well, we were expecting you much earlier, but we are more then ready."

"Where is Asami?" Gabe shouted, "I'm getting tired of asking that, so you'd better hand her over right now!"

Shinji smirked, "Oh, she's here." He mentioned with his hand to the stairs in the far side of the room, "And if you want her, you will just need to get through us."

"Fine!" he shouted. He pointed his finger at him, "I've been wanting to kick your fucking ass since day one!"

Shinji chuckled, closing his eyes, "That's right, I had forgotten, the first encounter I had with any of the DATS team was when you and Kasumi stumbled into the storehouse of the Golden Fleece, shouting and yelling at each other.

He flinched slightly, but regained himself quickly. "You'd better shut the fuck up!"

"Why are you so ready to avenge your fallen friend?" he asked, "You didn't like her and she didn't like you."

"That's something _you'd_ never understand! I saw how easily you killed your sister, I was there, remember?"

Tsuragi stared at Shinji and finally spoke, "So, she didn't just die, did she?"

"Quiet!" Shinji snapped. He turned back to the DATS team, "You do not have any right to lecture me, you sacrificed your own teammate to our Master so you could save Asami Yamaki, an innocent soul in exchange for a not so innocent one, huh?"

"Shut up!" Shiro snapped with surprising rage, "How dare you? Kasumi was our friend, and you have no right to talk about her like that…to talk about us like that! Just because you have no one!"

"Y…yeah!" Yasu shouted, finding her voice, "You're so….so evil! Did you even have any kind of family at all?"

Shinji began to chuckle, "So, that's all? You wanted to know about my past? Well, all you had to do was ask." He closed his eyes, "Let's see…I never really knew my father, and my mother was…what you would call a…a woman who used her beauty as her profession….and she wanted me to follow in her footsteps…Be as beautiful as her, be just like her…."

The DATS teams stared in confusion and surprise...Weregarurumon thought that if it were an anime, the music track would slow to a stop. All could not speak, except for Eliane, who understood instantly, "You…are a girl?"

"No!" he snapped, "I _was_ a girl! I was depressed, alone, my entire life lacked any meaning at all. I had only one friend, another daughter of a rich couple, that was the only thing we had in common, our loneliness. And then the Master came for us. We accepted his gift together, that is why we consider ourselves twins."

"You used to," Mystimon muttered.

Shinji clenched his fists, "Skull Satamon, attack!"

Tsuragi waved his own hand, "Neodevimon, make them pay for Ami!"

The two Demon digimon dove into battle. Neodevimon seemed overcome with rage, no doubt stemming from Tsuragi's anger. The devil digimon swung with his right fist, Weregarurumon crossed his arms to protect his face. The demon's fist connected, and to great surprise to Weregarurumon, sent the wolf sailing backwards where he smashed into the wall.

"Weregarurumon!" Shiro gasped. He stared at his partner slowly rising to his feet.

"M…my arms are…are numb," he panted.

His partner stared at Neodevimon, only to see a gleaming item around his waist. "The_ Megingjoro_…"

Yasu gasped, "That's the belt, right?"

Shiro nodded slowly, "Y..yeah, with that belt, Neodevimon was able to lift a bolder the size of the mountain, he can easily break every bone in our digimon's bodies."

"It's fine," Weregarurumon said, "I'll just have to stay out of range!" He made a quick hand motion, "Kaiser Nail!"

Neodevimon flapped his wings quickly and shot into the air, avoiding the attack. "Black Beam!" Dobermon screamed, firing a blast of black light into Neodevimon's side. The devil spun in the air before crashing into the ground.

"Yeah!" Yasu screamed, jumping into the air, "Go, go, go!"

With Neodevimon on the ground, Weregarurumon and Dobermon executed a double team attack, Weregarurumon firing a Kaiser Nail while Dobermon fired a Black Beam, both attacks exploding upon contact. Neodevimon appeared uninjured, however, and leapt back to his feet. He threw his arms forward, which whipped out in an elastic manner. "Guilty Claw!"

"Watch out!" Shiro screamed, "With that belt augmenting his strength…"

Weregarurumon grabbed Dobermon and jumped to safety with only seconds to spare as the claws erupted beneath them. Weregarurumon twisted around before letting gravity take hold, slamming his foot into Neodevimon's extended arm. Unfortunately, the other arm came flinging back, whacking the wolf man in the back of the head, knocking him into the ground. Neodevimon whipped his other arm up, throwing Weregarurumon back to the ground. With his arms freed, the demon attacked with another Guilty Claw.

Dobermon slammed his head into Weregarurumon, throwing him to safety. Unfortunately, the large dog was hit instead with Neodevimon's increased strength. He bashed into the far wall, slidding to the floor, regressing to Labramon as he did. Yasu screamed out her partner's name and ran to his side. Labramon's data body was even beginning to quake as his data became unstable. "No!"

"Hold him tight!" Shiro screamed, calmly, "Keep his data together."

"Dead…death…" Tsuragi muttered, "I'll kill you for Ami!"

"Why?" Shiro snapped, "We didn't kill her." He took a deep breath, "Listen, I know how much pain it must be for you to lose her, but taking it out on us won't bring her back." He sighed again, "Look, I know you two met in that orphanage, right? And that you took the Gift of Demons because you thought you'd be separated once you were adopted, so I understand how you feel now…you've been separated, but killing us won't bring her back!"

"Shut up!" Tsuragi screamed, clenching his fists tightly, "You have no idea! Ami was the only thing I had…the _only_ thing, and now she's gone, I won't see her smile again, I won't see her laugh again!" He stared at Shiro, tears in his eyes, "And you all will pay!"

Neodevimon roared with his partner's rage and flew forward, his claws ready to strike. Weregarurumon executed his Kaizer Nail attack, forcing Neodevimon to brace himself by throwing his arms in front of his face. Weregarurumon darted beneath the hovering demon and threw his leg into the demon's stomach, "Full Moon Kick!"

The powerful attack struck the _Megingjoro__, _actually cracking the belt; it slid off , clanging to the ground. The wolf man smirked and suddenly began an assault of jabs and kicks, not giving Neodevimon a chance to even fight back at all. The wolf man finished his combo with a devastating uppercut that threw the demon backwards into the air. He smashed back onto the ground, bruises littered across his body.

"Neodevimon!" Tsuragi screamed. He ran to his partner's side, "N…no…y…you can't leave me too…." He fell to his knees, tears in his eyes.

Shiro stared at the Demon Chosen, _"I think he's close to breaking down. I don't think he's a threat anymore."_

1

While Shiro and Yasu had been battling Tsuragi, Gabe and Eliane were occupied with Shinji. Mystimon fired his Core Dart attack, only to have the flaming daggers vanish into Skull Satamon's golden cloak. The devil digimon flung the cloak aside and fired blasts of energy from his staff. "Did you forget about the Golden Fleece?"

As Mystimon and Woodmon dove to safety, the warrior digimon mumbled to himself, "No, I was hoping _you_ had forgotten about the Golden Fleece."

Woodmon was surprised, "What does that do?"

The skeleton digimon chuckled, "It allows me to absorb attacks and fire them back through my staff."

"But only energy attacks!" Gabe shouted, "Remember? Physical attacks still work!"

Mystimon smirked as he pointed his sword at the demon digimon. "If I can't blast you, I'll cut you limb from limb!" He charged and swung his sword, only to have Skull Satamon block with ease. With a simple twist, he sent the weapon spinning backwards, then wacked the side of Mystimon's head before ending his combo with a quick kick of his foot. The warrior digimon stumbled backwards, and Skull Satamon was about to launch an attack, but Woodmon suddenly attacked, firing a barrage of wooden projectiles into the devil's side.

Eliane grinned, "Good job, and zince your attack is physical, he cannot absorb it!"

Shinji growled, glaring at his opponents, "That fleece is just about useless against them!"

His partner smirked, "They cannot defeat me with just their physical attacks alone."

Mystimon smirked, "I am going to show you how wrong you are!" He charged at the devil and began to slash and jab with his sword, but each assault was block by the demon's staff.

"Come on!" Gabe shouted, "You can do it!"

"You will loose!" Shinji laughed.

Mystimon slashed his sword from above, but Skull Satamon blocked, then executed another roundhouse attack, throwing the warrior backwards. The demon then twisted his staff, "Nail Bone!"

"Ahh!" Mystimon gasped, throwing his arms over his face. The energy blast struck, skidding him back. He then needed to leap into the air seconds before another attack exploded beneath him.

With Skull Satamon distracted, Woodmon took the opportunity to attack, firing a barrage of wooden projectiles at the demon's side. However, at the last moment, the devil twisted his staff to the side, annihilating the missiles with ease. "Patience, patience," he chuckled to the tree digimon, then turned back to face Mystimon. The warrior digimon was charging forward once again. Skull Satamon unleashed another Nail Bone which Mystimon blocked with the blunt side of his sword. The devil did not give him time to recover, as he fired another Nail Bone. Mystimon acted on instinct alone and executed a Core Dart attack, and Skull Satamon smirked. He whipped the fleece around, and the flaming darts vanished into the golden cape.

"Damn it!" Mystimon exclaimed, diving to safety as Skull Satamon's enhanced Nail Bone exploded forth.

"Zis iz bad…" Eliane frowned, "He cannot use his powerful attack because of zat fleece."

Woodmon nodded, "_Oui_, we need to get rid of it, but how?"

His partner studied Skull Satamon's movements, "Maybe…."

"Come on!" Gabe shouted, "You can do this! Make them pay for Kasumi!"

Mystimon gripped his sword tightly and gritted his teeth. He charged at Skull Satamon with renewed vigor and swung his sword once move. Skull Satamon whipped his staff around, and the weapons smashed together with a clang of metal. The two warriors exerted all of their strength, trying to break the strength of the other, but soon, Mystimon's energy began to give out. Skull Satamon was able to fling him aside with his staff. As his torso moved, the fleece whipped behind him. The devil was about to run forward to continue his assault, but was jerked back when he felt a tightness to his neck. He twisted his head around and saw with horror that the fleece was now attached to the wall by a series of wooden spikes.

Eliane was cheering as she jumped into the air as Woodmon smirked, his arm still extended. Shinji growled, "Kill those two right now!"

The French girl and her digimon partner stood their ground as Skull Satamon began to lift his staff. However, that left his back wide open, and Mystimon took full advantage. He darted around behind and swung with his sword, slashing through the fleece, and Skull Satamon stumbled forward.

"No!" Shinji screamed.

When Skull Satamon saw the fleece hanging from the wall, only threads hanging from his neck, he knew he had lost his greatest weapon. He spun around to see Mystimon grinning at him. Taking advantage, the warrior used his sword to knock the staff from the demon's hand.

"No!" Shinji screamed again.

"Oh yeah!" Gabe smirked, clenching his fists in triumph, "Mystimon, finish them off!"

Mystimon lifted his right hand, which contained a ball of swirling energy. He stared at Skull Satamon and his partner cowering behind them. "Your time has come."

Gabe nodded, "Time to say goodbye! And believe me, its long overdue! Now!"

His warrior partner slammed the glowing ball of energy into Skull Satamon's face, "Blast Fire!" The energy exploded in a maelstrom of flames that not only covered Skull Satamon, but Shinji as well. The force of the explosion sent them crashing into the far wall, which collapsed, burying the Decima Demon and his partner beneath a pile of concrete and mortar.

Mystimon panted heavily, while Gabe nodded. "Good job."

* * *

When Asami felt a pair of hands gripping her arms, which were bound tightly above her head, she nearly felt her heart stop. The Demons had returned. She clenched her eyes tightly, hoping the end would come quickly…

"Asami!"

Her heart began to beat once more, but an odd sensation still flowed through her stomach. She stretched her neck and her heart nearly exploded from her chest. "Gabe!"

The teenage boy ripped the rope from around her wrists, then did the same for her ankles. He helped her to her feet, "Are you okay?"

She began to quiver before jumping into his arms, "Gabe!"

He hesitated for a moment, the wrapped his arms tightly around her as well. He did not know how long he held her, and he wished that time would stop completely, but he knew it had to end. He slowly pushed her back, and stared in her face, "Asami, we need to…"

Even as they were speaking, their heads moved closer, and their lips locked. Asami's mind was racing_. "This is my first kiss! This is my first kiss!!"_

For Gabe, he saw in his mind, and image of Angela, the girl who had sacrificed herself to save him. She was smiling.

They two remained in their embrace until they heard a slight cough. They pulled apart and twisted to the doorway, their partners were standing there, along with the rest of the DATS team. With the expressions of admiriation and jelousy on Eliane and Yasu's face, they concluded that it must have been Shiro who coughed.

"S-sorry," he smiled sheepishly, "But I think we'd better go, there's no telling when the Demon Master will arrive."

* * *

Down below, Tsuragi was still seated next to his partner. "What are you doing?"

He turned to see Shinji limping towards him. His face was badly burned, blood was dripping down massive lacerations along his arms, but his Gift of Demons was already beginning to heal him. "Answer me," he said, calmly, but still with anger brimming in his voice, "What are you doing?"

The Uni Demon stared at Neodevimon, "My partner….just like Ami…."

Shinji grabbed Tsuragi and jerked him up. "Where is your pride as a Demon! Get a hold of yourself! There is still a way to fight back, there is still a way for vengeance!"

Tsuragi stared at the ground, before turning to face him, "H…how?"

"We must do as Kasumi Yagami did, to reach the Mega level, will must devoid ourselves of all but one emotion. She gave into her pride, you must give into your anger, your rage."

"I…I…."

"Think of Ami," he grinned, "Think of how they killed her, you're alone now, you will never see her again…all because of them…."

Tsuragi's face slowly began to twist into a snarl, "Y…yeah….m…make them pay! Make them pay!" He began to scream, his anger, fueled by his depression, began to take over.

Shinji smirked as he stared at Skull Satamon, who was crawling from the pile that Mystimon had buried them within, "Now, I must give into my own emotion." He closed his eyes, "Think of nothing else except ambition, think of power, think of fame…think of greed!"

The room suddenly filled with light, emanating from the two Demon Chosen, with such force that the building began to crumble….

* * *

The DATS team was in the midst of the dead town when they heard the Bakemon temple explode behind them. They spun around quickly, staring in horror at the remains of the building, while hovering over the pile of debris were two demonic figure: one a monstrous creature covered with fur, the other a emaciated figure draped in robes and carrying a staff.

Asami gasped, "That's….that's…."

"Barbamon and Demon," Shiro gasped, "Two of the Demon Lords…Kasumi evolved to Lucemon Satan Mode…is this the end evolution for all Demon Digimon?"

Yasu swallowed, "H…how do we know it's them?"

When Demon spotted the DATS agents, he roared loudly, "**Kill you….avenge Ami**….!"

"I'm gonna guess it's them," Mystimon replied.

Demon was shaking, twitching, mumbling. Barbamon did not appear any better, it even seemed like he was fighting with himself, "**Kill…destroy….d…d…destroy…kill, kill you all! D…destroy**!"

"What's wrong with them?" Asami asked.

"Just like Kasumi," Shiro frowned, "They can't control it."

"Kasumi?" Asami asked. She suddenly realized that her cousin was not among the team, "Where is Kasumi?"

Before anyone could answer, Barbamon fired a wave of energy from his staff that struck the ground only inches in front of the team. The resulting explosion created a blast of wind that threw the DATS team tumbling through the air like leaves caught in a twister. They landed a good twenty feet from their original position. While the others regained themselves, Shiro was assessing their situation.

_"One Mega alone would be tough, but two? As strong as Weregarurumon and Mystimon are, they can't take on two Megas. This is very bad…"_

He sighed deeply, staring at the two Mega-level Demons that were hovering in the air, then back at his team. "Gabe, are you and Mystimon ready?"

The teenage boy grinned, "You know it, buddy."

The blond boy nodded, then turned to his sister, "Yasu, listen to me very carefully, the Goblimon village should be around here somewhere, we gave them equipment to contact us if they needed to. Find the village, then call Dad to get you, and the others back to Earth, understand?"

"B-but…"

"Do you understand?"

She nodded quickly, "Yeah, but what about you?"

Shiro looked to Weregarurumon, who nodded. "We'll buy you as much time as we can."

"What?!" she screamed.

"They want Asami, and while we don't know for what, it can't be good. Protecting her is our top priority right now."

Asami blinked, "W…wait, you can't get yourselves killed just because of me!"

Gabe flashed her a smile, "Hey, don't worry, we'll be fine, and we'll see you back on Earth."

"Don't lie to me!" she screamed.

Demon suddenly began to scream. "They're going to attack!" Weregarurumon shouted.

"All right," Gabe said, summoning the Gauntlets of Water to his arms in an explosion of water, "Bring it on! Let's go, Mystimon!"

His partner nodded and both of them charged forward, screaming loudly as they did.

"Gabe!" Asami screamed. She tried to run after him, but Leormon managed to hold her back by grabbing her heel with his foot. This caused her to fall to the ground, "Gabe!"

Shiro turned to his sister again, "Yasu, go, now!"

She was shaking, "B…but…."

"Now!" he screamed. "Ready Weregarurumon?"

"Yes, I'm right behind you!" he shouted, running after his partner as he charged forward.

"No, Oniichan!" Yasu screamed.

With his Lance of Darkness firmly in his hand, Shiro and Weregarurumon quickly caught up to Gabe and Mystimon. "Never thought you'd go in for a suicide mission," Gabe commented.

"There's no other choice," the blond boy replied, "We need to buy time so the others can escape." He gave a faint smile, "Besides, miracles can still happen."

Weregarurumon nodded slightly at Mystimon, "It was a honor fighting beside you."

"Right back at ya," the warrior nodded.

Demon began to scream and fired a stream of flames from his palms, "**Flame Inferno**!"

Mystimon and Weregarurumon leapt in front of their partners and shielded them with their own bodies. The humans were safe, but the digimon had reverted to their Child forms.

Gabe stood beside Kotemon, "I think this is gonna be the quickest last stand in history!"

"Brace yourselves!" Shiro screamed, "He's coming for another attack!"

Demon fired another blast, **"Flame Inferno!"**

The DATS quartet braced themselves, frozen in place as the flames overtook them. _"I just hope Asami will be safe,"_ Gabe thought, "_Mom, Dad…Lizzie…goodbye…."_

Shiro thoughts began to churn as the flames began to rip across his body. "_Dad, Mom, I'm sorry…"_

Yasu and the others could not believe their eyes as they watched the flames overtake Shiro and the others. "No…Oniichan, no!"

Asami's body was shaking, "Gabe…"

Eliane was shaking her head, "No…not again…"

"I can't believe they're gone too," Labramon said, tears in his eyes, "Psychemon…"

"Kotemon," Leormon sniffled.

Their hearts nearly stopped when they heard a familiar declaration scream from the flames…

"Psychemon…"

"Kotemon…."

"…warp evolve to…."

The flames dissipated as a mighty beam of light erupted to the sky. An armored arm punched through the column of light, followed by the rest of his armored form, with a flowing cape and a glowing weapon. Another figure emerged as well, this one covered in sharp, pointed armor, with four ragged wings on his back.

"Duftmon X!"

"Dynasmon X!"

"No way!" Yasu gasped, "They evolved together, just like Dad and Mr. Yagami!"

Duftmon X hovered beside Dynasmon X and spoke in a merger of Shiro and Psychemon's voice, "Are you ready?"

Dynasmon X answered in a mix of Gabe and Kotemon's voice, "Hell yeah!"

_To be continued……_


	25. Ascension: Chapter 2

_S'up__, I'm Gabe Barton. We were all pretty down after Kasumi's death, but we needed to rescue Asami, there's no telling what they want with her powers of Fate and Chance. We battled Shinji and Tsuragi at the Bakemon temple. We defeated them and freed Asami, but the two Demons evolved to Mega! Shiro ordered the girls back to Earth while we went to fight the two Mega demons-it was a suicide mission, but we just wanted to buy time for them. But, something amazing happened, me and Shiro evolved to Mega too!_

--

_Ascension:_

_Chapter 2_

_--_

Shiro nodded, then turned to his sister, "Yasu, listen to me very carefully, the Goblimon village should be around here somewhere, we gave them equipment to contact us if they needed to. Find the village, then call Dad to get you, and the others back to Earth, understand?"

"B-but…"

"Do you understand?"

She nodded quickly, "Yeah, but what about you?"

Shiro looked to Weregarurumon, who nodded. "We'll buy you as much time as we can."

"What?!" she screamed.

"They want Asami, and while we don't know for what, it can't be good. Protecting her is our top priority right now."

Asami blinked, "W…wait, you can't get yourselves killed just because of me!"

Gabe flashed her a smile, "Hey, don't worry, we'll be fine, and we'll see you back on Earth."

"Don't lie to me!" she screamed.

Demon suddenly began to scream. "They're going to attack!" Weregarurumon shouted.

"All right," Gabe said, summoning the Gauntlets of Water to his arms in an explosion of water, "Bring it on! Let's go, Mystimon!"

His partner nodded and both of them charged forward, screaming loudly as they did.

"Gabe!" Asami screamed. She tried to run after him, but Leormon managed to hold her back by grabbing her heel with his foot. This caused her to fall to the ground, "Gabe!"

Shiro turned to his sister again, "Yasu, go, now!"

She was shaking, "B…but…."

"Now!" he screamed. "Ready Weregarurumon?"

"Yes, I'm right behind you!" he shouted, running after his partner as he charged forward.

"No, Oniichan!" Yasu screamed.

With his Lance of Darkness firmly in his hand, Shiro and Weregarurumon quickly caught up to Gabe and Mystimon. "Never thought you'd go in for a suicide mission," Gabe commented.

"There's no other choice," the blond boy replied, "We need to buy time so the others can escape." He gave a faint smile, "Besides, miracles can still happen."

Weregarurumon nodded slightly at Mystimon, "It was a honor fighting beside you."

"Right back at ya," the warrior nodded.

Demon began to scream and fired a stream of flames from his palms, "**Flame Inferno**!"

Mystimon and Weregarurumon leapt in front of their partners and shielded them with their own bodies. The humans were safe, but the digimon had reverted to their Child forms.

Gabe stood beside Kotemon, "I think this is gonna be the quickest last stand in history!"

"Brace yourselves!" Shiro screamed, "He's coming for another attack!"

Demon fired another blast, **"Flame Inferno!"**

The DATS quartet braced themselves, frozen in place as the flames overtook them. _"I just hope Asami will be safe,"_ Gabe thought, "_Mom, Dad…Lizzie…goodbye…."_

Shiro thoughts began to churn as the flames began to rip across his body. "_Dad, Mom, I'm sorry…"_

Yasu and the others could not believe their eyes as they watched the flames overtake Shiro and the others. "No…Oniichan, no!"

Asami's body was shaking, "Gabe…"

Eliane was shaking her head, "No…not again…"

"I can't believe they're gone too," Labramon said, tears in his eyes, "Psychemon…"

"Kotemon," Leormon sniffled.

Their hearts nearly stopped when they heard a familiar declaration scream from the flames…

**"Kotemon warp evolve to…"**

**The Gauntlets of Water exploded forth, showering Kotemon and Gabe. Both human and digimon began to rotate around a silhouette that appeared in the center. As they spun, their bodies merged together, first Gabe's hand, then Kotemon's hand, then a three-finger metal hand, first Gabe's legs, then Kotemons's legs, then metallic legs, first Gabe's head, then Kotemon's head, then a metal helmet with two large horns. The new figure flapped his giant wings and held up his arms, the Gauntlets of Water falling onto his forearms.**

**"Dynasmon X!"**

-

**"Psychemon warp evolve to…"**

**The Lance of Darkness exploded forth, showering Psychemon and Shiro. Both human and digimon began to rotate around a silhouette that appeared in the center. As they spun, their bodies merged together, first Shiro's hand, then Psychemon's hand, then a metal hand, first Shiro's legs, then Psychemon's legs, then metallic legs, first Shiro's head, then Psychemon's head, then a metal helmet. The new figure's cape billowed behind him as he hovered in the air. He caught the Lance of Darkness as it fell, transforming it into a glowing blade.**

**"Duftmon X!"**

"No way!" Yasu gasped, "They evolved together, just like Dad and Mr. Yagami!"

Duftmon X hovered beside Dynasmon X and spoke in a merger of Shiro and Psychemon's voice, "Are you ready?"

Dynasmon X answered in a mix of Gabe and Kotemon's voice, "Hell yeah!"

Barbamon and Demon both roared in response and flew forward as fast as they could. Both X-Royal Knights flew forward to engage. Demon swung his fists, but Dynasmon X blocked with his forearm, then executed a spin attack in the air, striking the Demonic Beast's stomach with such force it sent him twirling backwards in the sky.

Duftmon X met Barabmon in battle, their weapons clanging into each other. Barbamon roared with insanity, but kept his strength pushed firmly against his staff, keeping Duftmon X's glowing rapier firmly in place. The caped-Royal Knight twisted quickly, knocking into Barbamon as well. The two Demon Lords shot forward for another attack, and the two Royal Knights responded in kind, their fists meeting with such force that the decaying buildings of the village began to crumble.

Down below, Eliane, Yasu and Asami and their partners could not believe their eyes. "Zis is amazing!" Eliane gasped.

"I know," Yasu nodded, "I only ever seen my Dad fight before! And he usually won so quickly, but this is _real_ fight between Megas! It's so cool!"

Asami kept her attention firmly focused on the battle, "This isn't a game," she reprimanded them.

The two girls flinched. "Sorry," the older girl said. She turned back to watch, "_Please Gabe, just be safe."_

* * *

The temporary alliance between the Hunters and the DATS team finally exited the tunnel they had been traversing for what seemed like days. They arrived in a massive room, with large pillars at the edge of the circular shape, with ten tall platforms atop columns arranged in a smaller circle, closer to the center. Each of these columns were etched with odd symbols engraved into the limestone.

"Wow," was all Akira could say as he stepped inside, "Is this where those Ancient Warriors came from?"

Masa examined one of the symbols, it was a star. He held out his palm and called for the Staff of Fate. He stared at the star emblem atop the weapon. He spun to Mixcoatl, "Quick, call for the Spear!"

The other Hunter did so. Masa studied the weapon and found what he was searching for, a triangle shaped emblem on the Spear…the same shape engraved on another column. "The same symbol?" Mixcoatl's Patamon asked, "What does it mean?"

Masa glanced around again, "This was a meeting place of the First Chosen."

"That can't be right!" Kenji questioned, "We've studied this world, aside from those ancients mentioning them, we've seen no evidence of the First Chosen in the new Digital World."

Masa nodded, "Yes, but I think this world is just a reconfiguration of the first, nothing more. So maybe the…_pagan_ evidence surfaced first. In any case…" He began to walk towards the star-engraved column, "…there is energy here."

"What kind?" Akira asked, "Like First Chosen energy?"

"No…like….memories…." He lightly tapped his staff to the star symbols and his vision exploded in gold light.

_He needed to blinked a few times, and knew instantly that he was in another time and place. There were people standing atop those platforms, and judging by the digimon standing at their side, they were Chosen, but somehow he knew, not any Chosen, but the legendary First Chosen._

_ The legendary group was standing on their corresponding columns, staring down at another Chosen and his Gabumon partner, both were tied tightly with handcuffs made of a strange material._

_ The First Chosen standing atop the column with the star-engraving stared down at the imprisoned Chosen. "….known as Tatsuo Juro, you are found guilty of conspiracy and treason. You were banished from this kingdom, but you chose to create your own kingdom and engage in open war with us. Your kingdom has been defeated, you are all that remain, do you have anything to say?"_

_ A man with red hair sighed deeply, "Why are you even giving him a chance? Just get rid of him!"_

_ Another man with blond hair shook his head, "I cannot believe what you are saying. He deserves a chances to redeem himself."_

_ The red-haired man shouted back, "He's had his chance, Lucien, too many times!"_

_ A woman with black hair nodded. "I must agree with Hidokoro, this has gone on long enough."_

_ Yuushi raised his hand, "Daiyu, please." He looked down at the chained man, "Juro, please…"_

_ The blond man glared at him, "You…" He spun around, staring at them all, "All of you! So high and mighty! You are nothing more then mere mortals! You believe that you sit higher then others! You want me to prostrate myself before you, begging for forgiveness? You can all go to hell!"_

_ Yuushi sighed deeply, "As I thought. What say the rest of you?" He looked to each of the other First Chosen. _

_ First, a man with red hair, the one who had spoken before, "Hidokoro?"_

_ "Guilty."_

_ Next, a man with blond hair, one who had spoken before, "Lucien?"_

_ He sighed, "I can see now, you will never repent…" He sighed again, "Guilty."_

_ A woman with black hair, "Daiyu?"_

_ "Guilty."_

_ A broad-shouldered man, "Montenegro?"_

_ "Guilty."_

_ A woman with wavy brown hair, "Kendra?"_

_ "Guilty."_

_ A man dressed in robes, "Abungu?"_

_ "Guilty."_

_ A man dressed in gray colors, "Glaucio?"_

_ "Guilty."_

_ A woman in a tight dress, "Svetlana?"_

_ "Guilty."_

_ Yuushi nodded. "So be it." He stared down at Juro, "For your crimes against us, we will take from you your greatest weapon."_

_ Juro gasped, "No! You can't, you have no right to…!"_

_ His protests fell on deaf ears. The other Chosen pointed their weapons to the sky. The eight weapons fired beams of energy into Juro, causing him to shake with pain. Yuushi then fired gold energy from his staff, and Juro's body began to convulse even more. A blast of silver energy fired into the air, creating the Flail of Chance._

_ Yuushi continued speaking, "And for your crimes against the Digital World, you are hereby banished forever."_

_ "No!" Juro screamed, "No!"_

_ The energy from the Chosen's weapons then exploded into the ground beneath Juro, creating a glowing white circle. The imprisoned Chosen and his partner attempted to pull themselves to safety, but could not, the pull of the vortex easily claimed them._

The vision then began to blur before Masa returned to the normal world. "What happened?" Dorumon asked, "You were just standing there, staring at nothing."

He shook his head, "I experienced a memory that wasn't my own! This place holds them…" He spun to face the others, "This is where the First Chosen banished Juro, this is a vortex of the Digital World, this is a Digital Gate!"

"A Digital Gate?" Kenji asked.

"Using their weapons," he explained, "They forced the Flail of Chance from Juro and banished him to Earth."

"Like a courtroom," Lizzie added.

"Not quite," her Alruamon replied.

She cast her partner a glare.

"What does all of this mean?" Mixcoatl asked.

"I don't know," Masa answered.

Suddenly, the room began to shake and hum in a mysterious noise. "What's going on now?" Lizzie exclaimed.

A voice began to resound throughout, "_Greetings, those that seek to awaken the Agent of Destruction."_

"Oh no," the girl sighed, "We've got to fight another one?"

"Above us!" Dorumon shouted.

The group leapt to the sides of the circular room as two figures descended from above. One was a large wooden horse, while the other was dressed in green robes, with two long arms, but no legs or feet. "Greetings," he said again, bowing slightly, "I am Ancient Wisemon, this is Ancient Troiamon. We have been appointed by the Dragon Warriors as the last guardians, the last option before the destroyers are unleashed."

"Destroyers?" Kenji questioned.

"Yes, you have already encountered Ancient Irismon, Ancient Beetmon, and Ancient Megatheriumon, and counting us, that is five, but there are five others: two are guarding the seal to the Agent of Destruction. Should you defeat us, and defeat those guardians as well, then the three remaining warriors, who are slumbering beneath our feet, will emerge. Their power exceeds the sum of we seven."

Kenji nodded, "O…okay, but…and I'm afraid to ask this, but, why did you call them destroyers?"

"Because," Ancient Troiamon answered, "If the Agent of Destruction is ever awakened, then they'll be only one option remaining, total annihilation of the human world!"

"What?" they gasped in unison.

"You can't do that!" Lizzie protested, "All those innocent people…"

"It must be done," Ancient Wisemon replied, "The Agent will finish what the Gods started, using the branches of the great tree to gain control of the nine worlds…"

"Nine worlds?" Adan questioned.

Ancient Wisemon seemed to chuckle, "Did you think that Earth and the Digital World were the only two? Such human arrogance!"

Kenji sighed, "He must be talking about that world that our parents went to when they fought MaloMyotismon."

"Yeah!" Akira gasped, "That's got to be one of them!"

"That's three…what are the other six?" He closed his eyes in thought, "I know there was another one we know of….why can't I think of it?"

"The fear of death will keep your focus on the here and now," Ancient Wisemon continued, "And you must be defeated; we do not wish the destruction of Earth either, but the Agent cannot be awakened!"

"We don't have anything to do with that!" Mixcoatl shouted.

Ancient Wisemon shook his head, "I have seen the future in my Akashic Records." He pointed at Kenji's group, "DATS…" He mentioned to Mixcoatl and Adan, "Hunters," then to Masa, "And Demons, you will all participate in the awakening!"

"Demons?" Masa gasped, "I'm not a Demon!"

Kenji narrowed his eyes, "_The Demon Master's partner is the same as his…I knew that…Otamamon and I _fought_ him! I highly doubt the Demon Master and him are the same person…but I never should have agreed to work with him! I don't even know his name!"_

Masa turned to the others, all of them, even Mixcoatl and Adan, were staring at him strangely, "I am not a Demon!"

Kenji nodded slightly, "Then tell me your name."

"What?"

"Tell me your name."

He hesitated for a moment, then shrugged slightly, "Masahiko, okay? You can call me Masa."

Kenji pointed his finger, "The Demon Master's name is Masanori!"

A cold feeling washed over Masa. "W…what?"

Dorumon stared at him, "Masa…?"

Another sensation washed over his head, "M…Masanori…I…I've heard that name before….I…I can't remember…"

"That's a good cover," Kenji commented.

"I am not a Demon!" he shouted again.

Ancient Troiamon began to chuckle, "I guess it doesn't matter in the end, 'cause you're all about to be destroyed!"

Mixcoatl gripped his Spear of Earth, "We'll settle this later, all right? We got bigger problems right now!"

Ancient Troiamon's cannons and missile chambers began to glow with energy. "Surprise Cannon!"

All of his weapons fired at once; all projectiles headed for the Hunters and DATS agents. "Evolve!" Kenji shouted.

"Otamamon evolve to Shellmon! Shellmon evolve to Grademon!"

"Alruamon evolve to Red Veggiemon! Red Veggiemon evolve to Blossomon!"

"Patamon evolve to Kentarumon! Kentarumon evolve to Mammon!"

"Dorumon evolve to Dorugamon! Dorugamon evolve to Dorugremon!"

"Falcomon evolve to Diatrymon!"

"Gotsumon evolve to Monocromon!"

Dorugremon shot to the front of the group and fired a massive ball of metal, "Metal Meteor!" It was like a bowling ball striking a set of pins; once the ball of metal struck the missiles, it sent them spiraling in all directions, impacting into the rock walls. The room shook, but miraculously, it did not fall.

"Idiot!" Ancient Wisemon shouted, "You will bring the entire structure down upon our heads!"

Ancient Troiamon growled at him, "Then let's see you do better!"

Ancient Wisemon moved his fingers in an odd position, writing a glowing symbol in the air. "Elder Sign!" The symbol erupted forth, smacking into Dorugremon with enough force to send him crashing into the others.

The DATS digimon nodded at each other, and ran forward together. Ancient Wisemon made another motion with his hand, "Elder Sign!"

Another glowing symbol smashed into the DATS team, sending them spinning backwards.

"Oh man!" Lizzie gasped, "They're still weak from fighting those other Ancients before!"

Ancient Wisemon grinned, "Don't feel so bad. My Elder Sign technique let's me borrow the powers of a god! So, as you can see, you cannot win against us!"

Mixcoatl gritted his teeth, "I'm getting tired of this guy talking down to me! Mammon!"

"Tusk Strikes!" his partner shouted, firing two glowing versions of his tusks at the two Ancients. Ancient Troiamon grinned.

"Surprise Cannon!"

"No!" Ancient Wisemon shouted, "You fool!"

The two attacks exploded in the center of the room, sending a geyser of energy into the ceiling, causing the room to shake once again. Small pebbles fell from the ceiling. "We can't fight here!" Kenji shouted, "The entire place could come down on top of us!"

Masa nodded. "And your partners aren't strong enough right now." He sighed, "We need to get out in the open, we'll have a better chance."

"Run?" Mixcoatl gasped, "I'm not running from a fight!"

Adan grabbed his arm, "Brother, please."

The Hunter sighed deeply, "Fine, but I don't think they're just gonna let us waltz out of here!"

Mammon chuckled, "Leave that to me. Go!"

The DATS team ran through the tunnel first, followed by the Hunters, with Mammon in the rear. "Do you think you can escape?" Ancient Troiamon asked. He and Ancient Wisemon quickly ran after them, but once they entered the tunnel, Mammon fired his Tusk Strikes into the ceiling. He guessed correctly that the same material that held up the First Chosen's room was not the same as in the tunnel. The ceiling collapsed onto the two Ancients, burying them beneath a massive pile of rubble.

"Wow," Mixcoatl grinned, "Nice job."

"That's not gonna hold them for long," the mammoth replied, "We've got to get outside before they dig themselves out."

* * *

The battle between the Royal Knights and the Demon Lords was still raging on with no sign of ending. Barbamon roared with insanity as he swung his staff at Duftmon X. The Royal Knight used his transformed lance to block, then swung his leg around, only to have Barbamon dart backwards at the last second. Duftmon X spun around in the sky and Barbamon slammed both of his feet into his back.

Duftmon X shot towards the ground, only to rebound against the hard surface and shoot back into the sky. He flew past Barbamon, then held out his weapon, "Eine Billion!" he screamed, jabbing his sword one billion times at Barbamon, but the Demon displayed remarkable agility, and dodged each and every jab.

The Demon Lord positioned his hands, "**Pandemonium Lost!"** He blasted forth a tremendous explosion of energy that enveloped Duftmon X.

"Oniichan!" Yasu screamed, but needed to cover her eyes due to mighty blast of light. When she looked again, she breathed a sigh of relief to see Duftmon X remaining in the sky. His armor was cracked, but he was still alive.

Duftmon X and Barbamon stared at one another for another moment before beginning their battle once more, using their weapons to smash and clash at one another.

1

Dynasmon X and Demon had no weapon, and so used their fists to bash into each other. Dynasmon X swung his fist into Demon's stomach, and the roaring digimon grabbed his arm with both of his hands, then jabbed his knee into the Royal Knight's stomach, causing him to gasp in pain. Demon spun around in the air, using the momentum to throw Dynasmon X into the ground. He could not regain control in time and exploded into the ground.

"Oh no!" Asami screamed, "Gabe!"

Dynasmon X shot back into the air, his gauntlets gleaming in the light. Demon was surprised by the Knight's speed, but kept himself ready. When Dynasmon X was near enough, he suddenly short into the sky with such speed that a sonic explosion followed, blasting Demon with the full force of the boom. ""Dragon's Gust!"

**"Flame Inferno!"**

"Whoa!" Dynasmon shouted, rolling in the air to avoid the geyser of flame. He flew back to the ground and slashed with his claws into Demon's stomach. The Demon Lord's skin was like thick rubber, he could not penetrate it. Demon raised his hands and slammed down on Dynasmon X's head as hard as he could. The Royal Knight fluttered backwards, leaving him wide open for Demon's insane rage. He began clawing and slashing, jabbing and punching Dynasmon X finally regained control by falling backwards when Demon swung his fist. The Royal Knight swung his feet into Demon's stomach, then punch the side of his head as hard as he could. This proved useless, as the Demon Lord easily batted him aside with a flick of his hand.

"This is like fighting the fucking Incredible Hulk!" the Royal Knight exclaimed. Demon was not fatigued in the least, and was excited to continue. He cracked his knuckles and shot forward. "Oh man, come on!"

He hovered backwards, and felt his back press up against someone. He looked over his shoulder; he was pressed up against Duftmon X's back. "How ya doing?" he asked.

"Been btter," Duftmon X answered, staring at Barbamon, who was slowly flying towards them.

"Yeah well," Dynasmon X snorted, "I've got big problems…Demon's stronger then me, it's gonna take both of us to get rid of him."

"Yeah, but Barbamon's not going to sit back while we do."

"Then we knock him out first, and fast!"

Duftmon X nodded, "All right, just hang on." He grabbed Dynasmon X's hand and swung him around in a tight circle, his legs knocking into Barbamon's head. Then Dynasmon X did the same thing with Duftmon X, the other Royal Knight knocking his feet into the Demon Lord's head as well. This pattern continued, kicking and trading, until Duftmon X finished with a devastating triple kick, sending him crashing into the ground.

"Was that it?" Dynasmon X asked.

"I don't think he's enjoying himself," Duftmon X replied, "But he'll be…ahhh!" A blast of flames struck his back. Dynasmon X spun around in time to avoid Demon's Flame Inferno technique.

The Royal Knight flew higher into the air and shot forth an energy blast in the shape of a glowing dragon. "Breath of Wyvern!"

Demon took the full force of the attack, but remained hovering in the air, fur severely singed. "Oh come on!" Dynasmon X exclaimed.

Duftmon X shot past him, his rapier glowing brightly. "Eine Billion!" He began to jab his weapon repeatedly, but Demon's skin was too tough, and the weapon nearly cracked.

"What is this guy?" Dynasmon X asked.

Duftmon X narrowed his eyes, "It took my Dad and Mom, along with a few others to defeat the Demon they fought…and he was probably stronger then him. In-coming!"

Dynasmon X spun around just in time to catch Demon's massive fist, inches from his face. Duftmon X attacked from the side, cutting into Demon's side. The demonic creature batted him aside. He narrowed his eyes, when a thought entered his mind.

"Tsuragi, NeoDevimon," he panted, "Listen, I know you're not like Shinji…not like the rest of the Demons…"

Demon slowly released his grip on Dynasmon X and turned to face him. Duftmon X kept talking, "Help us defeat the Demon Master!"

Demon suddenly began to twitch, **"H…help you…**

"Yes."

**"Help you?"** he asked again.

"Yeah!" Dynasmon X agreed, "Come on, we need it…"

Demon began to roar with anger, his animalistic nature taking hold, " **Kill … avenge … Ami…!"**

He swung his fists into Duftmon X, then swung at Dynasmon X, but the Royal Knight caught his massive hand with both of his fists. He was about to swing his other fist, but Duftmon X shot up beside him and jabbed his rapier into his side. This time, his weapon struck it's mark. Demon roared in pain, throwing his head back. Dynasmon X kicked himself free, and executed another Breath of Wyvern, throwing him into the ground. They were about to continue their assault, when Barbamon shot back into the fray.

**"Pandemonium Lost!"**

An ball of intense energy exploded forth, catching the two Royal Knights, throwing them around in the sky. It was only with great effort that they were able to stop themselves from spinning out of control. Dynasmon X flew towards the Demon Lord's back, his gauntlets ready….

Barbamon spun around at the last second and whipped his staff in front of him, sending a bolt of lightning crackling into the Royal Knight, "**Greedy Wand!**"

Dynasmon X crossed his arms in front of his face to block the lightning attack, but the force still threw him backwards. Duftmon X swung his sword at Barbamon's head, but the Demon Lord darted to the side, then exhaled an explosion of flame, **"Hell Fire!" **Duftmon X winced in pain as flames leapt across his armor.

Dynasmon X flew to attack Barbamon's back, but the Demon Lord whipped around, grabbed him by the head, and flung him into Duftmon X, throwing both of them into the ground with a mighty explosion.

The two knights slowly rose to their feet, their armor beginning to crack. "And we thought Demon was tough!" Dynasmon X panted.

Barbamon raised his palms into the air, creating a massive ball of energy. "**Take…heh… m..my U…Ultimate…P…Pandemonium Lost!"**

Duftmon X and Dynasmon X braced themselves….

1

Demon slowly rose from the crater created when Dynasmon X threw him into the ground. His eyes focused on the two fallen Royal Knights, then Barbamon ready to execute a finishing move. He was about to leap back into the air, when a voice called out to him. "Wait!"

He spun to see Asami slowly walking towards him. She was shaking with fear, but forced herself to push past it and continued forward. Demon stepped towards her, and Leormon leapt in front of his partner, "Watch it!" he growled.

Asami spoke with a deep, serious voice, the only way to keep herself from screaming. "Tsuragi, I know you are still in control, you're stronger then your rage…"

Demon lifted his claws above his head, but held them there. He was ready to strike, but as he stared at Asami's eyes, he simply could not.

The girl continued, "I know how much you cared for Ami, I can see it in your eyes. Everytime we faced her, it was like she didn't want to be fighting us, like she had to force herself to be mean. She only joined the Demons so she could be with you, right?"

Demon slowly lowered his claws.

"I know you were sad about losing her, but…" tears began to form in her brown eyes, "Now…now Yasu might lose her brother, Lizzie might lose her brother, and Akira's already lost…" She began to sob, but regained control, "Please, don't let them feel what you're feeling, please, help them. Shinji's so…so evil, he cares only about himself, but…but you're different, please, you still have a chance-you still have a choice, please, _be_ different…"

**"Ami…**" he grumbled. He turned his head towards the sky, where Barbamon was still holding his giant ball of energy above his head. He roared loudly and launched into the sky.

Asami fell to her knees, "Thank you…."

As Barbamon was about to throw his massive Pandemonium Lost at the two knights, when Demon suddenly erupted from nowhere and slammed his fist into his chin, causing the ball of energy to dissipate.

**"What?"** Barbamon gasped.

Demon roared in response and began an assault of slashes and jabs, tearing and hacking at the other Demon Lord. Barbamon blocked as best he could, but it did little good, his partner had betrayed him, and he could not defend himself against Demon's wrath.

Down below, the two Royal Knights were staring with shock and disbelief. ""You're seeing what I'm seeing, right?" Dynasmon X asked.

Duftmon X nodded. "Yeah…is he really helping us, or are they just having a spat?"

"A what?"

"A spat…you know, a fight…"

"Why didn't you just say that?"

Duftmon X was about to respond, when a loud explosion ripped through the sky. The two knights ducked momentarily, then twisted back. Barbamon had gained the upper-hand, and had thrown Demon to the side.

"Shit!" Dynasmon X exclaimed, "Whatever's goin' on up there, we gotta take out Barbamon!"

Duftmon X nodded, "Agreed."

Both knights shot into the sky; their armor was falling from their bodies, but they pushed past their pain, their focus only on their enemy. Barbamon's robes were tattered and torn…he was not without problems of his own, but he appeared far less injured then the knights. **"Heh…t-try to s-stop m-me…y-y-you cannot! I am..heh…invincible! Pandemonium Lost!"**

Another explosion of energy ripped through the two knights, throwing them backwards in the sky. They regained themselves and continued forward. Barbamon was about to attack again, when Demon suddenly appeared behind him. The two knights watched with amazement as Demon wrapped his arms and legs tightly around Barbamon, holding him firmly in place.

Barbamon screamed, while Duftmon X and Dynasmon X could only stare. "What the hell?" Dynasmon X gasped.

**"H…hurry…"** Demon grumbled, "**A…attack…"**

"What?" Duftmon X gasped, "B…but…"

"You're really helping us…" Dynasmon X shook his head in amazement, "W…we can't…"

**"Do it…please…can't…hold for long…"**

"But…"

**"S…see Ami again…"**

The two knights stared at each other, and both nodded reluctantly. Dynasmon X took the lead. The Royal Knight flew higher into the air and shot forth an energy blast in the shape of a glowing dragon. "Breath of Wyvern!"

Barbamon tried to flee from the in-coming energy field, but Demon held him tight. At the last moment, Barbamon managed to twist quickly, not completely around, but enough so that both he and Demon were hit at full force in their sides. Demon seemed to take the worst of it, and his grip weakened and he slammed into the ground.

Barbamon chuckled and turned to face the Royal Knights. As he twisted around, he did not even notice that Duftmon X was right in front of him. Before he could react, the Royal Knight shoved his rapier through Barbamon's chest, specifically, his left side. With his heart pierced, the Demon Lord shook for a moment, before his head dropped and his body hung, motionless. He shimmered for a moment, and the data that comprised Skull Satamon, Barabmon's digimon side, exploded into the sky. What was left was the lifeless body of Shinji. Then, his skin and clothes began to slide away, revealing a figure beneath that defiantly was not Shinji-instead of a blond-haired teenage boy, was a pre-teen girl, with her red hair pulled into a tight, pineapple ponytail behind her head, she was dressed in a pair of jeans and a blue t-shirt with a broken heart on the front. Duftmon X flicked his rapier, sending the body crashing into the ground. "That was for Kasumi."

Asami and the others rushed to the fallen Demon's side. Dynasmon X and Duftmon X landed beside him quickly, still uncertain of his motives, but, when Demon's data exploded, leaving only an injured Tsuragi lying on the ground, they knew he was far from being a threat. His skin was shimmering; his Gift of Demons was attempting to save him, but could not with such a fatal wound.

Asami bowed. "T…thank you."

"Why'd ya help us?" Dynasmon X asked.

Tsuragi swallowed, "I…I guess…maybe I was lying to myself all this time." Tears began to form in his eyes, "Ami…she only joined the Demons because of me, she was always so gentle and kind, but then the Gift of Demons made her into something she wasn't…Besides, I hated Shinji….jack ass…"

He smiled slightly, "I just hope…I can…see…Ami again…" He closed his eyes and breathed his last.

Asami knelt beside him, tears in her eyes. "I hope you find her on the other side."

Dynasmon X and Duftmon X both exploded in light as they returned to their previous forms. However, before they could even step forward, their eyes rolled into their heads and they collapsed to the ground.

"Oniichan!" Yasu screamed.

"Oh no!" Eliane and the digimon gasped.

Asami quickly examined them, then breathed with relief. "They'll be okay."

"They will?" Yasu asked, hopefully.

The older girl nodded. "Yes, they just used up a lot of energy, they just need to rest."

"But we can't stay here," Yasu's Labramon said, "The other Demon's are gonna come looking around soon."

Yasu nodded, "Yeah, we've got to get back to the forest, we'll have better cover there."

"How are we going to carry zem?" Eliane asked.

"No problem," Labramon grinned, "I can handle that, right Yasu?"

The girl grinned. "Yeah." He pointed her digivice at her partner, and Labramon quickly evolved to Dobermon. The girls gently threw their unconscious teammates onto his back and they ran from the decaying village as fast as they could.

* * *

Masa's mother looked hopeful as the door to their small apartment opened. "Masa?"

"No."

Her heart turned cold as Lord Sentry stepped inside. "Why are you here?"

The leader of the Hunters chuckled, "I just thought I'd come see how you are doing. Are you being well cared for?"

She narrowed her eyes, "How well can my care be? I am trapped within this building…I do not even know it's location!"

He smirked, "Oh, I think you already have an idea of where."

She glared, "You are truly an evil human being."

"Oh please!" he snapped, "A lot of people considered _you_ evil."

"I was only 19…I sought answers instead of finding them within myself. Besides, I was used by GranDracmon, your evil is your own insanity."

Lord Sentry leapt across the room and grabbed her by the neck with one hand, easily lifting her into the air.

"Hey, leave her alone!" Plotmon shouted.

Lord Sentry easily kicked the digimon aside. He stared at Masa's mother, "I could easily kill you right now…"

"I…came…back…before…" she said with a smirk, "Your…assassinations…are poor…"

He dropped her to the ground, and she coughed loudly. He smirked, "I'm not so foolish, I know that you are the only thing keeping your son here, if I were to kill you, he'd become my worst weapon."

He walked to the door and glanced over his shoulder, "I'll see you again soon, Megumi, or do you prefer Miayag?"

The Priestess narrowed her eyes, "You once called me something more."

He only laughed as he exited the room. He maneuvered through the halls of his base until arriving back at his office. There, he met a teenage boy with messy brown hair. "Masa, I did not expect you here."

The boy shrugged. "Well, I came to give you some good news, Asami Yamaki has been apprehended."

"Really?" Lord Sentry chuckled, "And the location of the temple?"

"Yeah, we found it."

"Excellent…excellent…" He waved his hand and the teenage boy rose to his feet. As he approached the door, Lord Sentry called out to him again, "Just make sure that energy is extracted from her."

"Don't worry, it's all under control."

And with that, Masanori, the Demon Master, exited the room.

_Next: Rebirth!_

* * *

NAME: Masanori-The Demon Master

GENDER: Male

AGE 15

ETHNICITY: Japanese

OCCUPATION: Conqueror

PLACE OF BIRTH: Unknown

DATE OF BIRTH: Unknown

KNOWN RELATIVES: Araki-"sister" Juro-great-grandfather

GROUP AFFILIATION: Demon Generals

SUB-GROUP: Decima Clan

EDUCATION: Unknown

HEIGHT: 5'

WEIGHT: 123 lbs.

EYES: Blue

HAIR: Blond

POWER: Gift of Demons, Chance

DIGIMON: Dexdorumon-Dexdorugamon-Dexdorugremon-Dexdorughoramon-?

WEAPON: Flail of Chance

BIO: So far, not much has been revealed about Masanori, the Demon Master, but as he is the only Demon with a title reminiscent of the Demon Lords indicates his power and position above the others. He is the great-grandson of Juro, the Fallen Chosen, and possesses his power of Chance. He also bears a striking resemblance to Masahiko of the Hunters. Up to now, the unquestioned leader of the Demons, but, as revealed in this chapter, the Demon Master takes orders from Lord Sentry of the Hunters.

1

NAME: Araki-the Demon Priestess

GENDER: Female

AGE: 15

ETHNICITY: Japanese

OCCUPATION: Priestess

PLACE OF BIRTH: Unknown

DATE OF BIRTH: Unknown

KNOWN RELATIVES: Masanori-"brother"

GROUP AFFILIATION: Demon Generals

SUB-GROUP: Uni Clan

EDUCATION: Unknown

HEIGHT: 5' 3"

WEIGHT: 130 lbs.

EYES: Brown

HAIR: Blue

POWER: Gift of Demons; Unknown

DIGIMON: PicoDevimon-Soulmon-Phantomon

WEAPON: None

BIO: Another Demons with a title, if Masanori is the first 'modern' Demon Chosen, then Araki is the second, and acts as Masanori's partner for the Demons. She is the source of the Uni Clan's power, but is she truly the source of her own power?


	26. Rebirth: Chapter 1

_My name is Asami Yamaki, a Chosen member of DATS. I was captured by the Demons because they wanted the power that I have; a merging of the powers of Fate and Chance-I knew I was the great-granddaughter of Yuushi, but it seems I am the great-granddaughter of Juro as well. The Demons were going to extract that energy from me, but Gabe rescued me…we then shared our first kiss. I don't know what is happening between us, but …Gabe and Shiro evolved to their Mega forms and defeated Shinji and Tsuragi of the Demons. Now, they…along with their partners are unconscious, so Yasu, Eliane and I are watching them until they wake up. I just hope that we'll be safe until then._

--

_Rebirth_

_Chapter 1_

_--_

The girls and their partners had located a space in the forests of the Dark Continent, a circular clearing in the thick trees, positioned against a mountain, where a shallow cave dug into the side provided perfect cover. Gabe, Shiro, Kotemon and Psychemon were laid inside the cave on a bed made of anything the girls had...sleeping bags, extra clothes, etc. They had found a river running nearby, were using that as the source of water, placing wet cloths over the heads of their unconscious members.

Asami knelt down and gently laid the wet cloth on Gabe's forehead. She ran a hand over his chest, "_Gabe…"_

Leormon looked to her, "How long do you think they'll be asleep?"

She shook her head, "I don't know…I wish one of the Dr. Kidos was here or Kenji…"

Yasu stood up from where she was kneeling next to her brother. "It's going to be night soon; we're going to need to choose who's gonna get first watch…or something like that…"

The others nodded. "I think we need to eat something first," Asami said.

"I'm not hungry," Yasu said.

"Me either," Eliane nodded.

Their partners were about to speak, but Asami held up her hand, "You need to keep up your strength; it won't do them…" she mentioned to their unconscious teammates, "any good if you're too hungry to help them."

They nodded. "I guess I can make it," Eliane nodded.

The older girl smiled, then rubbed her hands together, "Yasu, you said you had soap with you?"

The girl blinked. "Huh? Oh, yeah." She dug through her backpack and handed Asami a bar of soap and a small bottle of shampoo.

"Would you mind if I borrow a towel?"

Yasu nodded and handed her a large beach towel. "Thank you," Asami bowed, "I am going to take a bath in the river, okay?"

The others nodded. The teenage girl grabbed her supplies and made her way to the water.

* * *

She could not quite remember how it happened. Her memories seemed to be jumbled. Oh, she could remember the earliest moments of her life, such as discovering that strange Digitama that came out of her father's desktop computer, or the first time she and the others entered NeoDigital, even the time she was overcome with evil. She could remember that clearly, but when Kasumi Yagami tried to remember the end of her life, she found she could not.

She did not know how long it happened, but she slowly began to realize what had happened. She was dead, she had been killed. Fear began to overtake her as she tried to find a way to escape from the dark void that was surrounding her. She tried to scream out, but found she had no voice. She tried to reach her hands to her throat, but founds he had no hands. A quick examination showed her that she had no body either. She was dead, nothing but an intangible spirit.

She was dead, that much she understood, but why was she trapped in darkness. Was she not supposed to go somewhere? She had hoped that his life of fighting against evil and championing the side of good would have given her some reward, but she would even take an afterlife of torture and screaming to be free of the lifeless void around her.

_"You do not truly mean that, do you?"_

She looked around the darkness, trying to find the source of that voice. When she found nothing, she figured that she must be losing what mind she had left.

_"You are not losing your mind. Give me but a moment to appear before you."_

The darkness was suddenly enveloped by a bright light and a creature appeared before her, dressed in white and having sharp bird feathers on his arms. "Greetings wayward soul," he said, "I am one of the Valkyrimon, sent to retrieve fallen souls and bring them to their resting place."

Kasumi wanted to reply, but could not. Valkyrimon smiled. "If you wish to communicate, do not try to speak with your mouth-that is the secular way to do so. Simply think what you wish to say, and it will be communicated."

She would have nodded if she had a head. She thought about what she wanted to say, and to her surprise, she was able to communicate. "Where's Yuki?"

"If you are referring to your partners, she is beside you."

Kasumi looked to her side and saw nothing but the darkness; however, she knew somehow that her partner was beside her.

"Are you okay?"

"Other then the fact I don't have a body, yeah," a voice came from the darkness beside her.

Kasumi looked back to Yalkyrimon. "What's going on here?"

The digimon nodded. "Yes. You, Kasumi Yagami, and you, Yuki Agumon, have been killed in duty. As a Chosen Child and Digimon, you have fallen under the authority of the Lord Annubimon."

"Annubimon?"

"Yes," Valkyrimon nodded, "He will judge your works and your soul." He held his hand out. "Come."

Neither Kasumi nor Yuki Agumon could give him a hand, so they moved their consciousness over. Valkyrimon smiled and with a swing of his sword, cut a swath of light in the darkness. Both digimon and human spirits were pulled through that light and entered a room of solid space. Great columns of brick stretched to an arched ceiling. Cloths of multi-colors hung along the walls, and there was a carpet stretching to the far wall. Valkyrimon began to walk forward, and the pair followed. They passed by a multitude of angelic digimon, some dancing, some singing, but all hovering and floating about. When they reached the far wall, they came upon a digimon that resembled a bipedal dog with large wings on his back.

Valkyrimon bowed. "My lord Anubimon, I have brought to you the soul of the fallen Kasumi Yagami and Yuki Agumon."

Anubimon nodded and spoke in a deep voice. "Yes, the Chosen Child. I apologize for keeping you within the darkness for so long, but two others came through right after you-they had a far more pressing judgement." He held out his hand, and a small angelic digimon hovered over and gave to him a large, thick book. The holy digimon began to flip through the pages. "Now, Yagami…Yagami….Yagami Akira…Here we are, Yagami Kasumi. Hmm, let us see. You were part of the DATS team, dedicated to defending Earth and Neodigital against the Demons…you fought the Hunters….You did champion a cause against evil…"

Kasumi would have smiled if she could.

"However," Anubimon continued, "You lived your life with your pride at the forefront of your mind, you thought because of who you are, because of your family lineage, that meant you were better then the others. I could _possibly_ overlook this, as this was not necessarily a conscious, willful act on your part, but your pride turned to anger and rage, that, I cannot overlook. Kasumi Yagami, Yuki Agumon, I sentence you to the Fifth Circle."

"What?" Kasumi gasped, "W…what are you…?"

Two Valkyrimons grabbed Kasumi and Yuki Agumon, despite their lack of physical form, and dragged them to a doorway on the left. The Chosen and digimon struggled to break free, but simply could not. They were brought to the edge of a cliff, a cliff that overlooked a giant, monstrous cavern, comprised of circles arranged in a funnel shape. A sign was hammered into the ground at the very edge of the cliff, which Yuki Agumon read. "Abandon all hope, ye that enter here?" she exclaimed.

"Farewell," the Valkyrimon said, pushing the two females off the edge. The two began to fall fast, past the first four circles until crashing into the rocky surface of the fifth circle-the circle was comprised was a swampy, murky mess, with a large river flowing through the center. It seemed that the area where Kasumi and Yuki Agumon had landed was the only patch of solid ground.

Pain erupted through Kasumi's body. "Oh man," she moaned, rubbing the back of her neck, "That really…." She blinked, "Wait…." She moved her hands in front of her face…she had hands! She had arms! She had her entire body back! She twisted to see Yuki Agumon, who was standing before her. "Yuki, we…we've got our bodies back!"

"Yeah," the dinosaur mumbled, slowly rising, "I know. But you're still a Demon."

Kasumi blinked, then grabbed her pony-tail and moved it so she could see it…it was still blond. "Oh…" She suddenly winced, and lurched over, "Oh…my back's on fire!"

Her partner nodded, "Kasumi, you know where we are; I don't think it's suppose to be a pleasure cruise!"

The girl glared at her. "What are you getting so pissed for? You know, that's the reason why you ended up here!"

"Same to you!" she shouted.

The full reality of their situation suddenly struck them. They instantly stop, fear overtaking them. Kasumi just sighed, then glanced around. The fifth circle was a swamp; stinky, thick and overpowering. The girl shivered, "M…maybe we s-should see what's going on…?"

Her partner did not answer.

The duo began to walk through the marshland, when they heard shouting. They both ran to the source of the voice, happy to at least have companionship, but as they approached the source, they could see through the fog rising from the ground, it was an entire sea of people, screaming and yelling, tearing and clawing at one another. "What's wrong with them?" Yuki Agumon asked.

Kasumi was about to shake her head, when a voice answered, "They're being punished for their rage in life."

Standing behind them was a group of figures. One was a man with a messy hair style and a strange, angelic/devil digimon at his side. The others were a ten-year-old girl with spiked red hair and dressed in a blue and white t-shirt with a fox creature at her side. Kasumi and Yuki Agumon were staring at the man in disbelief.

"Dad?" Kasumi gasped.

The figure laughed, "You would be so lucky! I am Cahiti, the King of the Demon Lords!"

They gasped, and slowly turned to the girl, who sighed angrily. "Yeah, yeah..." she started to blush, "I'm…S…Shinji…"

"Shinji?!"

"The Gift of Demons changed me!" she snapped, "And I guess since I'm dead, I don't have that power anymore!" She looked at her body, "Man, this sucks! I'm stuck in this form for all of eternity!"

Cahiti chuckled, "Well, you didn't want to look like that, so here…"

"Yeah…yeah…"

"W…what do you want?" Kasumi asked, her voice quivering.

Cahiti answered, "I want revenge on my 'double,' for sending me here! And what better way then to torture his daughter for all eternity!"

The duo took a step backwards, then twisted on their heels and ran as fast as they could. Cahiti laughed and raised his hand, "Evilmon!"

A horde of demonic, devil creatures suddenly leapt from behind Cahiti and Shinji, swarming towards the fleeing Kasumi and Yuki Agumon. They ran through the marshes and swamps, rolling under trees and dodging branches. The Evil continued after them, snarling and snapping. One swiped at Kasumi's back, ripping through her shirt. "Ouch!"

Yuki Agumon spun around and exhaled her Frozen Wind technique, encasing the hovering demon in ice. The dinosaur landed and continued after her partner.

"I don't think that'll hold 'em for long!" she panted.

"I know," Kasumi replied, "But we can't fight them all."

They continued running, jumping over fallen trees and deep puddles. They did not know how long they had been running, but exhaustion soon took hold. They fell to the ground-they simply could not run any longer. Kasumi only wondered how and eternity of pain could be experienced and hoped she would lose her sanity quickly.

"Cosmo Flash!"

"Cherry Bomb!"

"Spiral Sword!"

Both human and digimon threw up their heads in shock, who's ever attacks those were, had succeeded in driving away the Evilmon!

"They scare easily, but they'll be back, we have to hurry."

They turned to see a group of young woman standing next to a group of digimon. One woman was dressed in green and stood next to a giant tree that Kasumi and Yuki Agumon recognized as Juriemon. Another young woman had long brown hair and was standing next to an Andromon, and the last woman was dressed in a simple brown dress and stood next to a white-colored version of a Gotsumon-an Insekimon. Kasumi studied her face, then gasped, "You…you look like…like Mixcoatl!"

The woman nodded slightly, "Yes, my name is Maria, and we're here to help."

* * *

Masanori, the Demon Master, was not please. "Truly?"

Araki nodded, "Yes, the Bakemon Temple is gone and Asami Yamaki is nowhere in sight."

"And those two idiots you placed on guard?"

"The remains of both were found…in their pre-Gift of Demons forms."

He sighed. "I see."

"But, our spies report a group of humans hiding near the edge of the Forest of Shatter Light."

"What are our options?"

"We either send Neo and Rei, or we go ourselves, this is no one left."

He nodded. "Send them, I am tired of excuses, I want results!"

The Demon Priestess nodded. "You of course know there is really no telling what they may do when they find her; they very well may rape her-both of them, bringing her back."

"As long as she lives, that's all that matters at this point."

She nodded again, then left the throne room. She maneuvered through the empty halls of the base until arriving at the lower floors. The dank, dark hall was cut into the mountain itself, and stank of stone and water. She continued until reaching a metal door at the far end; with great effort she opened it, and stepped into a room containing only a television, which was being watched by four figures-two human and two digimon. "Hello."

They turned to stare at her, "What do you want?" the boy asked.

"You have a mission."

"Really?" he asked, chuckling, "After so long?"

"Yes, the Master needs you to capture a girl."

"That's it?"

"The girl, Asami Yamaki, is guarded by powerful Chosen."

"A battle?"

"Yes, a battle."

The boy rose, laughing wickedly, "A fight….a fight!"

The top of the Demon's Base soon erupted as these four figures shot into the air and flew in to the distance.

* * *

Kenji's group and the Hunters were still running through the winding tunnels of the Temple of the First chosen. "Keep going, keep going!" Kenji shouted, "We need to get to the surface before those Ancients get free!"

As if in response, a loud rumble from behind shook the wall. "I think they're up!" Akira's Falcomon exclaimed.

"Just keep moving!" Masa shouted, "We've got to be almost there!"

Lizzie looked over her shoulder at the darkness and saw two figures running at them, "They're right behind us!"

"Keep moving!" Masa shouted again, "We've got to get outside!"

* * *

"So, let me get this straight," Kasumi said as she followed the young women across the red landscape, "If you're really Maria, Keeya and Iduia, why are you here? Shouldn't you be in heaven or something?"

Iduia answered, "This is the Digital Underworld," she explained, "Where evil digimon and Chosen go. Fifteen years ago, the worst digimon of all time, GranDracmon, was sent here. He was sentenced to the lowest level, but broke free and trapped the ruler of this place in ice. GranDracmon joined with the Demon Lords and took control. We were sent here because of our experience with GranDracmon and the Demon Lords."

Kasumi nodded, "Oh, then that's why I'm here, 'cause Anubimon's under their control, right?"

The others did not answer.

"Right?" She asked again.

"No," Keeya responded, "You are here because of your anger and pride, because you use the Gift of Demons."

"But…but I didn't…"

"But you still use it," Keeya continued, "That's why you still look like your Demon self, because subconsciously, you want that power. To free yourself, you must rid yourself of it."

Kasumi looked to her partner, but Yuki Agumon only shrugged. "The girl looked back, "All right, what do I do?"

"This is the realm of the spirit," Maria said, "It will be easier then you think. There is a cave which forces those inside to face themselves, a punishment for hypocrites."

"Where is it?"

"In the eighth circle, down below."

She nodded, "All right, fine, just give me directions and…"

"You're not going along," Iduia interrupted, "We will be accompanying you."

"You will?"

"Yes…we were recommended by people you have not met…the First Chosen. They want you to be saved."

"Besides," Maria's Insekimon added, "We need to go to the bottom level to face GranDracmon anyway, the cave is along the way."

"Oh…whatever, let's just get going."

"We need to get more members first," said Maria, "and we have arrived."

They had stopped at the base of a tall, black tree; the base held a series of smaller trees, seated in front of one was a woman with curly blond hair and a boy with scraggily brown hair- a red dinosaur beside him.

The woman looked at Kasumi, "Zis is Taichi's daughter?"

Kasumi blinked, "Eliane? No…you're her aunt!"

"_Oui,_ my name is Catherine."

Kasumi looked to the boy, "Who are you?"

He shrugged slightly, "Y…you knew me as Tsuragi."

"Tsuragi?" Kasumi and Yuki Agumon gasped.

"This is how I really look, the Gift changed you, it did the same for me."

"Oh, just like Shinji?"

"He's here?"

_"She's_ here."

"Oh, right…"

Kasumi shook her head, "I might be a tomboy, but Shinij's really off her rocker."

"I think she has some issues."

"_Some?_ I think….wait, why are you even with her?" she pointed at Catherine.

"He is here to help," the blond woman answered.

"Help? You tried to kill me!"

"You tried to kill me!"

Kasumi began to stutter, "I…ah…b…but…"

"I'm here to help you, so let's just try to work together, all right?"

"Yeah…sure…" She did not want to, but with the way he was acting and couple with his altered appearance, it made it easy to forget he was the same Tsuragi that tried to kill her. She mentioned to the dinosaur, "I take it that's your partner?"

He nodded. "Yup, de-evolved from Demon."

Keeya lead them down the spiraling valley, passing through more circles. Kasumi and Yuki Agumon tried to ignore the screams of terror they heard. The teenage girl needed to change the subject. She turned to Tsuragi, "Where's Ami?"

"Not here," he said, simply.

"She's not dead?"

"No, she is."

Realization washed over her face, "Oh, you mean she's…"

"Yeah." He turned his head away and she guess that meant the conversation was over.

They continued through rocky regions until arriving at a sheer cliff, which they needed to use thick ropes to climb down until arriving at the Eighth Circle. As they walked through the circle, Kasumi noticed a multitude of human and digimon, but all walking with their heads twisted around on their shoulders.

"What's with them?" she asked in horror.

"This is the place for hypocrites," Keeya explained, "As they spent their lives preaching one thing and doing another, now they are doomed to face one direction and yet walk in another. Here is where we will find the cave."

"That'll turn Kasumi back to normal?" Yuki Agumon asked.

"Yes…it should, it depends on her soul's true strength."

"What does that mean?" the teenage girl asked.

"You must discover that on your own."

As they moved into a region dominated by mountains, the crowds suddenly vanished. "Why's it so quiet here?"

Keeya mentioned to the caves, "They are all inside, trapped by their true selves, their true reflections, we must find one for you."

Kasumi shivered, "I'm coming back out, right?"

"If you confront yourself and overcome, then yes."

"I'll be right beside you," Yuki Agumon said, "I'm not leaving you, no matter what."

Iduia's Guardromon spoke, "My sensors may have found an uninhabited cave."

"Where?" Iduia asked.

"Please follow me."

The group soon arrived at a large cave, the inside was pitch black. "In there?" Kasumi asked.

Keeya nodded. "Yes."

Kasumi took a step towards the cave, but the darkness was so thick, so menacing, so unknown. She jumped back, "I…I don't know if I…"

"You have to," Maria stressed, "You have to give up the Gift of Demons, and find your true self, your true form. You have to."

"Guys!" Tsuragi shouted, "We've got company!"

They twisted around to see an army of Evilmon heading straight towards them, with Shinji and a young red-haired woman leading them. Kasumi blinked, "Let me guess, that's not my mom, right?"

"No," Maria answered, "That's Asro, the Demon of Lust."

Asro laughed and mentioned to Kasumi, "But, she's more my daughter now, isn't she?"

Shinji glared at Tsuragi, "I'll make you pay for sending me here!"

"Shut up!" Tsuragi snapped back, "You're not very threatening looking like that!"

She clenched her fists, "I'll kill you!"

"Bring it on!"

Tsuragi's red dinosaur and Shinji's bipedal fox charged each other. They met in an explosion of tearing and clawing.

Blossomon, Guardromon and Juriemon began to battle the hordes of Evilmons while Catherine's Insekimon fought against Asro's Lilithmon. Kasumi nodded at Yuki Agumon. "Ready?"

She nodded. "Yup!"

"No!" Keeya shouted, grabbing Kasumi's arm, "You have to hurry inside!"

"What? I'm not leaving you guys like this!"

"We are fine!" Catherine said with a smile, "You must zave yourself now! Go!"

Before Kasumi or Yuki Agumon could protest, they were thrown into the darkness of the cavern. Once they were past the entrance of the cave, all light vanished, eclipsing them completely in darkness.

* * *

Taichi tapped his pen rapidly against his notepad. "Would you please knock that off? You're driving me nuts!"

He glanced at Yamato, who was seated to his right. "Well, how can you be so calm? I'm jumping out of my skin!"

The blond man shrugged, "I don't know, I've always been calmer then you…"

"H ha." He mentioned to the man seated to his left, "At least we're better then Mitsuo, he can't even speak."

The other blond man was nervously shuffling through his papers. "_He's worried about his daughter,"_ Taichi thought," _I don't blame him, I'm worried about Kasumi and Akira too. Sora keeps saying Akira's fine, but that something really bad happened to Kasumi. I just hope she's wrong…"_

"Taichi, how are you doing?"

The brown-haired man bowed when Watanabe, the Minister of Defense entered the room. "Hi, I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack."

The elderly man sat down behind them. "Don't worry, everything will work out as it should."

The three men sat in nervous silence until the Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Finance's secretary entered. The Prime Minister sat in a chair to the side, while the Finance Minister sat with the others behind a desk facing Taichi's group. "Okay, let's get started I am the Minister of Finance, Satoshi Kazuki. This purpose of this trial is to determine why over 1 trillion yen was spent on a government police force that failed to do the job it was suppose to do."

He suddenly noticed Yamato. "Why are you here?"

"I'm part of DATS," he replied, his eyes narrowed in anger, "I was in the Air Defense Force to run a base. That tour of duty is over, so I'm back to help run DATS."

"I see, well, due to the recent invasion, which destroyed a good portion of Shinjuku, destroyed a power facility, not to mention the loss of lie. How do you respond?"

"Our agents were dealing with the threat," Taichi protested.

"?But, as I understand it, they came for an item that _you_ had, do you know how hard it is to deny a giant blimp in the sky?"

"We did the best we could," Mitsuo replied.

"And that might be part of the problem." He nodded at his secretary. She then handed each man a thick binder of paper. "This is the result of our investigation. Let's start at the top."

* * *

Once Asami reached the river, she shed her clothes and leapt into the water. Normally a shy girl, she was embarrassed at even the thought of being naked without being in the safety of her room or bathroom, but she could not bathe while wearing her blouse and skirt. Also, being in only her lacy bra and panties was next to being naked, so she forced herself to remove everything and enter the water. It was cool and pleasant, and the only people around would be Yasu and Eliane, both girls themselves. …of course, Leormon would be there, but he was her partners, they were closer then she was even to her parents. Once she was done, she dried herself, then pulled back on her clothes. When she returned to camp grinning, the others guessed she had enjoyed herself.

"You should take a bath too," she suggested.

Yasu shrugged. "Eh."

Asami chuckled, "Just because we're out in the wilderness, doesn't mean we don't have to take baths. And you're not a little kid anymore, you shouldn't hate taking baths."

"And you really need it," Leormon commented, using his paw to wipe away the air before his nose.

Yasu was about to exploded with anger, but her Labramon interrupted, "No, that's not her."

"What?"

"Something stinks, but it's not her."

"Oh, you're just defending her."

"No, I'm serious!" he exclaimed.

The others began to sniff the air as well. "I don't smell anything." Eliane's Mushmon replied.

"You don't have our noses," Labramon said, "No offense."

"Well, well, well, it looks like we've been discovered!"

Four figures dropped from the air, landing on the ground with a mighty thud. One was a boy dressed in a pair of white pants and a flowing cape, a hair of wild white hair. Behind him was a towering digimon with gray armor and ragged purple wings. The other was a girl dressed in a white shirt and matching skirt, behind her was a female digimon dressed in purple with white petals adorned around her form.

The DATS team nervously stepped back, all save for Yasu, who narrowed her eyes. "Who are you?"

The boy answered, "I'm Neo, this is my sister Rei, my partner, Arkadimon, and her partner, Lotsumon."

"We're Demon Chosen!" Rei snarled viciously, but a smirk appeared on her face, "We're here to capture Asami Yamaki, which one of you is it?"

"The oldest one," Neo sighed, "Don't you pay attention?"

"Sorry, dear brother, I was just overwhelmed by the thought of blood!" she licked her lips.

Asami and Eliane simply stared, but Yasu glanced over her shoulder at the unconscious Shiro and Gabe. "_Oniichan, I wish you'd wake up…please…wake up!"_

Neo noticed the unconscious ones. "Well, looks like someone beat us to the punch, heh, heh…"

"Just makes it that much easier!" Rei laughed.

Yasu sighed, "Well, I guess we're gonna have to take care of this one ourselves."

"Try all you like," Neo smirked, "You can't beat us and our Mega partners!"

"Megas?" Asami gasped, a chill erupting up her spine, "M…megas?"

"Wait," Yasu asked, "How do you have Megas? I thought that if a Demon Chosen evolved to Mega, they'd go nuts, like Kasumi did!"

_"Oui,"_ Eliane nodded, "Should not you lose your mind?"

Neo's grin grew impossibly wide, "Who says we still have our minds?"

"What?"

"We were part of an experiment done by our Master, to try to create a Mega without the use of a weapon! All the others…they turned to their animalistic side, except for us. We kept our forms…but lost our sanity! Heh, heh…t…that's right, we're completely insane! Ha ha ha!"

Rei licked her lips again, "Dear brother, give me the chance to go first, will you?"

Neo sighed, and crossed his arms, "I suppose so, little sister, this will be your birthday gift."

She grasped her hands together, her eyes sparkling, "Oh, thank you, dear brother. Your last present to me was dreadfully disappointing."

"You didn't feed him and he escaped, remember?"

Eliane could not believe her ears, "Y…you killed a helpless animal?"

Rei grinned, "It was a human! Heh…."

"These two are insane!" Yasu's Labramon gasped, "Completely insane!"

"And deadly," Eliane's Mushmon nodded, "To have killed a human…"

Neo waved his hand, "Wait, wait, we should give them the chance to surrender." He smiled at Asami, who shivered and gasped slightly.

"No way!" Yasu shouted, "We're not handing her over!"

Eliane and their partner nodded in agreement.

Neo sighed and held up his palms, "Oh well, I tried. Go ahead little sister."

"Thank you dear brother," she grinned. She held up a purple digivice, and her entire body suddenly exploded with light and shot into Lotusmon's chest. The digimon then came to life, flexing her arms.

"Yes, yes…the power!" she laughed, "Time to have some fu-un!"

Yasu gripped her digivice and nodded at Eliane. "Ready?"

The French girl and her partner nodded.

"Great!" Yasu grinned, "Time to show 'em what the girls can do!"

"Labramon evolve to Dobermon!"

"Mushmon evolve to Woodmon!"

Both digimon stared at the incoming Lotusmon before leaping forward into battle.

* * *

The darkness suddenly parted and Kasumi found herself standing in the midst of a white area, with thick fog hanging near the ground. "W…what?" She started twisting her head around, "Yuki? Yuki?!"

"Right here," a small voice answered.

Kasumi looked down and her eyes flew open, lying on the ground was a small white ball with a face and two ball attached to the side of its body. She began to laugh, "Oh, look how cute! Heh heh…"

Yukimi Boatamon smirked, "Yeah, well, you'd better take a look at yourself!"

Kasumi blinked, then glanced down at her body. She yelp in shock; she was much smaller, dressed in a denim jumper, with knee-high white socks, pink sneakers. Her hair was even tied into two pigtails, "I'm…I'm four years old again! Well…at least I've got my brown hair back."

Yukimi Boatamon snickered. Kasumi lifted her into her arms. "Well, where the hell are we, anyway?"

"I don't know, but I think _they_ do!"

Standing beside them was a group of seven…._Kasumi's!_ Each one appeared slightly differently, some younger-all dressed differently, but definitely Kasumis. "What the hell?" Kasumi gasped.

"Wait," her partner said, "Remember what the others told us? This is where you're supposed to face you self! These are…"

"My dark sides…" she nodded.

"Yeah, you're right!" one said.

"That's what we are!" said another.

Kasumi nodded. "All right, and I guess if I want to give up the Gift of Demons, I'm going to need to defeat you, or something?"

One of the Kasumi yawned and just shrugged. "I'd rather not fight, if it's all the same to you."

Kasumi sighed. "So what am I supposed to do?"

"How are we supposed to know?"

"You're going to do nothing, but let us take over!" one of the Kasumi's answered. This Kasumi had blond hair and was dressed in the Decima uniform.

"You're my Demon side?" Kasumi asked.

"I'm Pride," she responded, "And I rule here!"

_The Demoness Kasumi was laughing as she stood atop Orochimon. "I'm better then all of them! I'm the greatest Chosen in the entire world! And now, everyone's gonna know it!"_

One of the Kasumis yawned-she was dressed like Shiro! "I'm Sloth, nice to meet you, or whatever."

_Kasumi was seated at the kitchen table, staring meekly down at the floor. Her parents were seated on the other side, her father was glaring at her, while her mother had her arms crossed. Taichi mentioned to a piece of paper that was before him, "Kasumi, your grades are terrible! This is the worse marks I've ever seen!"_

_She did not answer, so Sora spoke. "Explain yourself right now, young lady."_

_"It's…boring, I just don't want to do it."_

The next Kasumi stood in a seductive manner-she was dressed like Asami. "I'm Lust."

_Kasumi and Asami were walking through the halls of their school when they passed by a group of their male classmates. They all instantly began chatting with Asami, while her cousin was pushed to the side. Kasumi narrowed her eyes as her cousin was once again made the center of attention. "They just like her 'cause of her body, the fucking little flirt. Why can't I get that attention?"_

The next Kasumi was dressed like Gabe! "I'm Wrath!"

_Kasumi slammed the door to her room as hard as she could. "I hate this, I fucking hate this!" She started to throw anything she could lift, her backpack, her clothes, her pillow, her soccer ball, "It's not fair! They're all stronger then me, I'm just a fucking weakling! I hate them all!"_

The next three Kasumis were all physically different. One was younger, dressed like Akira. "I'm Envy."

_Akira was cheering and laughing as Diatrymon proudly flapped his wings. "Congratulations," Taichi said, grinning, "Eight years old, and you have an Adult partner already, that's my boy."_

_Off to the side, Kasumi was nearly in tears. "It's not fair! How come Akira's so strong?"_

The next was dressed like Yasu. "I'm Greed."

_A pre-teen Kasumi was standing off to the side as younger versions of Shiro, Asami, Akira and Yasu were standing with their Adult partners. This pre-teen Kasumi stared down at her Child digimon, Yuki Agumon, before she stared to the sky. "I want an Adult digimon! I want that power!"_

The last had the most dramatic change, it was a small Allomon, but with brown hair! "I'm Gluttony."

_Kasumi was standing atop Allomon's head, screaming with joy. "You finally evolved! We did it! We've got the power, that power's finally ours!"_

"What was that?" Yukimi Boatamon gasped.

"No, I get it," Kasumi said, "Those are my….my "sin" sides, but why do you look like the others?"

Sloth-Kasumi yawned, "I guess I'd better go first…man…" She took a breath, "I'm your lazy side."

"Yeah, I gathered that, why do you look like Shiro?"

"Because that's who I was created because of."

Kasumi blinked. "What?"

Sloth-Kasumi sighed. "It's because Shiro's so much smarter then you, you knew you couldn't ever get better grades then him, so you just kind of gave up on it."

"I did?" she asked, then looked to the ground, "Yeah, I did…"

Lust-Kasumi spoke next, "And I'm your lust, jealously over the fact that your cousin gets more attention from boys then you do!" She walked forward, her hips swaying, "You know, maybe if you just act a little more feminine, stop acting like an angry boy all the time…"

Kasumi narrowed her eyes. "Hey! Stop talking about me like that! I'm not gonna change who I am just to impress some guy!"

Lust-Kasumi smiled slyly, "But, yet…here I am."

Envy-Kasumi spoke next, "Well, I might as well be next. I'm your envy, started because of how jealous you are of your brother."He's younger, but still has more power, his power evolved Falcomon to adult before Yuki Agumon did."

She twisted her vision to the side, "Yeah, well…"

Her eyes looked to the Greed-Kasumi, "How come you look like Yasu?"

"Because," she replied, "When Akira evolve before you, you were jealous, but when Yasu did it, you were angry, you just weren't envious, you _wanted_ that power! You _had_ to have it!"

She frowned, "Am I really like that?" She did not wait for any of them to answer, instead focusing on the Gluttony-Kasumi. "What's your story?"

The brown-haired dinosaur burped. "I'm Gluttony, after you finally evolved Yuki Agumon to the Adult level, you were so obsessed with that power, you just wanted more, you loved the thrill of it, you just drank it in."

"I'm…I'm really not like that, am I?"

"We wouldn't be here if you weren't."

Kasumi just shook her head, "Fine, whatever, who's next?"

"Me!" Wrath-Kasumi shouted, "I was created by all of them!" she pointed at the other Kasumis, "The more all of them existed, just pissed you off even more, just gave me more power!"

"So, why do you look like Gabe?"

"Because he pissed you off more then anyone else…"

Pride-Kasumi crossed her arms, "And you already know my story."

Kasumi nodded, "Yeah, the worst of me, worst then all of the others put together."

Pride-Kasumi smirked, "Guilty as charged."

Kasumi sighed, "All right, listen, I don't think any of you want to be here trapped here anymore then I do. Let's work together, and then we'll be free."

"No thanks," Pride-Kasumi replied, "I'm already in charge, why should I give that up?"

Kasumi sneered at her, but then looked to the others, "What about you guys?"

They were all silent for a moment, not answering. Kasumi sighed, "Listen to me, I think I finally get this, each one of you was created because of someone else! That's my problem, I'm so focused on everyone else, I don't have time to think about me! I've got to stop comparing myself to everyone else!"

She looked at each of her other versions "Just 'cause I'm not as smart as Shiro, or as attractive as Asami, or as powerful as Akira and Eliane or as strong as Gabe, doesn't mean I'm not…not me! I'm me, and that's just who I am!"

The others nodded. "Yeah, I guess," Sloth-Kasumi shrugged, "I was getting tired of having to be my own persona anyway." She walked to Kasumi and slowly vanished as she approached.

Gluttony-Kasumi, Eny-Kasumi and Greed-Kasumi all followed, merging with the younger Kasumi until Lust, Wrath and Pride were left. Kasumi stared at them. "Well?"

"Are we still gonna try to beat Gabe?" Wrath-Kasumi asked.

"Sure," Kasumi smiled, "We can't let him have _all_ the glory, right?"

Wrath-Kasumi grinned and merged with her as well.

Lust-Kasumi raised her hand slightly, "Um, question."

"What?"

"Are we gonna try to at least attract some guys?"

"Yeah,sure…"

Lust-Kasumi vanished as well. Kasumi stared at Pride-Kasumi

"You're not gonna get rid of me, you know, I'm too much a part of you."

"Yeah, I know, but us fighting each other isn't going to get us anywhere."

"Pride isn't necessarily a bad thing, you know!" she shouted. She was becoming worried, her cool exterior was shattered.

She smiled slightly, "Yeah, I know, but I need you too. You're there to remind me, so I don't forget."

She snorted, "What, you wanna merge or something?"

"Yeah."

"With you in control?"

"How about…all of us in control?"

She was silent, "Yeah, I guess I could live with that." The two Kasumi's grabbed one another's hands and their bodies began to glow brightly.

* * *

Kenji and the others leapt through the doors of the temple and landed on the ground. "Finally," Lizzie panted, "We're outside."

Kenji frowned, "And not a moment too soon."

Ancient Wisemon and Ancient Toraimon stepped through the temple entrance, their eyes narrowed.

"So," Ancient Wisemon chuckled, "Are we ready to continue?"

* * *

Asami and Leormon watched with fear as Dobermon and Woodmon fought against Lotusmon. Despite Yasu and Eliane's cheers, their partners were clearly outmatched.

"Asami," Leormon gasped, "You've got to send me in!"

The brown-haired girl summoned the Claymore of Wind, gripping it tightly.

"Asami!"

* * *

Taichi, Yamato and Mitsuo stared at the report in front of them, scared and worried.

* * *

Outside, the battle against the Evilmons was not going well. Maria's team had started out strong, but the sheer number of digimon were overpowering-coupled with Lilithmon dominating the battlefield. Maria's Insekimon was trying his best, but she was proving to be too powerful.

"This is wonderful!" Asro laughed, "Lord GranDracmon's going to be so pleased when we tell him we captured you!"

Maria stared at her, "We are not going to give up, we have been sent by a higher power!"

Before anymore words could be spoken, a bright light erupted from the dark cavern. All fighting ceased, all eyes stared as two snake heads suddenly erupted from within, wrapping tightly around the cave's mouth and pulled the rest of Orochimon's body into the open.

"Orochimon?" Maria gasped.

Keeya could not believe her eyes. "She…failed?"

Suddenly, all of Orochimon's head dropped to the ground, lifeless. A slit appeared on the giant snake's back, and, like a snake shedding its skin, a massive figure emerged, stretching to the sky. It flexed his large wings, its eyes glowing brightly.

"What is this?" Asro shrieked.

The figure roared, stretching its wings to the sky.

--

_Rebirth has only just begun…._

1

Author's Note: We're finally at the center of the story, the turning point for many characters.

Fans of Dante's Inferno are probably yelling at me right now, but, for the short time the digital underworld appears, it wouldn't be worth a detailed description.

As for Orochimon…Kasumi doesn't have a weapon, so she didn't really _evolve_ to a higher level….

As always, please remember to review.

Later.


	27. Rebirth: Chapter 2

_Hi! My name's Yasu Ishida, a Chosen of DATS. When Asami was captured by the Demons, we came to Neodigital to rescue her, but things went way out of control. Kenji, Lizzie and Akira got separated from us, and they joined with Mixcoatl, Adan and Masa of the Hunters to fight a group of Ancient Warriors. But the rest of us fought the other Demons. Kasumi was killed by the Demon Master, but Gabe and Oniichan evolved to Megas and defeated Shinji and Tsuragi!_

_Kasumi ended up in the Digital Underworld, where all the evil digimon that were defeated in the past had taken over! GranDracmon and the Demon Lords were in command, and Maria, Iduia, Keeya and Catherine were sent to stop them. Kasumi entered an odd cave and managed to finally defeat her dark sides._

_But after their battle, Oniichan and Gabe were unconscious, so when Neo and Rei showed up to capture Asami, me and Eliane had to fight them!_

--

_Rebirth:_

_Chapter 2_

_--_

Outside, the battle against the Evilmons was not going well. Maria's team had started out strong, but the sheer number of digimon were overpowering-coupled with Lilithmon dominating the battlefield. Maria's Insekimon was trying his best, but she was proving to be too powerful.

"This is wonderful!" Asro laughed, "Lord GranDracmon's going to be so pleased when we tell him we captured you!"

Maria stared at her, "We are not going to give up, we have been sent by a higher power!"

Before anymore words could be spoken, a bright light erupted from the dark cavern. All fighting ceased, all eyes stared as two snake heads suddenly erupted from within, wrapping tightly around the cave's mouth and pulled the rest of Orochimon's body into the open.

"Orochimon?" Maria gasped.

Keeya could not believe her eyes. "She…failed?"

Suddenly, all of Orochimon's head dropped to the ground, lifeless. A slit appeared on the giant snake's back, and, like a snake shedding its skin, a massive figure emerged, stretching to the sky. It flexed his large wings, its eyes glowing brightly.

"What is this?" Asro shrieked.

The figure roared, stretching its wings to the sky.

"What the hell is that?" Shinji exclaimed.

"That's my partner!" a familiar voice called out. Kasumi appeared from behind the large digimon. The teenage girl was grinning.

"Your hair!" Tsuragi gasped, "It's…its brown! You're back to normal!"

Kasumi nodded. "Yeah, I am." She mentioned to the digimon, "And this is Aero V-dramon, Yuki's _true_ Fully Evolved form."

Maria grinned, "That is truly the digimon partner of a daughter of Taichi Yagami."

Kasumi was still grinning. "All right Aero, ready to show 'em what you can do?"

"Hell yeah!" Aero V-dramon grinned, flexing her muscles.

Kasumi yelled her excitement; an energy flowing from her that Maria and the others felt.

Asro stared at the Evilmon, "What are you doing? Attack!"

Aero V-dramon shot into the air and pointed her wings forward. "V-wing blade!" A mighty blast of fire exploded from each wing, smashing into the Evilmon. A good number smashed into the ground, and before the rest could manage a regroup, Maria's forces attacked. With the element of surprise on their side, they were able to turn the tides. The Evilmon began to flee in terror.

"Where the hell are you going?" Shinji shouted, throwing her arms up in frustration, "Get the fuck back here!"

"Worry about yourself!" Tsuragi shouted.

Shinji spun back around in time as Tsuragi slammed his fist in her face. His red dinosaur digimon partner had already dispatched of Shinji's fox partner.

Asro snarled, her eyes darting back and forth nervously. "Lilithmon, I think its time for a hasty retreat."

"At once!" the Demoness exclaimed. She grabbed Asro in one arm, then with a quick spin in the air, grabbed Shinji and her partner and took to the air.

"You're not getting away!" Tsuragi shouted.

"Let them go!" Kasumi shouted in response.

He blinked, then twisted to stare at her. "Really? Just let them go?"

The brown-haired girl shrugged slightly. "Yeah, well, what are we going to do? We can't really kill them, right? The only thing we can do is trap them, and to do that, we need to free the ruler of this place, right?" She glanced to the others.

"Y…yes," Keeya nodded.

Tsuragi smirked, "Well, I see you did some growing in that cave. What happened in there?"

She shrugged again, "Oh…nothing really."

"But the Gift of Demons is gone," Iduia nodded, "So how is it Yuki Agumon can evolve to Fully Evolve?"

"You couldn't feel it?" Maria asked, "It was Wind."

"Wind?" Kasumi asked.

_"Oui,"_ Catherine smiled, "I felt it az well."

"Wind?" Kasumi asked again, "How is that….? Wait…oh right! When Aleksey gave the Claymore to Asami, he gave Wind to her and me! Why couldn't I use it before?"

"Probably 'cause of the Gift of Demons," Tsuragi said.

"Yes," Maria nodded, "You couldn't use that power because…because…"

"Because your inner demons were in control," Keeya finished.

Kasumi frowned slightly, a sick feeling in her stomach, "Because of that, I…?" She sighed deeply, "Well, that doesn't matter right now. Is there a way to get back to Earth?"

The young women glanced at one another nervously.

"What?" Kasumi asked.

"There might be a way," Maria started, "But…."

"We've got to hurry!" she shouted, "Asami's in trouble!"

Aero V-dramon blinked, "Asami's in trouble?"

"Your cousin?" Tsuragi asked, "How do you know that?"

The brown-haired girl hesitated, "Um…well…when I was in that cavern…"

1

_Lust-Kasumi vanished as well. Kasumi stared at Pride-Kasumi_

_"You're not gonna get rid of me, you know, I'm too much a part of you."_

_"Yeah, I know, but us fighting each other isn't going to get us anywhere."_

_"Pride isn't necessarily a bad thing, you know!" she shouted. She was becoming worried, her cool exterior was shattered. _

_She smiled slightly, "Yeah, I know, but I need you too. You're there to remind me, so I don't forget."_

_She snorted, "What, you wanna merge or something?"_

_"Yeah."_

_"With you in control?"_

_"How about…all of us in control?"_

_She was silent, "Yeah, I guess I could live with that." The two Kasumi's grabbed one another's hands and their bodies began to glow brightly. The glow grew enveloping them both. Kasumi felt her body twisting and churning, merging with her disjointed selves, each one obsessed with one of her friends. She merged with Pride-Kasumi and Gluttony-Kasumi without much problem._

_When Sloth-Kasumi merged with her, she was given a glimpse of Shiro, lying unconscious in Neodigital._

_When Wrath-Kasumi merged with her, she was given a glimpse of Gabe, lying unconscious in Neodigital._

_When Envy-Kasumi merged with her, she was given a glimpse of Akira, standing with Kenji, Lizzie, and the Hunters, ready to battle two Ancient Warriors._

_When Greed-Kasumi merged with her, she was given a glimpse of Yasu, standing together with Eliane, ready to defend Asami and the unconscious Shiro and Gabe._

_When Lust-Kasumi merged with her, she was given a glimpse of Asami, standing nervously with Eliane and Yasu, ready to fight two evil Demon Chosen._

1

"You saw them?" Aero V-dramon asked in surprise, "Maybe you're a psycho or something."

"You mean psychic," Iduia corrected.

The dinosaur smiled slightly, "I know what I said.."

Kasumi just glared at her partner, but continued speaking, "So, Akira, Kenji and Lizzie are in trouble too, but they're with that helmet-headed Hunter and Mixcoalt, and they look like they're all in the same boat, so hopefully they'll be okay." She sighed, "But Asami, Eliane and Yasu are really in trouble, I _need_ to get back there to help them!"

The young women looked at each other once more before nodding. "There is a way," Maria explained, "But it's at the very bottom, right behind the throne that GranDracmon has taken for his own."

The brown-haired girl nodded. "All right, fine, that's where we need to go anyway, right?"

"It won't be that simple," Maria continued, "This is the realm of the dead, we are here because we're no longer alive. You won't be able to pass through."

Kasumi turned to her with desperation in her eyes, "Asami and the others are gonna end up here unless I do something! I need to get back to Earth!"

Keeya sighed slightly, "Well, I think we can all agree that she is _not_ the same person that was sentenced here, so if that sentence no longer applies to her…"

"Really?" the teenage girl asked hopefully.

"Yes, but I can't promise anything…"

"It's better then nothing, let's go!"

* * *

Kenji and the others leapt through the doors of the temple and landed on the ground. "Finally," Lizzie panted, "We're outside."

Kenji frowned, "And not a moment too soon."

Ancient Wisemon and Ancient Toraimon stepped through the temple entrance, their eyes narrowed.

"So," Ancient Wisemon chuckled, "Are we ready to continue?"

Kenji sighed deeply, "I guess we don't have a choice, do we?"

Mixcoatl and Masa whipped out their weapons. "It'd be better if we had those too," Lizzie mumbled.

"Stop that!" Akira shouted, "If you don't believe in yourselves, then you've already lost!"

Ancient Wisemon roared with laughter, "Such maturity from one so young…a wise lesson learned with age.."

Akira glared at him, "My Dad taught me that, and I know my Dad would never give up, no matter what!"

Masa stared at the younger boy, "_My mother said the same thing…Did she learn it from his father?"_ He turned back to stare at the ground. _"Mom…"_

"Hey!"

Masa turned to see Mixcoatl standing atop his Mammon partner, "Anytime you want to join us!" The mammoth digimon galloped into battle Ancient Troaimon.

"R…right." He grabbed his digivice and Dorumon evolved to Dorugremon.

The red dragon looked himself over, "Is this as far as you want me to go? Wouldn't Dorughoramon…?"

"I don't want to give it away just yet," he explained, "Go."

"R…right," he replied as he flew to engage Ancient Wisemon.

Ancient Troiamon, however, was busy against Mammon, Adan's Monochromon and Akira's Diatrymon. The trio of digimon quickly executed their strongest attacks, but the ancient warrior countered by unleashing all of his cannons at once, blasting into the three digimon. They were injured, but leapt back to their feet and ran back into battle.

Adan frowned, "This isn't going to be easy."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Akira mumbled, "But we can't give up."

Adan smiled slightly, "Did your father tell you that too?"

"Yeah, he did," the redhead replied, "He told that to both of us!"

"Your sister?"

"Yeah," he smiled slightly, "But I don't think she really paid that much attention…"

The other boy smiled as well, "You should be happy to have her, I never even knew my sister."

"Maria, right?"

"Yes," he nodded, "Maria…my brother is so obsessed with avenging her…I wish I could have known her too…"

Akira's Diatrymon screamed a mighty blast of sound, "Destruction Roar!"

Ancient Troiamon was hit full force, but remained without so much as a scratch. He was about to counter when Mammon fired his Tusk Strikes, blasting the Ancient in the side. Adan's Monochromon stood firmly in the ground and exhaled a ball of spinning fire. "Volcano Strike!" This ball hit Ancient Troaimon on the side, exploding in flames.

"Yeah!" Mixcoatl grinned, "He's made of wood, he's gonna burn to ashes!"

The flames suddenly ceased and Ancient Troaimon roared with laughter, "Yeah, maybe you're right, but that flame wasn't anywhere near strong enough! Surprise Cannon!"

All of his cannons fired at once, exploding into the ground. The digimon leapt into the air to avoid the explosions and landed gracefully back on their feet.

Akira turned back to Adan, "Why do you hate us so much, if you never even knew your sister?"

"I don't hate you," he simply replied.

"What? Then why are you…?"

"For my brother," he answered.

"For your brother?"

"Yes," he nodded, looking to Mixcoatl, "My brother is everything to me, he is all I have."

"I don't understand…"

"Our parents are dead."

"Dead?" Akira gasped, "H…how?"

"We think they were murdered because of what we are…because we are Chosen."

Akira could not believe his ears, "That's…that's horrible! Why didn't you…?"

"Contact you? We had no idea how…and we felt abandoned, your team, your DATS, found others, right? Why didn't they try to find us?"

"I…I don't know…I'm sorry…"

"I don't blame any of you, hating you won't bring our parents, or Maria, back to life. But my brother…he has so much rage, and he points it at you. We were alone, and then Lord Sentry found us. He taught us everything we know, but...but I don't trust him."

"Then why…?"

"For my brother, I must stay by his side."

"But…"

He turned to him, "Wouldn't you do the same for your sister?"

Akira flinched, "I….I…."

"If you had no one else?"

The redhead sighed, "M…maybe, but, that's no reason to keep doing something when you know it's wrong! I understand your loyalties to your brother, but you know this isn't right!"

Adan gasped slightly, then turned his head away. Akira did not know what else to say, so he turned to watch the battle as well.

Even with Mammon, the battle was not going well at all-they were almost hopelessly outclassed. Ancient Troaimon appeared unstoppable. Mammon's Tusk Strikes were blocked by the ancient's missiles, Monochromon's Volcano Strike had no affect, and Diatrymon's Mega Dash Impact was simply not strong enough.

Mixcoatl gripped his Spear of Earth tightly, "All right, are you guys ready for another attack?"

"Are you sure?" Monochromon asked, "We keep trying, but nothing…"

"We are Hunters!" he shouted, "We hunt 'till the end! Now, on my mark, prepare to attack!" He lifted his Spear into the air and simply held it above his head.

"How quaint," Ancient Troaimon chuckled, eying the group, "I suppose you want me to make the first move huh? Fine, I guess I'll just…"

Before he could finish, Mixcoatl slammed his spear into the ground, sending up a sea of pebbles that came crashing into Ancient Troiamon He stumbled backwards, and was wide open for Diatryamon's Destruction Roar, which made his ears exploded in pain. Next, Monochromon fired his Volcano Strike, which blasted into the Ancient's side. Mammon finished the assault with his Tusk Strikes directly into Ancient Troaimon's chest. The warrior's body exploded, shattering into a million pieces that flew in every direction.

"Hell yeah!" Mixcoatl cheered, "Yes!"

Suddenly, the pieces of Ancient Troaimon's body pulled back together! The force of resembling created an amount of energy that exploded into the digimon with a green beam of light. "Epeus Gimmick!"

All of the digimon were thrown backwards, crashing into the ground.

"Shit!" Akira swore, "Damn it!"

Meanwhile, Lizzie's Blossomon and Kenji's Grademon were faring much better against Ancient Wisemon, mostly do to the help of Dorugremon.

Ancient Wisemon prepared to attack, but when stopped when Doregremon swooped down from the sky, his bladed wings glistening in the fading daylight. "Bloody Tower!"

He slashed across Ancient Wisemon's arm before darting back into the sky. The Ancient was about to use his Elder Sign attack, when Grademon used his Cross Blade attack, heading straight for Ancient Wisemon with his swords crossed. The Ancient was forced to stop his attack to block, but Blossomon slashed her vines across his back.

"Yeah, way ta' go!" Lizzie cheered.

Ancient Wisemon spun around, firing a glowing ball into the plant digimon, sending her into a tumble along the ground. "Ah!" Lizzie screamed.

The Ancient was about to follow her and continue his attack, but Grademon attacked again, slashing his swords into the Ancient's side, but Ancient Wisemon spun around quickly, knocking the back of his fist into the knight's head. He twisted around again, knocking his other fist into his head. He continued with this assault, bashing each fist into Grademon's head until Dorugremon swept into to attack again. This time, Ancient Wisemon batted him aside like a fly.

"This is not going to work, you know," the Ancient snickered, "There is nothing you can do to stop me."

Kenji gritted his teeth, "I'm beginning to think he's right! Masa, do you have any ideas?"

When he did not receive a response, he turned to the helmeted wearing Hunter, only to see that he was staring into the sky. "Masa? MASA!"

He blinked, "W…what?"

"What are you doing?" Kenji gasped, "We've got to figure something out!"

Dorugremon landed next to him. "Masa, I think we're going to need Dorughoramon." He mentioned to where Ancient Troaimon was winning against the others. "These guys are like the others ones, they're stronger!"

Masa hesitated. "I…" He looked to the ground, _"What the hell is wrong with me? Why can't I focus? It's like I _want_ to lose! No, that's not it, right? But…it is, isn't it? You're uncomfortable, you're scared, and you want a way out. It's just been you and Mom for so long, but then came Plotmon and Dorumon, and that was fine, but now…"_ He eyed the DATS team, "_Now they're here. They want to help you, they want to get you out of the Hunters, but you're just too scared to let them. You don't want them to get close, you've always been used to working by yourself…but you can't do everything yourself, can you? You need help…you can't do it alone anymore."_

"Masa!" Dorugremon shouted.

"Yeah, I'm ready," he nodded, summoning the Staff of Fate in his hands.

Dorugremon grinned and regressed to Dorumon. "About time."

"Hey, I had some things on my mind."

"Yeah, I gathered."

Masa held up the Staff. "Ready?"

"Yup!"

"Dorumon warp evolve to Dorughoramon!"

The battles instantly ceased as all eyes focused on the giant dragon. Mixcoatl smirked, "It's about time you showed up!"

The dragon digimon did not respond as he walked towards the two Ancients. "A Mega?" Ancient Wisemon asked, "I didn't see this in the Akashi Records, interesting…"

Dorughoramon snorted out black flames from his nose, "I don't know what you're talking about, and I really don't care." He cracked his knuckles, "But it's time for you two to say goodbye."

"Ha!" Ancient Troaimon laughed, "Let's see you try!"

Kenji turned to his DATS teammates, "Better get ready to…"

"No," Adan shook his head, "You won't need to."

"What?" Akira asked, "But…"

"Trust me."

Dorughoramon stared down the two Ancients, his eyes narrowed. Ancient Troaimon attacked first, emptying all of his missile chambers at once. "Surprise Cannon!"

The metal dragon used his wings to block the missiles, then twisted and shot forward with tremendous speed. Ancient Troaimon had only time to blink before Dorughoramon's fist smashed into the side of his jaw, toppling him onto his side.

"Ancient Troaimon!" Ancient Wisemon shouted, flying to strike the metal dragon's back. Dorughoramon shot into the air and executed a back flip, landing behind Ancient Wisemon. He spun quickly, slamming his right foot into the ancient's back, knocking him into Ancient Troaimon.

"Get off of me!" Ancient Troaimon shouted.

"Don't bother moving," Dorughoramon said, hovering above them, "It'll make this much easier." He held out his fists, which began to glow with red fire, "Doru Dinn!"

He began to bash and smash into Ancient Wisemon, but every jab was resounded through his body and was felt by Ancient Troaimon. Once the two Ancients were dazed, Dorughoramon took to the air and expunged a barrage of metal shards that tore through the two warriors. "Brave Metal!"

Ancient Wisemon and Ancient Troaimon's body were torn to pieces, their data already dissolving into the air. Ancient Wisemon began to laugh, "S…so be it, you have chosen your fate…your world…will be destroyed…" His body vanished, followed shortly by Ancient Troaimon.

The digimon all returned to their Child forms, while Lizzie collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. "Oh man…That was close…"

Kenji nodded in reply, "Yeah…" He blinked, then reached into his pocket.

"What?" his Otamamon asked.

"During the battle my D-terminal was vibrating, I got a message, but since we were in the middle of fighting I didn't look, but now…"

He flipped open the lid, "It's from Eliane, but how'd she send us an e-mail? We tried to e-mail them, but never got a response…." His eyes shot open and he gasped.

"What?" Lizzie gasped.

"Yasu, Eliane and Asami are in trouble, we've got to move, right now!"

"How much trouble?" Masa asked.

"Two Demons are attacking them, Mega level! And Shiro and Gabe are unconscious…"

"Unconscious…?" Lizzie asked, a fearful look in her eye.

Masa nodded, "Well, I guess we'd better help them."

Kenji blinked, "You're coming with us?"

Mixcoatl gasped, "You're going with them?"

Masa mentioned to Dorumon, "Yeah, we are."

"Masa," his partner whispered, "What are you doing?"

Mixcoatl pointed at him, "We're here to _destroy_ them, not help them! What the hell are you thinking?"

Masa shrugged. "I don't know…I just want to help them."

"If you go with them, you're a traitor, understand? And if you leave, you know what will happen to your mother!"

"Mother?" Lizzie asked.

Mixcoatl continued speaking, "If you don't care what happens to yourself, at least care what will happen to her!"

Adan tugged at his older brother's arm, "Brother..please…"

"I'm not letting them…"

"Please…"

"Fine!" Mixcoatl spat, "But I _am_ going to report this, and I'm going to say that you attacked us and knocked us out, so _I'm_ not on Lord Sentry's bad side, understand?"

"Brother!" Adan shouted, "Masa has been our teammate, don't we owe him _anything?"_

Mixcoatl was silent for a long moment before pointing at the temple. "We are going back to examine that temple, I don't know how long we'll be, but when we get back out, I'm sending a message to Lord Sentry, you'd better do whatever you need to do before then, got it?"

The boy nodded, "Yeah…yeah…" He turned to Kenji, "We'd better go."

The other boy blinked, "Uh…yeah, right, um…but they're on the Dark Continent, and we're still on the Light Continent…"

"No problem," Masa said with a smile, "Dorugremon can carry us across the water. We'd better hurry, every second's gonna count."

* * *

Asami and Leormon watched with fear as Dobermon and Woodmon fought against Lotusmon. Despite Yasu and Eliane's cheers, their partners were clearly outmatched.

"Asami," Leormon gasped, "You've got to send me in!"

The brown-haired girl summoned the Claymore of Wind, gripping it tightly.

"Asami!"

"I…I…."

Lostumon chuckled with insanity as she danced with her twin staffs. She smashed one into Dobermon and gracefully maneuvered through the air and smashed her other staff into Woodmon, throwing both of them back into the ground.

"Ah!" Yasu and Eliane shouted out.

"Zis iz not going well!" the French girl exclaimed.

"You're right, it's not," Neo shouted from the sideline, "Why not just give up Asami right now? And we promise that we'll kill you after we're done with you….heh…heh…"

"No way!" Yasu shouted, "We're not giving up! Dobermon, go!"

"Black Beam!" the massive dog shouted, expunging a beam of black light. Lotusmon jumped to the side.

"If ya wanna play with beams, why didn't ya just say so?" she chuckled. She pointed her flower-tipped staff at the canine digimon, "Fantastic Rainbow!" A multicolored beam of light erupted from her weapon and slammed into the digimon's side.

Dobermon flew through the air with Lotsumon right behind him, intending to attack him once he landed. "Help him!" Eliane shouted.

Her Woodmon fired a barrage of wooden spears from his arms, smacking into the Mega's side. She stopped short and turned to the tree. She grinned wickedly, "Why didn't you say you wanted to play?" She bashed her serpent-tipped staff into his side, then whipped her other staff backwards just in time to strike Dobermon as he tried for a sneak attack.

"Now, now, now, attacking from behind isn't very nice!" She jumped into the air and twisted gracefully, whacking the canine in the face.

Leormon screamed at her partner, "Asami!"

The teenage girl could only stare, her arms shaking, "She's too strong…"

Yasu and Eliane ran to their partners' side. Lotsumon laughed, "You two still won't give up, huh?" She crossed her arms, "Come on, just hand her over."

"No!" they shouted in unison.

"Come on, drop the act, I know you hate her."

The girls stared in surprise. "What?" Yasu asked.

"Look at her and look ay you. Tell me, who do you think's more pleasing to the eye…"

Both girls blinked, their determined expressions softening, "So, I was right. Looks like I unconverted some physical insecurities."

"I wouldn't talk," Neo chuckled, "I remember you before the Gift."

"Quiet dear brother!" she snapped. She continued to address the girls, "I can't really blame you, I mean, compared to her, you two are like angry freaks! Ha ha, Pigtails over there's not gonna be able to give any guy a hand job, but at least she doesn't have holes in her skin! The best you can do is find a guy in the dark!"

Yasu glared. She had accepted her limitations long ago, without only one hand, she had adapted as best she could. She did not know what a 'hand-job,' was, but one of her friend had brought in her brother's hentai manga, so she had a guess, but even though she was not even a teen yet, being insulted like that made her eyes glow red with rage."Shut up you bitch! You think that gonna work?"

"Maybe not for you, but how about your friend over there?"

Yasu whipped around to stare at Eliane. The French girl was quivering, tears starting to form in her eyes. "Eliane?" Woodmon asked.

Yasu charged over, "Don't listen to her!"

"She iz right," the girl cried, "I am _un monstre!_ Even my own parents zent me away, zey could not stand me! Zey all hate me…all of zem!" she fell to her knees, sobbing into her hands.

"Stop it!" Yasu screamed. The other girl gasped and stared at her. "Listen to me, I know what you're going through! You know how many times I was made fun of because of this?" She held up her right arm to show her missing hand, "But I didn't let it bother me, 'cause my family and friend care about me! Your parents care about you…our friend care about you…and so do I!"

Eliane sniffled, "Friends?"

"Yeah, we're friend, right?"

The other girl smiled and dried her eyes, "_Oui__."_

Yasu smiled, "No more feeling sorry for yourself?"

_"Oui."_

Yasu grabbed Eliane's hand and hoisted her to her feet. Their digivices began to glow, and their partners were enveloped in light.

**Yasu**** and Eliane's digivices blinked, then turned to the same color, a light blue. A beam of light fired from both smashed together, sending out a glowing circle. Woodmon shot around from the left, "Woodmon…" Dobermon shot around from the right, "Dobermon…"**

**"Jogress evolve to…"**

**The two digimon began to spin around before entering the glowing circle, emerging as one being. A metal plate appeared over the figure's nose, metal gauntlets appeared over its hands, two rockets emerged from its back, and a red sash appeared around his chest.**

**"Machgaogamon!"**

Yasu and Eliane stared in disbelief, they simply could not believe their eyes. "_Je ne peux pas croire mes yeux!"_

"This is so cool!" Yasu shouted, "They evolved together! Dad said my uncle could do that! This is so cool, I just wish Akira could see! Machgoagamon, how ya doing?"

The wolf man clenched his fists and responded in a voice that was a mixture of Dobermon and Woodmon, "Just great!"

Lotusmon laughed, "So, you think just cause ya evolve, suddenly you're unbeatable!"

"Shut up!" Yasu shouted.

_"Oui!"_ snapped Eliane, "Zat will not work anymore, we can defeat you!"

Lotsumon growled and charged forward. "Seventh Fantastic!" a rainbow colored beam erupted from her flower-tipped weapon. Machgaogamon dropped to the ground to avoid the beam, then sprinted at the demoness, slamming his fist into the side of her jaw. She fell over and hit the ground, hard.

Neo gasped loudly, "No!"

"Yeah!" the two girls cheered.

Lotusmon climbed back to her feet, but Machgaogamon attacked again. "Winning Knuckle!" He spun quickly, bashing his fist into her face. He continued with his assault, smashing his fists again and again into her face. "you like making fun of people, huh? You think you're so superior to everyone? Well, you not so tough now, are you?!"

He swung his fist, but Lotusmon ducked and Machgaogamon missed, throwing him off balance. Lotusmon pointed her serpent staff into his chest. "Serpent Ruin!"

A purple beam exploded and sent him sailing through the air. He did not even land before Lotusmon fired a Seventh Fantastic, which slammed into his side and he crashed into a line of trees. Lotusmon ran to continued the battle, but Machgaogamon expunged a beam from his mouth, "Howling Cannon!" Lotusmon blocked by crossing her weapons as a shield, then shot forward, whacking both staffs into his head.

* * *

Down below, at the bottom reaches of the Digital Underworld, GranDracmon sat on a throne made of skulls, the ground was an ocean of ice, helpless being were trapped within-digimon killed in various battles, evil Chosen who had died of the Second Black Death, all stared at him, their faces twisted in fear. He found the expressions of horror soothing.

He raised an eye when a group of figures entered at the lead was Cahiti, beside him was a young man with blond hair. Behind them was an injured Asor and a figure wearing the cloak of the Demon Lords, in this case, yellow. They all bowed at his feet.

"M'lord," Cahiti spoke, "The rebellion has escaped again."

He sighed, "I see. They are coming here?"

"To escape, yes, we believe so. Kasumi Yagami has freed herself of the Gift."

The Demon God turned to the young man with blond hair, "I gave the creation of the Gift to you so that your descendents could create an army to achieve our goals, it appears it failed, Juro!"

The blond man simply shrugged, "Fear not. We may have lost our Demon Generals, but Masanori and Araki still remain. They will not fail."

Cahiti snickered, "We would not have to go through this if you had thought through your actions when you fought the Agent!"

"I had no choice," he replied, "We were overpowered, we needed a weapon to fight the Agent!" He smirked, "and now we have it, my great-grandchild is the Key, after all."

Cahiti began to snicker, "But, of course, where the Demon Generals have failed, why not send a Demon Lord?"

GranDracmon raised his eyebrow. "Explain."

"Of course. You created us from the negative emotions of the second group of Chosen, from Taichi Yagami, Sora Takenouchi, Koushiro Izumi, Yamato Ishida, Mimi Tachikawa, Jyou Kido, and Takeru Takaishi, but, it seems that when Kasumi Yagami shed her Gift of Demons, she shed her negative qualities as well, which, this Underworld, seems to have formed together…"

He mentioned to the cloaked figure, who removed the cloak to reveal a teenage girl who was the exact double of Kasumi Yagami. "Meet my daughter, Sukami, the Demon Princess!"

"What of Amikyo?" he asked.

Asro chuckled, "She's been…replaced…"

1

Amikyo, the former Demon Princess, the evil double of Miyako and imbued with the power of Envy, Mimi's dark side, was trapped in a dark cave, strapped with chains to the wall. "This isn't fair!" she wailed.

1

"And what will she accomplish?" Juro snapped, "My descendents are already taking care of our plans!"

"Your decedents have fucked up royally!" Cahiti screamed, "Sukami is a Demon Lord, she will not fail us!"

"And how do you think she's gonna get _back_ to the living world?" Juro shouted.

"Simple, the reason why the rebellion is heading here, is that are attempting to send Kasumi Yagami back. Their belief is that because she is not the same Kasumi Yagami that was sentence here, the sentence no longer applies, thus, her imprisonment no longer applies." He mentioned to Sukami," The same holds true for her, for, as you see, she does _not_ possess a Gift of Demons, she is a _true_ Demon, the Gift of Demon-Kasumi no longer exists, and that is the Kasumi that was sentenced here."

Juro sighed, "This metaphysical crap is making my head spin."

GranDracmon mentioned with his head, "How do we know this will work?"

Cahiti flashed a smile, "There's only one way to find out…"

The Demon God sighed, "Very well." He mentioned with his hand, and the rock wall behind him parted, revealing a glowing tunnel stretching into infinity.

Asro faced her daughter, "Now, daughter, that is the tunnel that will lead you back to Earth and the Digital World. We cannot pass, for we have been killed, and are bound here by the laws of Anubimon and the Supreme One, but you can."

"Remember this," Cahiti added, "You are there to aid Masanori, as his team is gone, not to rule him."

"Yes Father," she bowed.

Asro hugged her tightly, "Oh, be safe, daughter, and we shall see you soon."

"Yes Mother, I shall miss you."

The Demon Princess stepped towards the glowing circle and stepped inside, vanishing a moment later. Juro gasped, "It did work!"

"Which means the rebellion's plan will work as well!" GranDracmon shouted, "We must stop them from entering here!"

* * *

Taichi, Yamato and Mitsuo stared at the report in front of them, scared and worried. They glanced back up at the Minister of Finance, Satoshi Kazuki. "Well, now that you've read it, let's discuss the major items: lack of a proper training facility, the agents are freelance Chosen, not trained soldiers, the entire organization is kept in a state of secrecy, even to the government, and we can't even validate the experience of the agents, because their identities are sealed! What do you have to say for yourselves?"

Taichi was struggling to keep his temper under control. "These _agents_ are soldiers! They fight against threats to this world daily!"

"Then why can't we know their identities?" Kazuki asked, "Huh? What's so important to keep it silent?"

"Because they do live normal lives," Mitsuo spoke, "The identities of our deep-undercover spies and personnel are need-to-know, right?"

"But those of us in the cabinet are privy to that information," he continued, "Yet, the identities of DATS agents are hidden to everyone except for those in DATS. You can understand why I am so eager in knowing them, right?"

Mitsuo sighed, "The reason why we don't make that information available is because many of the agents are called for duty whenever there is a problem, they live real lives, and if the world knew they were Chosen, then they wouldn't have that…'regular,' life!"

"We're not talking about the world, we're talking about the Japanese Government, the same government that's funding your organization!"

"It's not an organization!" Yamato shouted, "It's a police force."

Kazuki stared at him, "And this is part of the problem, a Colonel in the Air Defense Force has higher clearance then those of us on the Cabinet."

Yamato began to growl. He lend to whisper to Taichi, "I'd like just to punch that grin off of his face!"

Taichi nodded in agreement, "Wait until you get to know him."

"Listen," Mitsuo sighed, "There are security leaks even in the highest level of government, some of these agents are only teenagers…"

"Not experienced soldiers," Kazuki clarified.

Yamato glared, "They're probably more experienced then most of the military personnel."

Kazuki frowned, "In fact, almost all of the problems found in the report stem from that fact that only DATS has command over these agents, if such a threat occurs again, only DATS will be able to contact these agents."

"And what's the problem with that?" Taichi asked, "Why do you want their identities so badly?"

"I am authorizing your budget! That information has to be known."

"And what if we don't turn it over?" Taichi questioned.

"Interfering with a probe will result in imprisonment, you know that."

Taichi turned to Mitsuo and Yamaki, "I don't want to give up our list."

"It's not just us," Yamato added, "But Mimi's family, Anna, Lynna and Dingo…"

Taichi sighed again and stared up at Kazuki, "We're not revealing the agent list."

The Minister of Finance was about to respond, but Watanabe, the Minister of Defense, approached the desk, "If I may, DATS falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense, so therefore, any and all funding comes from my budget, unless you completely cut all budgets to the Ministry of Defense, you cannot eliminate DATS."

Kazuki clenched his fists slightly, "Maybe you are right, but that list is still government…"

"Yes, you're correct, it's government information, and you should understand why such information needs to be kept under the tightest scrutiny."

He turned to the three men, "And allowing yourself to be arrested will not change anything, he will still get the list."

Taichi sighed deeply, "I guess we don't have a choice…"

"I'm with you," Yamato nodded.

"Whatever you decide," Mitsuo added.

Taichi glared at Kazuki, "All right, here's the deal, you let us open DATS, now, right this second, and you'll get your list."

The Minister of Finance tried to hide his smile, "Fine." He mentioned to his secretary, who nodded. She used a cell phone in her purse to place a call, then nodded back.

"The guards around your DATS building will not allow you inside."

"What are you doing?" Yamato whispered.

"We need those scanners to find the kids," he whispered back, then stared up at Kazuki, "Can we go?"

He waved his hand, "Yes, the trial's over."

Taichi bolted from the room, followed closely by Mitsuo and Yamato. "What are we gonna do about the list?" Mitsuo asked.

"We'll deal with that later," Taichi responded, "Right now, all I care about is making sure our children are safe." He mentioned to Mitsuo, "Call Reika and Megumi, tell them to get over there right now."

"Right."

Yamato grabbed his cellphone, "I'll call Noriko and the others."

Taichi sighed, "Let's just not hope we're too late…"

* * *

Machgaogamon fired another Howling Cannon, which Lotusmon countered by unleashing her Seventh Fantastic and Serpent Ruin at once, tearing through the energy blast and smashed into the wolf man's chest, throwing him to the ground. Lotusmon leapt atop him, pressing both of her staffs in an 'x' shape against his neck. He could not move, she was straggling him slowly.

"Machgaogamon!" both girls screamed.

"Asami!" Leormon screamed.

The teenage girl was still quivering. "_What's wrong with me? Why can't I do anything more then shiver on the sidelines This isn't anything new, I'm always on the sides, I'm always nothing but a liability. No matter what, Shiro, Gabe, Kasumi…they always do the fighting and I just stay off to the side, and even when I do fight, I just mess up, I get hurt or captured."_

She stared at Yasu and Eliane, _"I'm older and yet Yasu's more brace and a better fighter…she's fighting to protect me, it should be the other way around! I'm just a weakling…_"

She whipped up her head and stared at Lotusmon, _"Well, I'm not going to be that way any more!"_

Her digivice exploded in silver light. Leormon stared at her in shock for only a moment before his evolution began…

"Leormon evolve to Raiamon!"

**"Raiamon evolve to…"**

**Asami's**** digivice fired a silver beam of light into the air before exploding, showering her partner. Raiamon's whipped back, standing on his hind legs. A metal suit of armor appeared around his body, two large gauntlets appeared around his arms, tow large guards appeared around his shin. A mane of red hair sprouted from his head. He swung his fist, firing a wave of red energy into the air.**

**"Grappleomon!"**

Asami blinked, shocked. "W…wow….you evolved…"

Grappleomon flexed his muscles. "That's strange…I didn't think I could evolve to this form, especially with that Claymore of Wind…"

The girl stared at the weapon in her hand, the sword remained lifeless, there was no glow, no movement, no energy at all, the Claymore had not activate at all. "That wasn't Wind…" she said, "Was that Fate…or Chance?"

Grappleomon clenched his fists, "We'll figure it out later!" He charged at Lotsumon, slamming his fist into her nose, knocking her off of Machgaogamon.

The wolf climbed to his feet. "W…who are…" He narrowed his eyes, "Leormon?"

Grappleomon nodded. "Yeah."

Machgaogamon chuckled, "Cool, two are better then one."

Lotsumon laughed as she rose to her feet, "Two or two thousand, it's not gonna matter in the end!"

"Don't get cocky!" Neo screamed from the sideline.

"Stay out of this!" she shouted, "This is my fight!" She gripped her staffs tightly and charged at her opponents.

"Kick her ass!" Yasu screamed.

Asami nodded with determination in her eyes, "Grappleomon, do not let her win!"

"Right!" they both shouted in unison.

"Stop that cheering!" Lotusmon screamed, "It's driving me crazy!" She pointed her serpent tipped staff at them, and fired her purple beam, "Serpent Ruin!"

Both Fully Evolved digimon leapt into the air, the energy beams exploding into the ground. The two digimon twisted around in the air, and Machgaogamon landed gracefully, while Grappleomon fell only inches in front of Lotsumon. Before he could land, he whipped his leg around, "Lion Whirlwind Kick!"

Lotusmon crossed his weapons, blocking the strike, but before she could counter, Grappleomon leapt to the side to allow Machgaogamon to execute his Winning Knuckle technique, cracking his fist across her face. She stumbled back, but was able to fire a Seventh Fantastic to stop the wolf's assault. This left her open for Grappleomon, who punched the air, creating a glowing blast of energy that smashed her in the side. "Lion Killing Wave!"

Lotsumon panted heavily as both digimon charged at her from both sides. She leapt into the air and gracefully twisted, striking both of them with her staffs, then landed and dashed at Machgaogamon, kicking him as hard as she could, then jumped into the air to avoid Grappleomon's latest sneak attack.

Eliane clenched her fists nervously, "Zey can win, right?"

"We're not giving up!" Yasu shouted, "And as soon as you start thinking we've lost, then we have!"

The French girl nodded, _"Oui."_

Asami was panting heavily, "_I just hope she's right…"_

* * *

Kasumi and Maria's group traversed down the circles of the Underworld, not through the paths of the terrain, but down the massive opening of the layered circles. Their digimon were able to fly, so they took the easiest route-with Aero V-dramon, they appeared to be moving at an incredible speed, almost as if Kasumi's rebirth had given her…divine guidance.

As they flew deeper, Kasumi and Aero V-dramon suddenly became aware of a sudden drop in temperature. "Is it getting colder?"

"Yes," Keeya answered, "We are approaching the bottom level now."

The teenage girl strained her eyes, staring at the very bottom. "Is that…ice?"

"Yes," Keeya responded again as the group landed on the sea of frozen water, "This is the Ninth Circle, the very bottom. This is where traitors are sent. GranDracmon's crime was betraying the Three Great Angels, the Demon Lords were sent for betraying the Digital World. When the Demon Lords met GranDracmon here, he explained that he had created them, and so they joined with him, but it wasn't until Juro was sent here that they overthrew the true ruler of this place and took command."

"Juro?" Kasumi asked, "You mean that guy my Dad and Mom fought?"

"Yes," Iduia nodded, "He was sent here for betraying the First Chosen."

Kasumi nodded and surveyed the bottom of the Underworld. The entire Ninth Circle was a frozen wasteland; in addition to the sea of ice, the wind blew at sub-zero temperature, sending ice and snow in all directions. She shivered, "All right, where's the gate?"

Keeya mentioned to a ice-covered mountain in the distance, "In there."

"But it will not be easy," Catherine added, "I am certain zey are guarding it."

Kasumi sighed, "Of course," She shrugged, "Well, let's go kick some ass!"

They began to charge across the icy terrain. Kasumi turned to Maria, "Um…so…listen, uh…Mixcoatl, he was your…brother, right?"

She nodded, sadly. "Yes."

"So, you know what's going on back on Earth?"

"Yes, a strange…side affect of separating from the physical body, the ability to watch the physical world. I do know…I watched, hopelessly, as he became so wrapped in revenge. He has begun to change, if only slightly…" She sighed deeply.

"What?" Kasumi asked.

"I have…a request…"

"What?"

"Please, if you are able to return to Earth, please, save my brother."

The teenage girl blinked, "I…um…" She hesitated before speaking again, "I…I'll try to…."

Before Maria could respond, Catherine shouted to them. "We have company!"

The two females gasped when they could see what the others had seen: Cahiti, Asro and Shinji were standing with an army of Evilmon. "I'm sorry," the Demonic-double of Taichi spoke, "But Lord GranDracmon will not be seeing anyone today."

Kasumi narrowed her eyes, "Move out of the way, 'Dad."

"You are not my daughter, I have already sent my daughter back to Earth!"

She blinked, "What?" She turned to the others, "What's he talking about?"

"I do not know," Keeya replied.

"Idiots!" Asro laughed, pointing at Kasumi, "Her dark side, the negative emotions that were freed when she gave up the Gift! They combined in the same way ours did!"

Kasumi was shaking her head, "I still don't understand!"

Iduia ran to her side, "It means you must return to Earth as soon as possible." She pointed the cave, "Go there now, we will distract them."

The girl hesitated, "I can't leave you…"

"Don't worry," Maria smiled, "We'll be fine, now go! You have to get back to Earth!"

She nodded, and hugged Maria, "Thank you for everything." She giggled slightly, "I'm actually pretty sad…"

"Don't worry," the other woman said, "We will meet again. Farewell."

Kasumi gave a wave to the others, then nodded at her partner. Aero V-dramon hoisted her onto his back, then charged forward. The large dinosaur tackled through the Evilmon and past the two Demon Lords. More Evilmons leapt to attack them, but Guardromon and Juriemon bashed into them.

Kasumi waved to Iduia and Keeya as they ran past.

"Where do you think you're going?" Shinji shouted, staring at the teenage girl and her dragon dinosaur partner. She mentioned to her partner, "Re…."

She was cut off when Tsuragi and his red dinosaur tackled into the duo. Shinji snarled, "You! You fucking traitor! I'm going to rip you to shreds!"

Tsuragi smirked, "Bring it on, you bitch!"

The two former Demon Generals began to tear and rip into one another, just as their partners did the same. Cahiti, Asro, and their partners were about to attack Kasumi and Aero V-dramon, but Maria's Insekimon Cahiti's Lucemon Falldown Mode, while Catherine's Blossomon stood in front of Lilithmon.

Asro wrapped her arms around Cahiti's neck, "So, my love, it seems they want to stop us."

Cahiti crossed his arms, "They're fools, they have no idea who they're dealing with!"

"Yes we do," Catherine replied, "And we are not afraid."

Lilithmon growled and launched forward. "Naizer Nail!"

She swing her decayed arm at the flower digimon, but Blossomon's vines began to whip around, blocking the demoness's attack. "Thorn Whip!"

Lucemon Falldown Mode snickered as he faced Insekimon, "So, you think you can face me, huh?"

The small Fully Evolve grinned. "Yeah, I do."

Both digimon launched at each other, their fists meeting in an explosion of energy.

* * *

When Kasumi and Aero V-dramon entered the cave, they stepped into a cavern covered with ice. "This is like some kind of…of infinite ice range!" the blue dragon exclaimed.

Kasumi cast her a glance, "That was the best you could do?"

"Y…yeah, well…"

"I don't know, I didn't think it was bad, heh, heh…" a male voice echoed through the chambers.

The two tensed and slowly walked forward. They followed the tunnel around and turn and gasped loudly. A giant glowing circle was spinning on the far wall, while on the ground was a large throne, seated on which was a demonic creature. At the foot of this throne was a blond-haired young man with a familiar digimon standing beside him. The demonic creature grinned, "Hello, Kasumi Yagami."

The teenage girl and her partner showed no sign of fear as they stared at the creature, "Y…you're GranDracmon, aren't you?"

"Yes, my dear, I am," he bowed slightly, "It seems my reputation precedes me."

"Don't get so full of yourself," the blond man sighed.

"Who are you?" Kasumi demanded, twisting her head to stare at him. When she saw him, she gasped loudly, "M…Mr. Ishida?"

The young man chuckled, then bowed slightly, "No, but then again, I assume it would be easy to make that mistake. I am, First Chosen, Juro, at your service. My partner, Gabumon."

"You're the Fallen Chosen!" both Kasumi and Aero V-dramon gasped.

"A term I detest, but yes."

"But you should be like a thousand years old!"

He snorted, "When alive, yes."

She sighed, "Whatever. I take it that's the gate to Earth, huh?"

"Well, you'd better get the hell out of the way!" Aero V-dramon screamed, clenching her fists.

Gabumon smirked, "Yeah? Ya think you're that powerful, huh? Wait'll you see me!"

Juro grinned and held out his digivice, "Ready? Heh, we won't even need to go all the way."

"Sure," he laughed.

Kasumi narrowed her eyes, "Just be prepared," she warned her partner, "This guy was strong enough to defeat my Dad."

Gabumon jumped into the air and began to evolve. "Gabumon evolve to…Raptordramon! Raptordramon evolve to…Hisha Ryuumon!" Ryuudamon evolved through his Adult form to a serpentine dragon carrying an orange globe in one claw and a green one in the other. Aero V-dramon clenched her fists, studying her opponent before rushing forward. Hisha Ryuumon flew forward to meet him, but his body suddenly twisted into a giant blade and slashed at her.

"Grown Dragon Blade!"

"V-breath Arrow!"

She blasted a beam from her mouth that smashed into the bottom of Hisha Ryuumon's transformed body, which smashed into the ground. He shifted back into his dragon form, and shot at Aero V-dramon once again. The blue dragon shot into the air and fired another V-breath Arrow, Hisha Ryuumon twisted in a twisted around in a tight circle, the beam firing safely in the open. He swam through the air and clamped his teeth down on the blue dragon's ankle. Aero V-dramon swung his leg around, smashing Hisha Ryuumon into the ice wall again and again until he was forced to release his grip.

GranDracmon chuckled, "Not bad, I wonder how she would taste on a salad?"

"Shut up!" Hisha Ryuumon snapped.

"We can't do this forever!" Kasumi called to her partner.

"Right, I gotcha."

The serpentine dragon chuckled, "Do whatever you think you can do, it won't matter!" He shot directly at the blue dragon's face, and Aero V-dramon threw her arms in front of her face to shield herself, but Hisha Ryuumon suddenly changed directions and formed a tight circle around her body. "Every Direction Wheel!" His body began to fire beams of energy into Aero V-dramon's body.

"Oh no…" Kasumi gasped.

Juro smirked. "Excellent, finish this, now!"

The blue dragon slowly fell to the ground, while Hisha Ryuumon uncurled his body and headed straight for her head. "Grown Dragon Blade!" He transformed his body one again into a large sword and continued on his path to slice the blue dragon in half.

"Aero!" Kasumi screamed.

The blue dragon suddenly twisted out of the way, the blade falling harmlessly past her. She grabbed the sword by the hilt and began to swing it around over her head. The blade transformed back into a long serpent. "Let…me….go!" he shouted.

Aero V-dramon smirked, "Fine."

She released her grip, and the momentum threw the dragon into a sea of icicles hanging from the ceiling. These icy stalactites became deadly missiles, that showered GranDracmon and Juro, burying them into a pile of massive ice.

Kasumi blinked, "Wow…"

Aero V-dramon landed beside her, "We've got to move!" She grabbed Kasumi in her large arms and flew towards the glowing circle as fast as she could. GranDracmon's arm suddenly ripped through the ice chunks and grabbed the blue dragon's leg.

"Ah!" Kasumi yelled, as she began to kick at the massive hand, "Get off, you piece of shit!"

Aero V-dramon used her other foot to kick into the Demonic God's fingers, forcing him to release his grip, and the two females shot through the gate.

* * *

In the Dark Continent, specifically, the grave of Kasumi Yagami and Yuki Agumon sat silently, undisturbed. That is, until a fist punched through the dirt, followed shortly by Kasumi's head. She panted heavily, forcing herself into a seated position. She panted heavily, hair falling in front of her face, "It's brown…it's brown! I….I'm really back to…" She sbegan to twist her head, "Yuki? Yuki!"

The ground only inches from her exploded as a blast of ice tore through the ground. The white dinosaur poked her head through a moment later. "Hey."

Kasumi grabbed a fistful of her hair, "Look, it's brown! It's not blond, I'm not a Demon anymore!"

"Yeah, I know!"

The teenage girl blinked, "But…did that really happen? Or was it just a dream?" She shook her head, "We'll find out later, Asami's in trouble!"

She rose to her feet, dusted the dirt from her clothes, then examined her digivice. "You can't find her with that," Yuki Agumon protested, "That only works if you're really close."

Kasumi shook the device for a moment before smacking it. The device came to life, displaying seven blinking lights on the corner of the screen, "That has to be them, Asami, Gabe, Shiro, Eliane and Yasu, that's five," she frowned, "Plus whoever's attacking her." She gripped the device tightly, "Let's move!"

"Right behind ya!" Yuki Agumon cheered, following her partner into the forest.

* * *

On Earth, Taichi, Yamato and Mitsuo were racing through traffic to get to the DATS building in the hope that children were still alive.

* * *

Masa, Kenji, Lizzie, Akira and their partners were racing to aid Asami and her two teammates. "Are we getting close?" Kenji asked.

"I don't know," Akira frowned, leading the group, "But I can feel Yasu and Eliane over this way..."

* * *

Asami stood behind Eliane and Yasu as all three girls watched their partners battling the demonic Lotsumon.

* * *

Kasumi and Yuki Agumon ran through the thick underbrush, hoping they would reach Asami before it was too late.

_To be continued…._

Author's note: As you can see, Kasumi has definitely undergone a change: rather then running after Asro and Shinji when she knew it would be useless to do so, and not revealing what happened in the cavern-her pride and anger are already under control.


	28. Rebirth: Chapter 3

Bonjuor,_ I am Eliane Debre, a Chosen Child from France, though I am staying with DATS in Japan, learning how to be a Chosen from my late Aunt Catherine's friends. I suffer from the disease, Second Black Death, which is eating away at my skin. I always felt ugly, and no one even wanted to be my friend because of it, but I made a friend in Yasu Ishida, a best friend. _

_ When we were fighting Rei and Lotsumon to stop her from taking Asami, we connected together, and our partners evolved together to become Machgaogamon. Asami realized her own limitations and managed to evolve her Leormon to his Fully Evolved from, Grappleomon! Yet, even though we had two Fully Evolved digimon, we were still not able to defeat her._

_ Kenji, Akira, Lizzie and the Hunters defeated the two Ancients, but Masa realized that staying with the Hunters would not help his mother, he joined with the DATS team as they came to help us._

_ Kasumi was still in the land of the dead, and she managed to purify herself of the Gift of Demons, but all those negative qualities merged into the Demon Lord, Sakumi! Kasumi managed to rush past GranDracmon and return to Earth, and now she's heading to help us as well._

_ Mr. Yagami, Mr. Ishida, and Mr. Yamaki were able to get DATS reopened, but they had to give up the list of secret DATS teams. _

_ With so many people coming to our aide, I only hope we will still be alive when they get here._

--

_Rebirth_

_Chapter 3_

--

On Earth, Taichi, Yamato and Mitsuo were racing through traffic to get to the DATS building in the hope their children were still alive. When they finally arrived at the building, they took no notice that the Ministry of Finance agents were no longer guarding the building, but agents of the Ministry of Defense. They nodded at the trio and opened the door for them. They raced through the halls and arrived at the main control area. Reika Ootori and Megumi Onodera were already at their stations, their PawnChessmon were racing around, getting the machinery back online.

"Welcome back sirs," Megumi bowed when she saw them.

"What's going on?" Taichi asked. He mentioned to the large monitor that normally displayed a map of Nedigital, but the screen was blank.

"It's a mess," Reika sighed, "When we were forced to leave, we had to shut everything down, we never did that before. It's going to take some time to get everything up and running again."

"What about Gate capabilities?" Yamato asked.

"Not for a few hours," she sighed. She entered commands into her keyboard, "Now about that screen…"

Her terminal beeped loudly. "Come on," she said, entering the command again, only to be beeped at once more. She slammed her fist into the servers near her stations, and the screen came to life.

"There, that's better," she stared entering commands again, "Now let's hope the scanner still works…"

The screen suddenly displayed an image of a topographical map of a section of Neodigital, with a series of blinking lights. Reika used a laser pointer as she pointed at the monitor. "I've found them, they're all on the Dark Continent. Okay, these lights here…" she mentioned to a group of four lights that were near the left side of the screen, "The signal indicates these are: Kenji, Akira, Lizzie and one other."

"One other?" Mitsuo asked.

"Yes," she nodded, "The computer recognizes the signal, but has no information, we've seen it before, but we don't know who it is."

"Right," Taichi nodded.

Reika pointed to the group of seven lights in the center, "That' s Eliane, Yasu, Asami Gabe and Shiro. The signal from the other two aren't registering, but the strength is massive." She hesitated a moment before continuing, "Plus, the signals for Shiro and Gabe are low…."

Yamato gasped, "What?"

Reika nodded slowly. "Yes." She took a deep breath before pointing at the lone light on the right side of the screen, "And that signal is Kasumis."

"At least they're all still alive," Taichi frowned. He clenched his fist, "But all we can do is stand here and watch?"

"I'm sorry sir," Megumi called from the side of the room, "We're doing the best we can to get that gate up and running."

"Damn it!" Taichi growled.

* * *

Masa, Kenji, Lizzie, Akira and their partners were racing to aid Asami and her two teammates. "Are we getting close?" Kenji asked.

"I don't know," Akira frowned, leading the group, "But I can feel Yasu and Eliane over this way…plus another power that I've never felt before, it felt sort of like what Masa feels like."

"Really?" the older boy asked, "I can't feel anything…odd…."

"What about Gabe?" Lizzie demanded.

"I can't feel him," Akira explained, "He's not a child of the first."

"Right…right," she sighed, "Gabe, I hope you're safe."

"Don't worry," Masa smiled, "You're brother's pretty strong."

She nodded slightly, "Yeah, but…"

"You're still worried, I know," he sighed slightly, "But we'll get there soon, don't worry. I'm sure your brother's fine."

"Yeah…yeah, I hope…"

* * *

Asami stood behind Eliane and Yasu as all three girls watched their partners battling the demonic Lotsumon. The demoness laughed, "There's nothing you can do to stop us, why not just give up?"

"My brother wouldn't give up," Yasu replied, her eyes narrowed.

"And neither would Kasumi," Asami nodded, "Or Gabe, or anyone else!"

Eliane nodded, "We shall never run away!"

Machgaogamon and Grappleomon held their fists tightly, "We're with them!" the large lion man declared.

Lotsumon chuckled, "If that's what you want, so be it! I would have given the two brats the chance to get away, but fine, let's get this over with."

Machgaogamon shot forward and slammed his fists into Lotusmon's chin, then twisted around and crashed the back of his ankle against the side of her head. Then landed on his hands, twisted around in the air, and planted his foot into her face with all of his strength, an she stumbled backwards. He cracked his knuckles and began to encircle his enemy. "Gaoga Tornado!" He began an assault of punches and kicks, smashing and bashing, attacking in such close vicinity and with such rapid pace that the flower demon simply could not defend herself. When the wolf was finished with his assault, he leapt back, panting heavily.

Lotusmon regained her composure, then moved her head from side to side, her neck cracking as it did. "That was pretty good," she said with a chuckle, "I don't think I've felt that way in a while." However, her body language betrayed her attitude, she was clearly injured, she was favoring her right leg, her body was bruised.

She positioned her staffs in a stance, then charged forward. Machgaogamon shot forward to continue his attack and swung his fist, but Lotusmon dropped to the ground, then slammed both of her feet into the wolf's chest, sending him sailing through the air. Lotusmon shot into the air after him, then twisted, using the force of her momentum to slam both of her staffs into Machgoagmon's side. She twisted in the air, kicking him in the face, the bringing both of her weapons onto the wolf's shoulder, sending him crashing into the ground.

Yasu and Eliane gasped, rushing to his side, "Machgaogamon!"

"You don't get it, do you?" Neo chuckled, "You're not gonna beat us, just give up Asami Yamaki!"

Asami shivered slightly, "M…maybe I…"

"Don't even think that!" her Grappleomon shouted. He glared at Neo for another moment before turning his attention to Lostusmon, still hovering in the air. The lion man crouched down, then used his large leg muscles to leap into the air, meeting Lotusmon at level. He had only time for one attack before gravity pulled him back to the ground-he spun at an incalculable rate, kicking Lotusmon with such force that she was sent into a tailspin, crashing into the ground. Grappeleomon landed gracefully in front of the girls.

Lotosumon slowly crawled from the crater, panting heavily, green blood was gushing down her arm, her face was bruised and she was wobbling. "Nice job," Machgaogamon said.

The flower demon clenched her fists in rage, "You are so fucking dead! You think this is gonna stop us! Even if you get past me, you'll never get past dear brother!"

"She's right," Neo said with a smile, "There's nothing you can do, why don't you just give up now while you can?" He began to lick his lips, "I'm sure the Master'll give you back once he's…heh…done with you…"

"Once _we're_ done with her," Lotusmon chuckled.

Asami and Eliane shivered, while Yasu made a face, "Bleech! You guys are disguising! You're fucking out of your minds! You're just monsters!"

Neo gave a slight chuckle, "You're closer then you think…."

1

_The battlefield was covered in blood, bodies lay sprawled about the landscape. Rei and her Blossomon had just dispatched a group of Gekomon, who fell to the ground seconds before deleting. The girl crossed her arms, as she stared at the carnage, "All of this just for some land?"_

_ "You remember our old base?" Neo questioned, "We were practically tripping over each other."_

_ Rei sighed, staring at the bodies, "But so many of our friends…our comrades….did they really have to die?"_

_ Neo hesitated before answering, "It is what Lord Masanori has commanded."_

_ They heard a loud grumble, and when they spun around they saw a large Giga Seadramon towering over them. "You…have annihilated my entire people, simply so you could please your evil lord! I will kill you!"_

_ Blossomon and Neo's Fully Evolved Arkadimon leapt in front of their human partners. They were about to attack, but Gigaseadramon attacked first. "Giga Sea Destroyer!"_

_ A blast of blue energy smashed into the two Fully Evolveds, throwing them into their partners. "We're still too weak after the battle," Arkadimon panted._

_ "Even better for me!" the Mega serpent shouted, "Giga…"_

_ "Metal Meteor!"_

_ Gigaseadramon's body suddenly exploded as Dexdorugremon's attack tore through his body. Neo smiled, "My Lord!"_

_ "You saved us!" Rei cheered._

_ Masanori marched over the battlefield, "Yes, again!" He sighed deeply as he surveyed the destruction, "And we have lost more soldiers once again." He turned to Neo and Rei, "And yet, you two still live…"_

_ "M'Lord?" Rei asked._

_ "Come," he said, "We must confer with Araki."_

_ When they returned to their base, Araki tended to their wounds before they sat in conference with Masanori. "We need Megas," the Demon Master said, "Even I cannot stand against the strongest digimon."_

_ "But Master," Neo said, "I thought that we couldn't evolve to Mega without an external source, like a crest or something."_

_ "Perhaps, perhaps not," Araki answered, "We are experimenting with something that may help in that respect, but volunteers are needed…"_

_ Neo and Rei glanced at one another, then nodded. "Yes, lord," Neo bowed, "We are your loyal servants, we will do whatever you ask."_

_ "This procedure will not be pleasant," Araki added._

_ "We kinda guessed that," Rei replied with a slight smile, "But we're ready."_

_ They were brought to a strange room and strapped to a table along with their partners. A strange machine was attached to the side wall, with two strange glass orbs hanging from the ceiling via a metal pipe. Araki was walking around them, making motions with her hands. "The cleansing is complete." She walked over to the machine, grabbed a large lever and pulled down, "Now, the pain."_

_ The orbs came to life, filling the room with massive bolts of power that coursed through the demons and their partners. Their screams were drowned out by the thick metal walls._

_1_

_ A few days later, Araki opened the door to the medical wing, the two Demons were wrapped tightly in straight-jackets, they were staring blankly at the wall. The Demon Priestess sighed deeply._

_ "Any change?"_

_ She turned to see the Demon Master standing behind her, "No, Masanori, but I don't think this is a lost cause, they _can_ be rehabilitated, they _can_!"_

_1_

_ Araki's promise was true, she was able to bring back at least basic functions for them, but their experiment and their insanity spread throughout the base. As they walked past, the other Demons turned their nose at them. _

_ "I heard they're completely insane!" Ami chuckled, "They spent their time watching cartoons-and I'm not talking about _anime,_ I mean little kid shows!"_

_ Shinji frowned, "All the others that have gone through that experiment have died, yet these two still live."_

_ Yuuji clutched Shinji's arm, "They frighten me, twin brother."_

_ Tsuragi narrowed his eyes, "They're freaks!"_

_ The pair tried to ignore the others, but they were now cut off from the only community that would have accepted them as their own._

1

The girls and their partners were in shock. "W…wow," Yasu blinked, "You guys are….are lab rats?"

"Yasu!" Eliane snapped.

"Yeah," Neo snickered, "That's what we are, just a bunch of lab rats! Being completely infused with our partners like this…" His smile faded, "Rei, finish them now! Araki promised us a party if we won, remember?"

His demoness partner grinned, "Yes, with cake and party hats, right?"

"That's right."

Yasu blinked, "These guys are insane, completely insane!"

Lotusmon nodded, "Right, Brother, I'll destroy them and bring back Asami Yamaki for Master Masanori, all for Masanori!" She stared at Machgaogamon and Grappleomon, gripping her weapons tightly, "Time to die!"

"Never!" Machgaogamon shouted, rushing into battle. Lotusmon swung her flower-tipped staff into the wolf's side, and when he leapt to avoid, she whipped around and bashed his head with her serpent-tipped staff. He stumbled for a moment, and she began her assault. She punched his fist, then kicked his side. She gave him a deadly uppercut then spun in a tight circle, slamming her heel into his chest. She finished her combo by pointing her serpent tipped staff into his injured torso.

She smirked, "Serpent Ruin!" A blast of purple energy exploded into his chest, enveloping him in light and smoke. Once the fog cleared, Machgaogamon was still hovering in the air, albeit badly damaged. He was panting heavily, and soon fell to the ground.

"Machgaogamon!" Yasu and Eliane screamed, rushing to his side. He lay on his back, unmoving.

"Get up!" Eliane pleaded, "Please, get up!"

Yasu could not speak, and fell onto her knees, staring blankly at her partner.

Grappleomon sighed deeply, "I think he's out of the fight." He turned to stare at Lotusmon, tensing his muscles, "I guess it's up to me now."

The demoness pointed her serpent staff at him, "Don't act so cocky, I'm gonna drive you into the ground!"

"Bring it on!" Grappleomon screamed, "Even though I really hate the idea, if I have to kill you to save Asami, then that's what I'm gonna do!"

Lotusmon laughed as she crossed her staffs. "A conscious, huh? Well, don't feel too bad about it, this is war! This is what we do, and trust me, _I won't give you the same consideration!_" She shot forward at tremendous speed, and Grappleomon ran forward to match. When he swung his fist at her, she suddenly shot into the air, and he swung at nothing but air.

"Wha?" he gasped, straining his neck to follow. Lotusmon was dropping down from the sky; she managed to slash a chunk out of his metal armor with her crown-tipped staff. Once she landed, she executed a swipe with her foot, knocking Grappleomon onto his back. She jumped into the air again, twisted daintily before slamming all of her weight into his chest. He yelled with pain, his entire body arching.

"Grappleomon!" Asami screamed.

Her partner jumped back onto his feet and fired a beam of energy from her fist, "Lion Beast Killing Wave!"

Lotusmon went to swing her staffs in front of her face to block, but she was not fast enough, and the energy wave crashed into her chest. Grappleomon was not about to give her a chance to recover; he swung his foot into her head, "Lion Whirlwind Kick!"

His foot crashed into the side of her head, her entire jaw swinging from the force of impact. She fell to the ground. Asami cheered, "You really hurt her!"

Neo was gasping. "R…rei?'

Grappleomon was panting heavily as he stared down at Lotusmon, lying motionless on the ground. "Be careful," Asami warned.

He cautiously approached and gently used his foot to push her shoulder. "I think she's d…"

She suddenly jumped back to life, pointing her crown-tipped staff beneath Grappleomon's chin, "Seventh Fantasia!" A beam of rainbow light exploded from her staff, sending Grappleomon sailing into the sky. Lotusmon shot into the sky, and once she was above the lion man, she slammed both of her fists into him with all of her strength. He smashed into the ground with so much force that the ground shook violently. Lotusmon finished her assault by unleashing a Seventh Fantasia, followed by a Serpent Ruin. When the smoke had finally cleared, Grappleomon was unmoving.

"Grappleomon!" Asami screamed, "Grappleomon!" Despite her pleas, her partner remained lying motionless in the ground.

* * *

Kasumi and Yuki Agumon ran through the thick underbrush, hoping they would reach Asami before it was too late. The girl's digivice began to beep rapidly.

"What's it doing?" Yuki Agumon asked.

The teenage girl examined her device, and her face paled. "What?" her partnered asked.

"Three of those digivices signals…are dropping….fast!"

Yuki Agumon stared at her, "D…does that mean that….?"

"Yeah, I think so…We need to go faster!"

Her partner smirked, "You got it! Yuki Agumon evolve to Allomon!"

Kasumi nodded as she climbed onto her partner's back. Allomon began to charge through the forest, bashing aside the trees with her head. "Hell yeah, now _this_ is moving!"

* * *

Akira gasped loudly. "What's wrong?" Falcomon questioned.

The redheaded boy was clearly shaken, "I…it's Yasu and Eliane…I can barely feel them…"

"What does that mean?" Lizzie gasped.

"I don't know."

Masa sighed, "If their energy-their inherited First Chosen power-is so low you can't feel it, that means they used up so much of it to power their partners, or…."

"Or what?!" Akira shouted.

"They're…dead…"

The others gasped, and Masa quickly added, "But I don't know, I'm just guessing here…"

"We've got to hurry!" Akira shouted, running even faster. _"Yasu…please…I don't want to think about you dying!"_

* * *

"Oh no!" Reika gasped.

"What?" Taichi asked.

She stared at her computer terminal, "I…it's…"

"Don't hide anything!" Yamato shouted, "What's going on?"

"It's the…the signal from the digivices matching Yasu, Eliane and Asami."

"What about them?" Mitsuo demanded.

"The signal is….dropping…"

"No!" Taichi shouted, "That means that….that….." He clenched his fist, "How long until the Gate is operational?"

"Another two hours at least, I'm sorry…"

Mitsuo slammed his fist into the wall, "Damn it!"

* * *

Lotsumon lowered to the ground and she and Neo watched as Asami slowly approached her partner. "G…grappleomon….?"

His eyes were open and he was panting heavily, "Asami, you've got to run…just run…."

"I'm not going to leave you."

"You have to!" he shouted, "You're the one they want!"

"He's right," Yasu said, rising back to her feet, "You have to get out of here!" She glanced over her shoulder to where Shiro, Gabe, and their partners were still lying unconscious in the cave in the mountain behind them, "If only Oniichan or Gabe would wake up, but they're still out cold from fighting Shinji and Tsuargi. They're our only hope now, we've got to stall until they wake up, but we won't last long, you need to run!"

Eliane nodded in agreement with her Jogress Chosen partner, "_Oui_, we do not know why zey want you, but it cannot be good, you must go, now!"

"How cute," Lotusmon snickered, "But the truth is very simple…none of you are leaving here alive!"

"Stop stalling!" Neo shouted, "Hurry up and kill them! We're missing _Teletubbies!"_

Lostumon stomped over to the fallen Grappleomon and Machgaogamon. She positioned her serpent-tipped staff at the wolf, while her rainbow-tipped staff was pointing at the lion. "This was a lot of fun, so I'm sorry it's got to end, but there's one thing I hate more then anything else, _and that's missing my television shows!_ Time to say goodbye!"

The tips of her staff began to glow brightly. The girls could only stare in horror as they were about to witness the deaths of their partners, their friends for as long as they could remember. There was nothing they could do; Lotusmon's staffs were about to attack………..

-

-

-

-

-

A blast of energy suddenly struck Lotusmon in the chest, throwing her off balance. She fell onto her back, her staffs firing beams of energy harmlessly into the air. "What?" Neo gasped, "What the hell just happened?"

The girls were equally as surprised, seeing Lotusmon struggling to stand. "What is going on?" Eliane questioned, "What happened?"

Asami simply shook her head, she did not have an answer.

Lotusmon was panting heavily, having to user her staff to support herself. "W…what's going on?"

Neo suddenly growled and twisted his head to the side. Slowly emerging from the darkness of the forest was a blue dinosaur-it's eyes staring at the Demons. The DATS team gasped loudly. "It can't be!" Machgaogamon gasped.

Grappleomon could barely speak, "A…A….Allomon?"

The dinosaur nodded slightly.

Asami was shaking, "W….where's….?"

"Right here!" a figure declared as she stepped from behind the dinosaur. The girl was grinning, her hair tied tightly into a ponytail.

"Kasumi!" the DATS team shouted.

* * *

"She's there!" Reika screamed.

"What now?" Taichi gasped.

"She's there!" the DATS operator shouted again, "Kasumi's there! They're just hanging on…."

Mitsuo and Yamato glanced at Taichi. He was staring up at the ceiling, "_Kasumi…"_

* * *

Kasumi walked over to the others. Asami, Yasu, and Eliane. The three girls were still staring at her, and she gave a grin before waving. "Hey, what's up?"

"You're dead!" Yasu screamed, "I saw you die!" She clutched her neck, "You're not drinking my blood!"

"I'm not a vampire!" Kasumi snapped. She was going to say more, but was not able to before Asami tackled her, hugging her tightly.

"Kasumi!" she cried, tears in her eyes, "Is it really you? How are you alive?"

"I'll tell you later," she said with a smile, "And yes, it's really me."

She smiled slightly at Yasu and Eliane but her eyes focused on the unconscious Gabe and Shiro. She gasped, "What happened to them?"

"They're still out of it," Yasu explained, "They evolved to Mega to fight Tsuragi and Shinji."

Kasumi nodded slightly, "So that's why the two of them where there…"

"Where?" Asami asked.

"I'll tell you later," she said with a wave. She glanced over to Neo and Lotsumon, "What's with them?"

"They're here for Asami," Grappleomon answered, slowly rising to his feet.

Kasumi nodded, "All right, you guys take a break, we'll take care of this."

"Are you nuts?" Yasu gasped, "You not that stron…."

She stopped when Eliane shook her head. "Do you not notice…?"

Yasu stared questioningly, then turned to Kasumi. She gasped, "Her hair's brown again!"

"She's no longer a Demon," Asami said, smiling.

"But how can she fight Lotusmon if she doesn't have the Gift of Demons?" Machgaogamon asked, "Wasn't that were Orochimon came from?"

Kasumi smiled, "Don't worry about that." She turned back and started walking towards the Demons, a glare in her eyes.

"She's still as pissed as ever," Yasu mumbled.

Asami shook her head. "No/ She's angry, yes, but…but it's different then before, she's not lost in her rage, it's like, she's _controlling_ it!"

The Demons stared interestingly at the teenage girl and her dragon partner. "Kasumi Yagami," Neo chuckled, "I had heard that the Master had killed you, I didn't know you DATS brats had the ability to return from the dead."

The girl shrugged, "I was just lucky, that's all."

Lotusmon held up her weapons. "It doesn't matter, if you think you're gonna beat me with that Adult digimon!"

Kasumi simply held up her digivice, "I'm not going to fight you with an Adult digimon."

Yasu smirked, "Yeah, she'll never beat Orochimon!"

"I don't think it's going to be Orochimon," Asami replied.

**"Allomon evolve to…"**

**Kasumi's digivice fired a light blue beam of light into the air before exploding, showering her partner. Allomon's muscles grew larger, a horn emerged from the tip of her nose, red wings pushed through her back and reached towards the sky.**

**"Aero V-dramon!"**

"A new evolution, huh?" Lotsumon snickered, "It doesn't matter, you're still no match for me!"

She shot forward and swung her serpent-tipped staff at the large dinosaur, but she suddenly vanished! Lotusmon swung at empty air, then glanced around. "What's going on?"

She began to twist her head, looking around. She spotted her target hovering only a few inches above her head. She fired a Serpent Ruin beam, but Aero V-dramon disappeared once again.

"Behind you!" Neo screamed.

Lotusmon spun to see Aero V-dramon standing behind her. The demoness began to attack by swinging her staffs rapidly, but each and every jab was dodged easily. "I don't get it," Neo frowned, "She's huge, how the hell does she move so fast?"

Lotusmon growled, clutching her staffs. "That dino bitch is just toying with me! I'm gonna kill her!" Once again, Aero V-dramon was simply too fast, and she successfully avoided every attack.

"Damn you!" Lotusmon screamed, "Stay still and fight me!"

Aero V-dramon suddenly appeared beneath Lotusmon and slammed her fist into the underside of the flower demon's chin, sending her sailing into the air. Neo and the DATS agents gasped, staring in awe as Lotusmon rocketed through the air. Aero V-dramon appeared above her and slammed both of her fists into her stomach, and she crashed into the ground in an explosion of dirt and rock. Lotusmon struggled to climb to her feet, but could not.

"No way!" Machgaogamon exclaimed.

Kasumi stared at Neo, "Leave now!"

The DATS agents could not believe their ears.

"You're under the control of the Gift of Demons, I was too, so I'm giving you just one chance. Get out of here!"

"We're not going anywhere!" Neo shouted back, "Our mission for Lord Masanori is to capture Asami Yamkai, and we are taking her back to him!"

Lotusmon growled, clenching her weapons even tighter. "I'm not running, I'll kill you all!"

Kasumi just shrugged, "Well, I gave you the chance. Aero!"

Lotusmon narrowed her eyes at Aero V-dramon, still hovering in the air. She shot through the air, heading straight for the blue dragon. Kasumi's partner pointed her wings at Lotusmon and fired two V-shaped beams from each tip. "V-Wing Blade!"

The two beams impacted Lotusmon in the chest, easily ripping through her body and exploding from the back. The Demoness hovered for a moment before her data exploded, leaving nothing in its place.

Neo screamed out in shock, while the DATS agents could not believe their eyes. "She…she beat her!" Grappleomon gasped.

Machgaogamon nodded. "So easily…"

Aero V-dramon chuckled as she landed in front of them. "Not really, she was pretty beaten up, you guys musta really worn her down…" She shrugged, "I just kinda finished the job, that's all."

Machgaogamon stared at her. "You're a Holy Dragon, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Maybe that's why…"

Neo screamed out with a mighty roar. "Heads up!" Kasumi shouted, "I think the real fight's gonna began!"

Neo's body began to glow brightly, and he shot into Arkadimon's chest. His partner, who had so far remained motionless, leapt to life. He stomped forward, cracking his knuckles, "You fucking little bitch! You killed Rei, you killed my sister!" He smirked, "You return from the grave, and now I'm gonna send you back there!"

Aero V-dramon assumed a fighting stance, "Reminds me of Tsuragi and Ami…"

Arkadimon snarled, "I hated those two! You just made me more pissed off!" He clenched his fingers, pointing the large saber attached to his arm at the duo, "Get ready for your worst nightmare!"

Kasumi smirked, "Sorry, we're not scared of dreams."

She walked closer to Aero V-dramon, "Think he bought it?" she whispered.

"Don't think so," her partner replied.

"Yeah, well, this guy's a fully-powered Mega." She cautiously glanced at her digivice, "Those others signals are coming right for us, they've got to be others." She placed the device back onto her belt, "We've just got to stall until they get here."

"Right, but it's not going to be easy."

"Yeah, I know."

Arkadimon pointed his bladed arm at them, "Well, do you expect me to make the first move?"

"Why are you even doing this?" Kasumi asked, "You don't have to be a Demon!"

"Yes, I do," he chuckled, "Tell me, is there someone that you care for so much, that everything you do, you do to please them? Is there someone that you hold in such regard, is there someone you're loyal to, no matter what?"

"Yes," Aero V-dramon replied. She mentioned to Kasumi, "Her, she is everything to me."

Kasumi smiled slightly, "Yeah, Aero means everything to me, but I guess I'm always trying to please my parents, my father especially, I just want to be like him."

Arkadimon smiled, "Well, my story isn't quite as…'mushy' as yours…

1

_The boy lay in the street, cold, shivering. His legs were pressed tightly to his chest, squeezing even tighter in an attempt to keep himself warm in the frigid night air. He had his back pressed up against a dumpster, carefully scanning the pedestrians as they passed by the entrance to the alley. Hundreds of people passed, yet he remained still, motionless. An hour later, a young couple walked past, they looked like they were only in their teens, yet, judging by the large pearls the girl wore, they must be loaded. He rose to his feet and slowly exited the alley, the couple was only a few feet in front of him. He began to silently and cautiously follow, hunting them around the section of the city until they stopped at a street concession stand. While they were purchasing their food, the boy reached for the pearl purse hanging on the girl's shoulder. He had his hand around the strap, only seconds before the boy grabbed him and threw him into the ground._

_ The boy had his hand wrapped tightly around the boy's neck, "You little piece of shit, did you really think you were going to succeed? I should kill you now!"_

_ "Wait, Masanori," the girl said, staring down at the boy, "Do you not see it? The look in his eyes? I think he would kill _you_ if he had the chance."_

_ Masanori stared down at him, "Perhaps you are right, Araki." He narrowed his eyes at the boy, "Answer me this, you are nothing but a thief, have you any family?"_

_ The boy shook his head._

_ "So, if I were to give you power, if I were to give you a family, would you serve me?"_

_ The boy did not respond, only staring at him, he had not expected such a response. "I…."_

_ "Tell me," Masanori chuckled, "What has your life been like so far? How long have you lived on the streets like this?"_

_ "S…since my parents died."_

_ "You are barely surviving, barely living. I can give you food and shelter, I can give you a purpose! What say you?"_

_ The boy nodded, "Yes."_

1

_The boy examined his arms. "I feel different."_

_ "As you should," Masanori explained, "You have been infused with my Gift of Demons. To you, I have given the Gift of Decima, which is the nearest copy of my Powers of Chance."_

_ "Chance?"_

_ "Yes, the power which flows through me, is my birthright, as I am a descendent of the First Chosen, Juro."_

_ The boy touched his hair, "Is that why I'm blond now?"_

_ "Yes, the Gift has changed you to resemble out bloodline. Juro was blond as well." He mentioned to the girl at the boy's right, "This will be your teammate. All Demons act in groups of two-one brother and one sister, we do this because we are a family, those of Decima and those of Uni. These two clans share the same blood. I am the Master of all Demons, but I am also head of Decima. Araki, my priestess, is head of Uni."_

_ "Where does Uni com from, Master?" the girl asked._

_ "Uni is the power of Fate, held by Yuushi, the opposing pole of Juro. His power was given to Araki through an…individual that is not among us. It is from her that the Gift of Uni is given. Fate and Chance, the First and Tenth power of the Chosen. Fate and Chance, Order and Chaos, the two building blocks of reality. Imagine the power one would have should they possess both…"_

_ "Is that why there are the Demon Chosen, to make that person?"_

_ Masanori only smiled, "Rei and Neo, that is what I shall call you…'_

_1_

"Orphans, huh?" Kasumi asked.

"Yeah, that's right," Arkadimon snarled.

"So, you were alone and you joined the Demon Chosen 'cause you think you're part of a family? Don't you get it? The Demon Master's just using you! You're just a pawn! Look, I was a Demon too, I know how easy it is to lose yourself, but this can't be who you are, I'll give you one chance to leave, please, take it."

The DATS team was simply too shocked to believe what was happening. "This can't be right," Asami gasped, "This just can't be the same Kasumi!"

"You're right," Yasu nodded, "She's…different…"

"That is ze point, right?" Eliane said, "Zat she iz different."

Arkadimon, however, was having trouble speaking, his eyes were glowing with rage. "A pawn?..._A pawn?!_" He screamed and shot forward, slamming his knee into Aero V-dramon's stomach.Aero V-dramon's fist crashed across Arkadimon's nose, but the demon warrior was unfazed. He returned the jab with ease and Aero V-dramon stumbled backwards. "V-breath Arrow!" She expunged a glowing arrow from her mouth that would have struck Arkadimon in the chest if the demon had not blocked with his arms.

He darted forward, swinging around and smashing his heel into her head. She caught his leg and swung him around. He grabbed her tail and squeezed as hard as he could. She felt a burst of pain and released her grip. He was about to slash her shoulder with his bladed arm, but she rolled to safety. Arkadimon swung again, only to swing at empty air.

"Your speed won't save you!" he shouted, "I'll get you sooner or later!" He swung again, this time connecting with her back.

"Aero!" Kasumi screamed.

Arkadimon began a quick series of punches and kicks, which the dragon had no hope of blocking. She was only just able to fly to safety. She shot into the air, only to watch as Arkadimon flew after. He grabbed her tail and swung her crashing into the ground.

"Oh no!" the girls gasped, while the partners stood ready.

"We'd better help her!" Grappleomon exclaimed.

"Right behind ya!" Machgaogamon nodded.

"Stop!" Aero shouted, "You're too injured, stay and heal!"

"Yeah, well, look at yourself…"

The dragon chuckled, "I'm fine, really."

The demon smirked, "A state you won't be enjoying for much longer! Exile Spear!" His hands once again changed into long spears. Before Aero V-dramon could react, Arkadimon slashed across her chest with his left blade, then slashed with his right blade before twisting around, using his momentum with his slash to send the dragon crashing into a tree. She struggled to her feet, but Arkadimon was in front of her in the blink of an eye. He gave her a deadly uppercut, sending her sailing into the sky. Arkadimon flew into the air as well, catching up with her easily. He grabbed her tightly, then twisted her around so her head was pointing to the ground. He let gravity take hold and they both smashed into the ground, sending a shower of rocks into the air. He continued his assault, grabbing her tail and swinging her around and around, her head skidding across the ground before he released his grip. Aero V-dramon skidded along the ground before coming to a stop next to Kasumi.

"Aero!" she screamed, "Aero!"

It was no use, the dragon was staring blankly into the air, her tongue hanging out of the side of her mouth, and her eyes nothing but a swirling vortex.

"She's out cold!" Grappleomon shouted.

Arkadimon struggled to hold his laughter in check. "Don't you get it? Heh…I will complete my mission for my master! I will bring Asami Yamaki back to him, and there is nothing you can do to stop me!"

His laughter was heard throughout the entire forest.

To be continued……

Author's Note: The line about being scared of dreams was my favorite line from the first Dragonball Z dub, I just couldn't resist.


	29. Rebirth: Chapter 4

_My name is Kasumi Yagami, the first child of Taichi and Sora Yagami, I am also the great-granddaughter of Yuushi and Hidokoro, two of the First Chosen. My partner is YukiAgumon, who can evolve to Allomon. Because of who my parents and grandparents were, I always just assumed I would be powerful, it kind of went to my head. Despite that, I always had a hard time generating the energy that Yuki needed to evolve. I was the last to have my partner evolve to Adult; Asami, Shiro, Akira, Kenji and Yasu were all able to do it way before me. I never admitted it, but I was so jealous of them. Still, I was always certain that I was the best. That kind of changed when I met Gabe. Out of all of us, he was probably the strongest, and I just really hated him for it. I hated him for being so strong, why could I be that way? Where was all of my power? Gabe, Shiro and Asami even got the Weapons of the First that we were able to find, Gabe was given the Power of Water and the Gauntlets, Shiro was given the Power of Darkness and the Lance, and Asami got the Power of Wind and the Claymore. I got the power of wind too, but I didn't have a weapon. The others were all so strong, and having those weapons just proved it, it was like a status symbol that I wasn't allowed to have!_

_ But when I was forced to take the Gift of Demons from Shinji, Allomon was able to evolve to Orochimon, an eight-headed snake that had seven of my bad personality traits merged with the seven deadly sins. Even though I was forced, I think subconsciously I wanted that power, I wanted to be able to evolve, I want to prove I was better then everyone else. I went nuts, hurt a lot of people, but Gabe was able to save me…I never even thanked him for that._

_ Asami was captured by the Demon Generals because her father was a grandson of Juro, the First Chosen of Chance. Us kids went after her since our parents, and the rest of DATS, were ordered by the government to stay behind. While in Neodigital, Shinji tricked me into killing Ami, and me and Orochimon evolved together into Lucemon Satan Mode. The Demon Master fought us and…killed me._

_ Me and Yuki ended up in the Digital Underworld. We were joined by Maria, Catherine, Iduia and Keeya, the Daughters of the First that had been killed fifteen years ago. Me and Yuki went into a strange cave, where I faced each of my demons, and I realized that they were part of me, and as long I kept them in check, they couldn't control me anymore. The Gift of Demons was finally gone. We fought past GranDracmon's forces and me and Yuki were able to use the gate to return to Neodigital._

_ While we were gone, Gabe and Shiro had evolved to Mega and defeated Tsuragi and Shinji, rescuing Asami. But that took too much energy and they were unconscious. So they couldn't help when Neo and Rei came to take Asami. Instead, Eliane and Yasu were able to evolve their partners together in Jogressing, becoming Machgaogamon. Asami's Leormon even evolved to Grappleomon, but _not_ with the power of Wind that Asami had, it was with the power of Chance!_

_ They were holding their own against Rei and Lotusmon, but then me and Aero V-dramon arrived and finished her off. Then we started fighting Neo and Arkadimon, but he's a lot stronger. I can't give up now!_

--

_Rebirth_

_Chapter 4_

--

Arkadimon began a quick series of punches and kicks, which Aero V-dramon had no hope of blocking. She was only just able to fly to safety. She shot into the air, only to watch as Arkadimon flew after. He grabbed her tail and swung her crashing into the ground.

"Oh no!" the girls gasped, while the partners stood ready.

"We'd better help her!" Grappleomon exclaimed.

"Right behind ya!" Machgaogamon nodded.

"Stop!" Aero shouted, "You're too injured, stay and heal!"

"Yeah, well, look at yourself…"

The dragon chuckled, "I'm fine, really."

The demon smirked, "A state you won't be enjoying for much longer! Exile Spear!" His hands once again changed into long spears. Before Aero V-dramon could react, Arkadimon slashed across her chest with his left blade, then slashed with his right blade before twisting around, using his momentum with his slash to send the dragon crashing into a tree. She struggled to her feet, but Arkadimon was in front of her in the blink of an eye. He gave her a deadly uppercut, sending her sailing into the sky. Arkadimon flew into the air as well, catching up with her easily. He grabbed her tightly, then twisted her around so her head was pointing to the ground. He let gravity take hold and they both smashed into the ground, sending a shower of rocks into the air. He continued his assault, grabbing her tail and swinging her around and around, her head skidding across the ground before he released his grip. Aero V-dramon skidded along the ground before coming to a stop next to Kasumi.

"Aero!" she screamed, "Aero!"

It was no use, the dragon was staring blankly into the air, her tongue hanging out of the side of her mouth, and her eyes nothing but a swirling vortex.

"She's out cold!" Grappleomon shouted.

Arkadimon struggled to hold his laughter in check. "Don't you get it? Heh…I will complete my mission for my master! I will bring Asami Yamaki back to him, and there is nothing you can do to stop me!"

His laughter was heard throughout the entire forest.

Aero V-dramon put her hands on the side of her head, "Shut up! It's driving me crazy!"

Kasumi crossed her arms, "All bad guys laugh like that, must be part of being evil or something…"

Arkadimon pointed at the teenaged girl, "You think you're so superior to me, huh? Last time I heard, your head was so inflated you were lucky you didn't sail through the atmosphere!"

Kasumi frowned, staring at the ground "I know that I haven't exactly been the nicest person, and I've got a lot to answer for…." She stared at Arkadimon, "But starting today, I'm gonna make it up to everyone!" She glanced over her shoulder to the three girls and their partners, "Starting with them!"

"That goes double for me!" Aero V-dramon declared, rising back to her feet. She clenched her fists and glared at her opponent.

Arkadimon snorted, "Fine, I already showed you how weak you are, but if you need more proof, then fine!"

He shot forward and slammed his knee deeply into Aero V-dramon's stomach. The dragon lurched forward, and Arkadimon followed with a powerful uppercut to her chin. The Demon executed a roundhouse, and when his foot connected with the dragon's head, it sent her crashing through a row of trees.

"Aero!" Kasumi shouted.

Arkadimon laughed. "Do you underst-" He was abruptly cut off when Aero V-dramon shot out of the forest and punched the Demon's face as hard as she could. Arkadimon stumbled backwards.

The dragon's fist began to glow with a bright red flame. "Take this, Magnum Crash!" Her fist connected with Arkadimon's jaw, and he twisted along the ground before regaining his footing. He glared at Aero V-dramon, panting.

"I'm out of breath, not bad…but not good enough!" He shot forward, slamming both of his feet into the dragon's chest, then grabbed her neck with his feet while placing both of his palms on the ground. He easily swung Aero V-dramon through the air and slammed her head into the ground.

"Aero!" Kasumi screamed.

"This is bad!" Yasu exclaimed, "She needs help! Get ready Machgaogamon…"

Her partner nodded, closing his fists, "I'm ready."

* * *

Masanori sat on his throne, tapping his finger against the armrest. "They're late!"

Araki, his Demon Priestess, stood beside him, "Yes, I know."

"How difficult was it to capture that girl?"

"Two of her protectors were able to defeat Shinji and Tsuragi…"

"Shinji was an opportunist and Tsuragi was a weakling-Neo and Rei are unstoppable! It should be a simple task for them to bring Asami Yamaki back here!"

A new voice sounded through the empty Demon's Base, a female voice, familiar, yet not familiar, "Rei is dead, and Neo is currently fighting against three Full Evolves."

Araki instantly went on the defensive, while Masanori curiously stared at the doorway. A figure draped in a yellow cloak slowly entered. "You wear the cloak of a Demon Lord," the Demon Master said with awe, "Who are you? Answer me now!"

The figure removed her hood, and the Demon Priestess gasped. "Kasumi Yagami?"

"No," Masanori said with a smile, "She is a Demon Lord, merely a physical manifestation of the negative qualities of Kasumi Yagami-she is Kasumi Yagami's dark side."

Araki crossed her arms, "If that were true, she would be morbidly obese…or a towering giant…"

The girl smirked, "Oh, a joke, yes…well…I am Sukami, the Demon Princess. I have been sent by my father, Cahiti, the King of Demons to aid you."

"Aid us?" Araki gasped, "We do not need aid!"

She gave a slight smile, "Your Demon Generals have been decimated. Your father's experiment to create a hybrid of Fate and Chance was a failure." She pointed at Masanori, "You have only Chance, while your brother has only Fate. Despite the creation of an army, you still failed to break the seal, the only way is to use the power in Asami Yamaki, yet you failed to keep her too. I think you need all the help you can…"

Araki growled, clenching her fists. "Does Father know of this?"

Sukami chuckled, "Do not worry, I'm here to _aid_ you, not to _control_ you, Lord Sentry is still the commander of the operation, which means I answer to him….and you," she added with a quick smile.

She mentioned with her hand, "But, our Emperor GranDracmon, is growing impatient, we must move forward at once. You, yourself, must now step onto the field…"

Araki growled, "You upstart! How dare you…"

"That's enough," Masanori sighed. He rose to his feet, "I think it's time I took matters into my own hands."

The Priestess bowed, "As you wish."

Sukami began to walk towards the door, "Come, I'll show you the way to their battle."

As they followed her, Masanori whispered to Araki, "The boss's daughter, this is all we need…

"Father won't be pleased…"

"Father is not stupid, he won't argue in the least…" He sighed, "Besides, _we_ are the ones that have failed, not Father…" He smirked, "Still, it will be good to shed this 'Demon' personae and become Hunters once more."

"Yes," Araki nodded, "I agree."

* * *

Kenji's small group was still traversing through the dark forest. "Are we still going the right way?" Kenji asked.

Akira nodded. "Yeah, we're getting closer."

"How can you tell?" Lizzie asked.

"The feeling's getting more intense," he explained, "Light and Darkness are right this way…along with that other strange power…"

"The one you said was similar to mine?" Masa asked.

He nodded. "Yes."

"How far?" Kenji asked.

"I'm not really sure…I don't think it will take us a lot longer, but…." He shook his head, "I don't know…"

Kenji just nodded and stared forward, "Guys, just hang on as long as you can. We're coming…" He glanced at Masa, _"And we're bringing a ringer…"_

* * *

Aero V-dramon swung at Arkadimon's head, but he darted to the side and she swiped at empty air. She twisted around and slammed her tail into Arkadimon's side, but he grabbed hold of the appendage and began to swing her around over his head before smashing her into the ground. The dragon tried to rise, but the demon planted his foot firmly onto her back, trapping her on the ground.

"Now, you understand, yes? You cannot defeat me." He growled, "And now, prepare to return to the afterlife!"

"Howling Blaster!"

Machgaogamon's attack struck Arkadimon, throwing him off of Aero V-dramon. He stumbled for a moment, but before he could regain his footing, Grappleomon began to assail him with punches from his muscular fists.

"Yeah!" Yasu and Eliane cheered, jumping into the air.

"Save her!" Asami shouted.

"Aero!" Kasumi screamed, "Get up and help them!"

Grappleomon's fist connected with Arkadimon's jaw. He jabbed his elbow into the lion man's stomach, then used the back of his fist to whack his nose. Before he could finish his move, Machgaogamon's kick threw him back.

Arkadimon clenches his fists as he stared at Grappleomon and Machgaogamon, "So, you two losers are back, huh? Well, I am going to _kill you all_!"

"You can't beat us!" Yasu said, sticking out her tongue, "'cause we're never gonna give up!"

"Howling Cannon!"

"Lion Beast Killing Wave!"

Both attacks struck Arkadimon on either side. He stumbled for a moment. Grappleomon leapt into the air, intending to tackle the Demon to the ground, but Arkadimon recovered and sent the lion man sailing back into the air with an uppercut to his chin.

"Grappleomon!" Asami shouted.

Arkadimon flew after him. He grabbed the beast man by the ankle and sent him dropping into the ground in an explosion of dirt and rocks. When the dust settled, they could see Leormon lying motionless in a crater.

Asami screamed out her partner's name. Yasu and Eliane were both quivering with anger. "Make him pay!" the French girl screamed.

Machgaogamon rushed at Arkadimon, but the Demon seemed to have found his second wind. He easily dispatched the wolf's charge with a quick roundhouse, sending him into the ground.

Arkadimon smirked and glanced at Aero V-dramon, "Well, ready for round two?"

"V-Breath Arrow!"

Arkadimon was able to grab the energy blast and fling it around, crashing into Aero V-dramon. Before she could plan a counter-attack, the Demon planted his foot firmly into the dragon's face. As the dragon fell backwards, Arkadimon kicked Aero V-dramon in the back, keeping her aloft for another moment before both of his fists into her chest sent her smashing through the ground.

"Aero!" Kasumi screamed.

She was given her response with an explosion of light, transforming the Fully Evolved dragon back into her white dinosaur Child form. "Yuki!" the teenage girl screamed.

"Kasumi!" Asami shouted, but it was too late. Black tendrils leapt from Arkadimon's arms and wrapped tightly around Yuki Agumon and Kasumi, hoisting them into the air. They both struggled to free themselves, from the demon's grasp was absolute.

Arkadimon chuckled as he stared at Kasumi, "So, where is your bravo now, huh? Where is your holier-then-though ego?" He narrowed his eyes, which began to glow red with rage, "You said I was nothing more then a _pawn!_" He tightened his grip, "No words now?"

Kasumi struggled to breath, "You're….going to…be…sorry…"

"And _you'll_ be dead!"

Down below, the girls and their partners were in horror. "We've got to do something!" Yasu screamed.

"But when can we do?" Eliane asked, eying their partners, "Machgaogamon can barely stand, and Leormon iz once again a Child!"

"Kasumi….Kasumi!" Asami screamed, staring at her cousin, being crushed to death in Arkadimon's tendrils, "She can't get free, if only she was stronger…."

1

_Outside, Raiamon had jumped up to Lucemon Satan Mode's neck, positioning his claw over what he assumed to be a major nerve. "Critical Strike!" His claw pricked through the thick scales, sending a shot of pain through the dragon's neck. He whipped from side to side, throwing Mystimon into the ground. Raiamon was flung into the air, but landed gracefully back on his feet._

_ The lion glanced around, all of the other DATS digimon were scattered. "Asami!" he shouted, "I'm the only one left, you've got to use the Claymore!"_

_ The girl nodded nervously. She held out her hand and summoned the Claymore of Wind. As with each time she called for it, she could not hold the weapon, and it fell from her hands. She lifted it again, but the tip of the sword was still lying against the ground. She began to walk towards Lucemon Satan Mode, dragging the weighty sword behind her. She ignored Gabe's cries and continued forward. She was not aware of it, but the closer she moved to Lucemon Satan Mode, the lighter the sword became, easier to handle. She was able to actually lift the weapon! She swung it around, and it began to glow…right when it was pointing at the giant dragon!_

_ "It's reacting to her," she thought, "Probably because I have to fight it, even my weapon wants me to fight her. My partner, the others…she's going to kill all of us, I have to stop her, but…she's my cousin…"_

* * *

The brown-haired girl gasped loudly, "T…that's it! I thought the sword was reacting because it was trying to tell me to fight, but it wasn't reacting to _me_ at all, it was reacting to _her!_ She has Aleksey's power of Wind too, Aero V-dramon…a flying dragon!" She stared up at Kasumi, "This sword is _her's__!"_ She lifted the Claymore of Wind from the ground, holding it tightly within in her hands. She glanced to Yasu and Eliane's Jogressed partner. "Machgaogamon, I need you to do something."

The wolf man raised an eyebrow. "What?"

The girl held up her weapon, "Give this to Kasumi."

"What?!" the others exclaimed.

"But your weapon…" Eliane said.

"She needs it more then me!"

Yasu nodded. "All right, Machgaogamon, do it."

"Right," the wolf man replied, taking the weapon from the girl.

Asami took a deep breath, then shouted, "Kasumi, you need the Claymore!"

"W…what?" the teenage girl managed to say, "I…it's y…yours…"

"You need it!"

Arkadimon chuckled, "Whatever you're planning, it won't work against me!"

"I can't wait until I don't have to hear his mouth again!" Yasu shouted, "Machgaogamon, go!"

Machgaogamon stared up, Kasumi and Yuki Agumon were being crushed to death by Arkadimon's tendrils right above their heads. He took a deep breath and flew into the air. The Demon noticed and more tendrils erupted from his arms, but the wolf man maneuvered through them. He flew into the sky, twisted around, and exhaled a blast of his Howling Cannon. The beam of energy tore through the tendrils and the teenage girl and her partner fell to the ground. The wolf man attempted to catch her, but the Demon's tendrils whacked him aside. Kasumi and Yuki Agumon landed with a thud on the ground and the Claymore fell to the side, imbedding into the soil.

"Get that sword, Kasumi!" Yasu shouted.

The girl and her dinosaur nodded at each other, and they ran for the weapon. Arkadimon's tendril swiped at the girl, buy Yuki Agumon turned it to ice with a hit from her Frozen Wind attack. They continued forward, Arkadimon's fist being blocked by Machgaogamon's body.

"No!" the Demon shouted. He swiped for them again, but the two girls dove through the air, catching the weapon in her hand.

"You don't scare me!" Arkadimon screamed.

Kasumi smirked, holding the weapon high. "Yeah, well we're about to!"

**"Yuki Agumon warp evolve to…"**

**The Claymore of Wind exploded forth, showering Yuki Agumon and Kasumi. Both human and digimon began to rotate around a silhouette that appeared in the center. As they spun, their bodies merged together, first Kasumi's hand, then Yuki Agumon's hand, then a blue fist, first Kasumi's legs, then Yuki Agumon's legs, then legs covered with metal shin guards, first Kasumi's head, then Yuki Agumon's head, then a metal helmet with two large horns jutting from the back. The new figure caught the Claymore of Wind in its hand and attached it to the gauntlets on its left wrist. The figure landed on the ground with a mighty thud, flapping wings and whipping the sword in the shape of an X.**

**"Alforce V-dramon X!"**

-

The new figure stood firmly on the ground, the wings fluttering behind like a cape. "Alforce V-dramon!" Asami said with awe.

Yasu and Eliane began cheering, while Leormon and Machgaogamon nodded slightly. "They were able to evolve after all," Leormon panted.

"Yeah," the wolf man nodded, "She looks really powerful."

"She?" Leormon asked. He narrowed his eyes, carefully studying the figure. This Alforce V-dramon X had a narrow waistline compared to the rest of the body-an hourglass figure, and the large V plaster to the chest plate was pushed forward slightly, indicating breasts. This was definitely a female.

Arkadimon snorted, "So you evolved, big deal! I'm still going to rip your hearts from your body…" He made a sound as if he was licking his lips, "….and I will enjoy feasting on your entrails!"

Eliane covered her mouth to keep from vomiting.

Alforce V-dramon X was not impressed. She kept her gaze firmly on Arkadimon. "If you think you're so strong, then why don't you come and get me?"

Arkadimon cracked his knuckles, "Fine, if that's what you want!" He punched at the open air, and the Royal Knight felt a burst of pain in her stomach, "Dot Matrix!" The Demon positioned himself in a stance, then shot forward, slashing with his bladed-arm. Alforce V-dramon X blocked with her wrist-based sword, swung Arkadimon's spear aside, then punched the side of his head. She dropped to the ground to avoid the Demon's swipe, then knocked her feet into his, sending him falling onto his back. He jumped to his feet, ready to continue the battle, only to find that his opponent had vanished.

He twisted around, looking everywhere. "Where the hell did you go, eh? Did you run away? Huh?!"

He was given his answer when the Knight's foot slammed into the back of his head. He spun around, only to see that she was not there. "Damn it!" he screamed, "Fight me for real!"

The Royal Knight suddenly appeared in front of him. Arkadimon screamed and slashed, only to have her move to the side in a fraction of a second. "What?" he gasped. He slashed again and again, and each time Alforce V-dramon X moved only slightly to avoid.

"Damn you!" he screamed, "I fucking hate you!"

"You only hate me because you can't beat me," the Royal Knight replied, speaking in a mixture of Kasumi and Yuki Agumon's voice, "It doesn't matter how powerful you think you are, you're just too slow, you'll never touch me."

The Demon smirked, "Oh really, you think so, huh? Take this! He swung with his left hand, but quickly whipped around his right hand, knocking into the side of her head. As she stumbled, he began to fire invisible blasts of energy, "Dot Matrix!" The Royal Knight struggled to flee, but the attacks were too powerful and too quick

"Alforce V-dramon!" the DATS team screamed.

Arkadimon continued his assault, firing blasts again and again, her body shaking with each blast. The Demon chuckled, "You can't beat me, you can't! I will not fail my Master, I will not! You cannot stop me, you can't!" He paused to catch his breath, only momentarily, but that was enough for the speed of Alforce V-dramon X to gain the upper hand.

"Alforce Saber!"

The sword on her arm glowed brightly. She swung at the Demon, but he suddenly whipped up his hand, bocking with the blade on his arm. They began swinging at one another, their arm-based blades clashing again and again. Their blades caught and they each struggled to overpower, their determination to protect or apprehend fueling their attacks. Alforce V-dramon X was able to overpower Arkadimon's blade, then punched him with her fist before vanishing into the air.

Arkadimon twisted to try and follow the Royal Knight, but Alforce V-dramon X's kick sent him tumbling backwards. He recovered quicker then the Royal Knight expected, so she was not prepared when he rebounded and slammed his fist into her jaw.

"No!" the girls gasped.

The X-digimon counted with a punch of her own, then darted aside before Arkadimon's fist could connect with her head.

"She's so fast," Leormon gasped, "Faster then anyone I've ever seen!"

Arkadimon screamed so loudly that the forest began to shake. "Damn you!"

"You can't stand fighting someone faster then you, huh?" Alforce V-dramon X asked, suddenly appearing in front of the Demon. He swung, and swung, but she easily dodged each assault. "You're stronger then me, I think you've more then established that fact, but your strength doesn't matter if you can't touch me. You won't defeat me, you're just too slow."

Arkadimon gasped loudly, staring with hate at his opponent. "_She…she's right…"_

Alforce V-dramon X sighed, "Now that you realize you can't win, just go."

"What?"

"Just leave, get out of here, I'll let you do it if you promise not to hurt anyone again."

He was shaking with rage, "You humiliated me…and now you patronize me! I will kill you! Exile Spear!"

His blade dug into Alforce V-dramon X's shoulder, and the Royal Knight gasped in pain. Arkadimon chuckled, digging his spear even deeper, "There, how does that feel, huh? Heh…you thought you were better then me, eh? Well, you're nothing compared to me! I have the power of my Master flowing through me, I am invincible!"

Despite the pain, the Royal Knight managed to smile. "What?" Arkadimon screamed, "What?"

"You're so angry, so full of rage that you can't think clearly."

"Think clearly? What the fuck are you talking about!"

Alforce V-dramon X smirked, "You've left yourself wide open."

The Demon blinked, then gasped, realizing his mistake. When he had dug his spear into the Royal Knight's shoulder, he had completely exposed his entire body to her. Before he could react, Alforce V-dramon X screamed, "Shining V-force!" The giant V on her chest exploded into him, sending him crashing into a tree. He attempted to move, but Alforce V-dramon X appeared before him. She grabbed his neck with her left hand, while pointing the glowing saber of her right hand directly at his face.

"Oh, just to warn you, the afterlife you get's the one you deserve, trust me, I've been there." She pulled her arm back, "When you see GranDracmon, tell him I said hi! Alforce Saber!" She shot her fist forward, jamming her saber deep into his forehead. The Demon quivered for a moment before his body suddenly melted away, leaving nothing behind.

The Royal Knight turned to face the others, but as she did, her body exploded in light, and she returned to her previous forms of Kasumi and Yuki Agumon. The digimon, however, glowed once more, regressing even further to her Baby form of Koromon-just as Shiro's Psychemon and Gabe's Kotemon had regressed to Tsuonomon and Kapurimon. The girl was supporting herself with the Claymore of Wind, but she soon fell onto her back.

The girls and their partners charged to their sides. "Kasumi!" Asami screamed, embracing her cousin tightly, "Kasumi…"

Kasumi smiled and tried to hand the sword to her cousin. "H…here's your weapon, thanks for letting me borrow it…"

"Oh, Kasumi, I couldn't use it anyway, its yours, not mind."

The teenage girl only smiled before her eyes closed and she slipped into unconsciousness. "There _she_ goes now!" Yasu sighed, "Is that what's gonna happen every time they evolve to Mega? Jeeze…"

* * *

On Earth, Reika blinked at her control consol, "I…I…"

"What?" Taichi demanded, "What?"

"The digital signal just vanished seconds before Kasumi's digital signal returned to her base state."

He blinked, "Like she de-evolved?"

"Yeah…"

Yamato looked to him, "She won that battle?"

"The only signals I'm reading belong to DATS members…"

"Damn it!" Taichi exclaimed, "How long before communication is restored?"

"We're working on it!" Megumi shouted from the other side of the room.

Taichi sighed deeply, "We don't have any idea what's going on down there!"

* * *

Asami and the others were just about to move the unconscious Kasumi and Koromon to where Gabe and Shiro were sleeping, when they became aware of movement in the area surrounding their small clearing.

"More Demons?" Eliane gasped.

"Just stay quiet," Asami whispered, "Maybe they'll just walk past."

"Yeah," Yasu whispered back, "And maybe we can bluff our way out."

They stood in front of their unconsciousness teammates, nervously staring into the darkness of the forest. The brush began to part and a group of figures entered the clearing. Yasu squealed with delight as she tackled a redheaded boy into the ground. "Akira!"

"Yasu…" he struggled to stand.

Kenji helped him to his feet. He smiled at the girls, "Thank god you're all okay." He stared at Asami, "It looks like they were able to rescue you, right?"

His Otamamon glanced at the damage: the destroyed trees, the craters in the ground, the smashed plants and shrubs, "What the hell happened here?"

"It's a long story," Asami replied.

Akira's eyes drifted away from Yasu to his sister, lying on the ground. "Oneechan!"

Lizzie had noticed Gabe lying on the ground as well. "No…Gabe!"

"They're okay," Asami said quickly, "They just need to…rest…I guess."

"Rest?" Kenji asked, kneeling down to examine them.

Yasu nodded quickly, "Yeah, Oniichan, Gabe and Kasumi…they all evolved to Mega!"

"Mega?" Akira gasped, staring at his sister. He gasped again, "Her hair…it's back to normal!" He glanced at the girls, "She's not a Demon anymore?"

"Something weird happened to her," Yasu continued, "She because this evil-looking drag…"

She stopped when she felt Asami's hand on her shoulder, "Kasumi can tell him when she's ready."

"Yeah…I guess."

Kenji stood up again, "Well, they're all okay, as near as I can tell, they're just unconscious."

"That's what Asami said," Yasu sighed.

The girls finally noticed the helmet-headed figure standing behind the others. "What's he doing here?!" Yasu exclaimed.

Lizzie smiled, "Hey, no need to worry, he's with us."

"He is?" Yasu's Labramon asked.

Kenji looked to the boy. "Well, introduce yourself."

He gasped, "Oh…y…yeah." He bowed, "My name is Masahiko, you can call me Masa. This is my partner, Dorumon."

The small digimon nodded, "Nice to formally meet all of you."

The girls stared at the others, "Are you sure?" Yasu asked Akira.

"Yeah," the redheaded boy nodded, "He helped us fight the Ancient Warriors."

"Ancient Warriors?" Asami asked.

"We can tell you on the way back to Earth," Kenji said with a smile, "And you can explain to us what happened here."

The brown-haired girl nodded. "Sure. Someone needs to carry…" She trailed off as her eyes looked past the others to the edge of the clearing. Her eyes grew wide and her mouth dropped. The others twisted and felt a shiver of ice run up their spines as well. Standing at the edge of the clearing were Masanori, Araki and a cloaked figure. "Oh no," the girl whispered.

When the Demon Master saw the form of Kasumi and Koromon lying on the ground, with Gabe and Shiro lying inside the cavern, he only chuckled, "So, it seems that my two best Demons…my two _remaining_ Demons…were defeated, eh?" He sighed, "Well, I guess it doesn't matter, right? After all, _we're_ here to finish that job…"

Lizzie stared at the Demon Master, then over to Masa, "He…he does look…."

"Hmm?" Masanori questioned.

Masa slowly raised his arm to his helmet, his hand was shaking as he loosened it and let it drop to the ground. The others gasped when they saw his face; they looked to him, then to Masanori, then back to Masa again. They were silent as the ex-Hunter stepped forward.

Masanori chuckled, "Oh, it's you, I didn't think you'd be here."

"Who are you?" Masa demanded, "Why do you look like me?"

"I do? Maybe _you_ look like _me._" He chuckled, "Well, I guess it's neither…or both, depending on how you look at it."

"What?"

"You and I, we are merely two sides of the same coin, we are opposites, yet, we aren't. Confusing, isn't it…brother…"

Masa suddenly tensed, grabbing his head. Images shot through his mind, strange images, and feelings, surreal and unworldly. There were two…two that were somewhere, together, they shared more then any other could share, then they were separated….

"Twins!" Masa gasped, "We're…twins?"

"Yes…we share the same father….and mother…."

"Who? Who's my father?"

"You mean you haven't guessed yet? Your father…is Lord Sentry."

He felt the color drain from his face, while his spine turned to ice. "No…no…!"

"Masa," Dorumon said, turning to him, "Lord Sentry's your father…?"

Masa looked to the ground, fists clenched tightly, "_Mom….Mom, you knew all along!"_

"What's going on?" Akira's Falcomon asked.

"I don't know," his partner replied.

Asami stepped forward, focusing on Masanori, "Y…you're father…is that who you inherited your Chance powers from? Is he…is he related to my father?"

"Yes," he said with a smile, "Your power came from your father, my power came from my father…and they both got their power from their grandfather….Juro!"

"You're related to Juro?" Lizzie gasped, "Asami, what's going on?!"

"That Lord Sentry guy?" Akira asked, mentioning to Yasu, "The one that our Dads fought is your father? And he's…he's got Chance power? Why didn't I sense that when we fought him?"

Yasu nodded slowly, "Yeah, my Mom didn't feel anything either."

Masa could only stare at Masanori, his cool, mature composure was shattered. "Mom…why didn't you tell me?"

The cloaked figure sighed deeply, "As interesting as this is…."

Masanori cast her a glance, but nodded. "Yes, you're right." He saw the questioning expressions on the DATS agents faces, "Yes, I should probably introduce my associates. For those of you that don't know, this is Araki, the Demon Priestess. As I was the head of the Decima Clan, Araki was head of the Uni Clan, it was from her, that they gained their Fate powers."

"Who is she?" Asami demanded, "How does she have Fate power?"

"Did you get it through that Gift thing, like my sister?" Akira added.

The Priestess gave a slight bow, smiling, "No, my power is not second-handed, my power comes directly from the source."

"Ahh!" Lizzie exclaimed, clutching her head, "I can't that this bullshit! Just say what the hell you're trying to say!"

The others gave her a surprised glance. "Sorry," her Alruamon bowed, "I think the stress is getting to her."

"Damn right!" Lizzie shouted, "I've nearly drowned, been frozen to death, blown to bits, I haven't showered in over a week, my hair's a mess, and my legs are so hairy I feel like a monkey!" She stared at Araki, "So if you want to say something, just say it!"

The Demon Priestess blinked for a moment. "Y…yes, well, um…uh, I have the power of Fate because I share the same blood with the Priestess Miayag, I am her clone."

"Clone?" Dorumon gasped. He quickly looked to Masa, but it seemed that revelation was too much for him. The boy's eyes had glossed over, he was completely lost in his own thoughts.

"This is getting too weird for me," Kenji gasped.

Masanori laughed, "If you liked that you are going to love this." He mentioned to the cloaked figure, "Why don't you show yourself?"

She nodded and removed her hood, revealing her face. The DATS team all gasped, loudly, with Akira looking to his sister, then to the figure. "What the hell is going on now?"

"I am Sukami," the figure bowed, "And I am the negative qualities of Kasumi Yagami, I am a Demon Lord, born in the same fashion as the other Great Lords of the Demon Chosen. I am the Demon Princess, my father is the Demon King Cahiti, my mother, the Demon Queen Asro!" She smirked as she stared at Akira, "And once I kill you, your negative qualities will form into a Demon Lord as well, and the royal family of the Demon Chosen will be complete…Otouto."

"I'm not your little brother!" he shouted, "My older sister is lying on the ground! You bitch!"

Masanori smirked, "You had best watch yourself. She is a Demon Lord, not a petty, pathetic Demon General"

"Pathetic?" Eliane asked, "Weren't zey your soldiers?"

"They were nothing more then failed experiments, a way to create a legion of beings with the powers of Fate and Chance. All for the hopes of generating enough energy…but it seems that won't be enough. Twenty Demon Generals…even twenty _thousand_ Demon Generals, and it wouldn't have mattered-what we need is the perfect _mixture_ of Fate and Chance, that is held by only three people, myself, my twin brother there, and the girl."

Asami felt a chill run up her spine, "Me?"

"Yes," he nodded, holding out his hand, "I _will_ take that energy, Father _won't_ allow for another failure!"

"Wait wait, let me get this straight," Kenji said, "The Demon Generals and the Hunters…are working together?"

"Of course, you moron," Araki answered, "I am the Demon Priestess, but I am also the Hunter known as Aspalis!"

Masanori gave a slight bow, "And though I have been called the Demon Master, I am the Hunter Nimrod!"

He stepped forward, "Now, Asami Yamaki, will you give up your power, or must we extract it forcibly from your body?"

"Not good!" Yasu gasped, "Oniichan, Gabe, Kasumi and their partners are unconscious! There go our Megas!"

Eliane nodded, "And our partners are too weak to fight!"

Akira glared at the trio of evil and clenched his fists, "Ready Falcomon?"

Sukami's eyes twitched and the ground suddenly exploded as massive snake heads erupted from the ground. The DATS team was thrown onto their backs while the Demon Princess stood firmly on the center head.

"Orochimon!" they exclaimed.

"The dark side of Oneesan, all right," Akira glared, clenching his fists even tighter, "Falcomon, tear her apart!"

"Right," his partner nodded, "Falcomon evolve to Diatrymon!"

Kenji's Otamamon and Lizzie's Alraumon evolved to Grademon and Blossomon and joined the Ancient Bird. Dorumon pulled on Masa's pant leg with his mouth, "Masa! Masa!" But it was no use, the once calm, secure person was now crumbling inside.

Diatrymon stood firmly on the ground and screamed as loud as he could, "Destruction Roar!"

The sound wave simply bounced off of the Demon Dragon's scaly hide. She grabbed the Ancient Bird aside with her left most head. Blossomon attempted her Spiral Flower attack, but Orochimon easily countered by trapping the flower woman within one of her giant mouths. Grademon charged at her, blades crossed, "Cross Slash!"

Orochimon's head whipped to him and exhaled a blast of rotten air, "Sake Breath!"

Grademon had to cover his mouth, which left him open for Orochimon's head, wrapping him tightly in her teeth. With her prey securely trapped, she began to close her jaws. "That's it," Sakumi snickered, "Enjoy your dinner."

"Let them go!" Lizzie shouted, "If my brother were awake, you'd be sorry!"

Dorumon watched as the three digimon were being crushed by Orochimon's sharp teeth, "Masa, they need our help!"

However, the boy was still staring motionlessly into the distance.

Asami was watching it as well. Those three, about to be eaten alive, Kasumi, Gabe, Shiro and their partners….all because of her….

"Stop it!" she screamed.

Sakumi raised an eyebrow, "Hmm?"

The teenage girl stared at Masanori, "Stop this right now! If you let them go, then I'll do whatever you want."

The other DATS agents stared at her, but it was her partner who spoke first. "Asami, you can't!" Leormon exclaimed, "I won't let you!"

She stared at him, "I don't want you, or anyone else hurt because of me!" She stared once again at Masanori, "Just do it, and leave me and my friends alone!"

Araki snickered, "It looks like someone has gotten a bit of a backbone…"

Asami stared at her, and a moment of recognition passed over her eyes, but it was lost just as quickly.

"Asami," her partner said again, "Please don't do this…"

"I have to! N one else is getting hurt because of me! Please understand…"

The lion sighed deeply, "All right…"

"Asami, are you out of your mind?!" Lizzie screamed.

"Don't give him what he wants!" Yasu shouted.

She ignored her friends and walked forward. Masanori and Araki both reached into their cloaks to remove a diamond-shaped crystal. His was silver, hers was gold. "This device is similar to the Soul Catcher that was used to siphon the Daughters of the First. It is a crude design, so this may hurt…"

They placed their crystals together, and a blast of light struck ASami. Her body began to quiver before a strange colored light erupted from her chest. This color was a muddle of gold and silver-Fate and Chance. The beam returned to the two crystals and they began to glow. Asami fell to the ground, but was caught by Yasu and Eliane. Masanori stared at his crystal, glowing brightly. "Success! At long last, success! The path to god will now be opened!"

Why are you still here?" Sakumi shouted, "Get going!"

"She's right," Araki sneered.

He gave a slight grin and followed her into the darkness of the forest. The Demon Princess smirked at the DATS team, "I would love to stay here and feast on your flesh, but I think it'd be best to report to Lord Sentry. Farewell."

Orochimon spit out the three digimon. Once freed, they prepared to continue the battle, but the Demoness and her partner were gone.

Kenji glanced around, Asami, Kasumi, Shiro and Gabe were all unconscious, Masa seemed catatonic, Yasu and Eliane's partners were too weak to fight, that left only his Grademon, Lizzie's Blossomon and Akira's Diatrymon. He had only one thing to say, "We need to get back to Earth, now!"

"Great idea!" Grademon replied, "I would never have thought of that one!"

He was silent for a moment. "Shut up…"

"But how are we gonna get back?" Lizzie questioned, "Why don't have access to a gate, right?"

"Yeah, since DATS got shut down…"

Then, almost as if a prayer had been answered, each of their D-terminals began to buzz. They eagerly ripped them front their pockets and their eyes almost watered at the sight, communication between Earth and Neodigital had been restored. In half-an-hour, DATS would be coming for them.

_"_All of us_,"_ Kenji said, eying Masa.

"No," the teenage boy finally spoke, "No."

"What?" Grademon exclaimed.

"I can't go with you back to Earth."

"Why not?" Lizzie gasped.

He stared at her, "I told you, I need to save my mother. Come on Dorumon." They turned to leave, but Akira called out to them.

"Wait!" the redhead shouted, "If you're going to save her, then we're coming with you."

He shook his head, "No, I can't let you get involved."

"Masa," Dorumon sighed, "Aren't you tired of doing everything yourself?"

"What?" he snapped.

His partner fidgeted for a moment, but pushed past his hesitation. "They can help you, you can't fight the Hunters yourself, as strong as we are, we're no where near strong enough!"

He was silent, his eyes focused on the ground.

"Come on, I don't understand why you insist on us doing everything ourselves…."

He sighed deeply, "All right, fine."

"Wait," Akira called, running over to him, "Where are we going? I'll call my father to meet us there."

"My Dad too," Yasu added, running to Akira's side.

"I guess that would be a good idea," he answered, "But if they're not there, I'm going in."

"I'll wait here," Kenji spoke up, "When my Dad gets here, he'll need help bringing them…" He mentioned to the unconscious agents, "Back to Earth."

Lizzie sighed, "Maybe I should give you a hand."

Masa began running to the edge of the clearing, "Let's go! You can contact your parents over the D-terminal on the way!"

"Good luck guys," Lizzie said as she watched Akira, Yasu and Eliane vanish into the night.

* * *

Taichi and Yamato received their children's message and quickly ran towards the, once again, activated Digital Gate. "All right," Agumon X said, "Let me get this straight, the Demons are just clones?"

"Yeah, or something like that," Taichi replied, "You can't really send a detailed e-mail over the D-terminals."

"Yeah…yeah…"

"But let's think about this," Yamato said, "Those kids got their powers through some kind of…DNA….energy or something, that changed them into Demon Chosen. They're working with the Hunters, who are super-powered cyborgs so strong that only Megas are on their level. We're talking about genetic manipulation. Who's the only one that could possibly be behind this?"

Taichi shot him a glance, "You mean…"

Yamato nodded, "Yeah. I wouldn't be surprised if when we get to that Hunter's base, we find Kurata waiting for us."

Taichi's eyes narrowed as they ran entered the room that housed the Digital Gate. The doorway was already open and waiting. He took a deep breath, "All right, ready?"

The others nodded.

The group paused for a moment, then the strongest DATS agents jumped through the gate.

To be continued….

Author's Note: Expect a lot next chapter.

As always, please read and review.


	30. Rebirth: Chapter 5

            _My name is Noriko Ishida, and I am the wife of Yamato, and the mother of Shiro and Yasu. My son, along with the other children of DATS, went to Neodigital in order to save Asami Yamaki. I'm still not quite sure what happened, but Kasumi was able to shed her Demon side and reach Alforce V-dramon X with the Claymore of Air. She defeated Neo and Arkadimon, the Demons sent to capture Asami. Kenji and the others showed up a few minutes later, and were able to fight off Masanori, the Demon Master, Araki, the Demon Priestess, and Sakumi, the Demon Princess, the evil duplicate of Kasumi! Asami, not wanting anymore people getting hurt because of her, gave up her power to the Demons. Now they've got the keys to unlocking the Path to God, but first Masahiko, the one that's been helping us, wants to storm the Hunters' base in order to save his mother. Yamato and Taichi, wanting to get to the bottom of this, went with them._

--

_Rebirth_

_Chapter 5_

--

            Sora, Noriko and Hikari had to force themselves from diving in to the Digital Gate. They wanted to see their children so badly, but they knew that Jyou and his team could bring them back safely; they would only be in the way. So all they could do was wait…and wait…and wait…and wait.

            Finally, the Gate began to shimmer, and Jyou stepped through. The three women stared at him, but he did not respond. Instead, he stepped out of the way to allow his EMT personal through the glowing circle. Each member of his staff were partnerned to a Pidmon or a Clear Agumon, and these digimon were using their healing abilities as best they could. When the women saw their children lying unconscious on the stretchers, they each charged them, hugging them as tightly as they could.

            "My baby girl…" Sora cried, clutching Kasumi tightly.

            Kenji stepped beside them, "You should be really proud of her."

            Sora sniffled, "W…what?"

            "He's right," Lizzie smiled, "Yasu told us what happened, she was able to evolve to the Mega level."

            "What?"

            "Yeah, some really powerful Demon Chosen came after Asami after she escaped, but Kasumi came and saved her!"

            Yamaki was by his wife's side, gently rubbing his daughter's head. "Then what happened to her? What happened down there?"

            Kenji sighed, "Well, from what I understand is, the Demons needed Asami because she holds the power of Fate…and Chance…"

            "Chance?" Hikari gasped, "That was Juro's power, h…how did Asami get…" She turned away, "I am his granddaughter?"

            "Um…Shiro thinks that…that Asami got chance from…her father…"

            Yamaki blinked. "M…me? T…this happened to her…because of me?"

            "We can discuss all that later," Jyou said, "I'm sorry, but we really need to take them to the hospital right now."

            "Are they going to be okay?" Noriko asked.

            "Yes, similar to when Taichi and Yamto evolved with their partners, that type of evolution apartenly takes a lot of energy, they'll be okay after the sleep for a little while."

            Noriko looked to the unconscious Gabe; she felt sorry for him, he did not have his partners here to watch him.

            Although, his sister was standing right by his side, at least he had her, Eliane did not have…

            "Wait," Noriko gasped, looking around, "Where's Eliane? And Yasu?"

            "And Akira?" Sora added.

            "They went with Masa," Kenji said quickly, "To sneak into the Hunters' base."

--

            Masa lend back against the tree, tapping his foot against the ground. "Are you sure you told them the right coordinates?"

            "Yes," Akira sighed, "I told them exactly what you told me!"

            "Calm down," Yasu said, "You don't need to get angry, right?"

            "It's just that I told him the same thing five times."

            "Sorry," Masa replied, crossing his arms, "We're about to storm into the Hunters' base, I'm a little on edge."

            The redheaded boy stared at the ground, "Yeah, maybe I am too…" He began to tap his foot rapidly, "Where the hell are they anyway? Come on Dad, let's get moving!"

            Yasu began to rub his shoulders. Masa raised an eyebrow. "So…um…you two have known each other for a while?"

            Yasu nodded. "Yeah, since, like, forever. Our parents are best friends, and since we're Chosen, we kinda…just always been together."

            He looked to Eliane, "And you just met them, right?"

            _"Oui,"_ she nodded, "I am ze niece of Catherine Rupert, who was ze Daughter of Light, since we are both descendents of Lucien of Light, I have his powers too."

            "And I'm Daiyu's great-granddaughter," Yasu smiled.

            Akira nodded, "And Hidokoro was my great-grandfather on my mother's side, and my great-grandfather on my father's side was Yuushi."

            "Yuushi?" he gasped, "Y…you're descended from Yuushi?"

            He nodded slowly, "Y..yeah…"

            "Then that girl, she's your sister?"

            "W…which girl?"

            "The girl they sucked the power from!"

            "Asami? No, she's my cousin, _Kasumi's_ my sister. She was the one that fought the Demons that were trying to get Asami."

            Masa blinked. "O…okay…"

            Falcomon quickly added, "She was the one that got turned into a Demon."

            Masa blinked, remembering the battle he had with Kasumi and Orochimon. "Oh, right."

            Dorumon stared at him, "You really spaced out back there, didn't you? His sister, Kasumi, right?"

            Akira nodded.

            "Yeah, Kasumi _had_ been a Demon, but she somehow was able to cast that off. All that energy merged together to create Sakumi, the Demon Princess. That was who kept the others busy while the Demon Master and the Demon Priestess escaped with Asami's energy."

            "Oh…yeah…" he frowned, "Yeah, I remember."

            Dorumon sighed, "I'm sorry if this is out of line, but we could have stop them, if you had your head together. I understand it's a shock to you, but…"

            "Yeah…yeah I know," he frowned, "I know, but…but hopefully if we can get my Mom out, she might be able to tell us more about what's going on." He growled and punched the tree, "Damn it, Mom, why did you keep so much of this a secret from me? Why?!"

            Yasu's Labramon began to sniff the air. "What's wrong?" she gasped.

            "Someone's coming… " He sniffed again, then grinned, "It's Gabumon and your father!"

            "Your sense of smell's almost as good as mine," Gabumon X chuckled as stepped into view. Behind him was Yamato, Agumon X and Taichi.

            "Daddy!" Yasu exclaimed, diving into his father's arms.

            "Oh, oh, hey," he smiled, regaining his balance, "Hi."

            Taichi smiled at Akira. "So, I take it you guys had one hell of a time, huh?"

            "Yeah," the redhead boy smiled at his father, "I can't wait to tell you about it. Oh-" He jumped to his feet, "This is Masa, he helped us a lot, and he saved our lives a few times too." He took a deep breath and before anyone said anything, exhaled quickly, "I know he looks like the Demon Master, but he's not. That's a really long story that I couldn't tell you in the e-mail, but they're twins or something like that!"

            The teenage boy shifted, "Um…I..uh…"

            Taichi turned to him, but when he saw his face, he stiffened his gasp. "Uh…n…nice to meet you…"

            Masa bowed quickly, "Oh, um..r…right, I…uh…nice to m…meet you too…"

            "Sorry about that," Dorumon sighed, "He doesn't have really good people skills."

            "Probably got that from his Mother," Taichi said under his breath, but Agumon X, Yamato, and Gabumon X heard him. "So, you can show us into the Hunter's base?"

            He nodded. "Yeah, just follow me."

            The group began to walk through the thick underbrush, the adults stayed in the rear. Yamato moved closer to Taichi, "So, I assume by that mumbled statement, you saw it too."

            "You mean the fact that he looks like Miayag? Yeah, I got that…"

            Agumon X stared at his partner with a questioning expression. "But you've got something else on your mind, don't you?"

            "Y…yeah, I do. I saw Miayag in his face, but I saw someone else too, but I just can't believe it."

            "Who?" Gabumon X asked.

            Taichi sighed, "Let's just say, that when we get to the base, I don't think Kurata's going to be there waiting for us."

--

            Mixcoatl and his younger brother Adan, stood nervously in front of Lord Sentry's desk as the leader of the Hunters paced the floor. "So…Masa deserted us, eh?"

            "Y…yes sir," Mixcoatl said, his voice quivering.

Lord Sentry mentioned to the stack of papers on his desk, "And this report is accurate? These…Ancient Warriors attacked you, and then Masa left with the DATS agents?"

"Y..yes, that's right."

            He leaned forward, staring them with rage. "And you let him escape?"

            Mixcoatl's Patamon gulped. "D…dorumon could have torn me apart…"

            Adan's Gotsumon nodded in agreement.

            Lord Sentry sighed deeply. "My Key, my greatest weapon…Get out."

            They exited the room as fast as they could. Waiting for them in the hall was Ines and Bolades. "What happened in there?" Ines asked.

            "You don't wanna know," Mixcoatl growled, continuing down the hall.

            "Wait," Bolades called, running after him, "Masahiko is gone?"

            Mixcoatl did not answer her, so Adan addressed the two teenage girls. "Yeah, he's gone."

            "Why?" Ines asked.

            As Adan told the two girls, Mixcoalt walked to the cafeteria. It was empty save for a young man who appeared to be of the Indian heritage. "_Nahmahstay__"_ he said with a smirk.

            "Go away, I'm not in the mood to deal with you, Rudra."

            He chuckled, "And why's that? Because you failed once again to kill the DATS children? Face it, you're a failure!"

            Mixcoatl summoned his Spear and pointed it at the other Hunter's neck. "You wanna say that again? Huh?"

            Adan was still speaking to Bolades and Ines. "…and so we're pretty sure Masa's coming here to rescue his mother."

            The African woman studied him carefully, "And you didn't inform Lord Sentry of that?"

            "N…no," Adan replied in a whisper, "My brother didn't want us to say that."

            "Why not?" Ines questioned.

Adan shrugged."I don't know, when I asked him, he didn't answer me."

            The Brazilian girl rubbed her hands, "Do you think he wants Masa to save his mother?"

            "I…I don't know…" he sighed, "So much's been happening so fast, I don't know what's going on with him." He turned to stare at his brother, but gasped loudly at the sight of Mixcoatl pinning Rudra to the ground. The trio ran over and, with great effort, managed to pry him off of the other Hunter.

            Rudra jumped to his feet, with Mixcoatl glaring at him. "And what about you, huh? The boss got you doing more exterminations? You're just a murderer!"

            Rudra shrugged, "Maybe, but now that we know where the Chosens are hiding…"

            "What?" Bolades gasped, "Y…you have the list? You know who's a Chosen and who isn't? But…the ones that had that list were…."

            He just grinned, "Yes, I'm not just a murderer, I'm an exterminator!"

--

            Kasumi groaned to herself as she opened her eyes. "Damn, my head is killing me…"

            "Heh, 'bout time you woke up."

            She turned her head and saw a teenage boy seated in an armchair. "Gabe?" She looked around and realized she was lying in a hospital bed. She quickly sat up, glancing around quickly, "W…wha?"

            "You've been unconscious for a few hours," he explained, "Me and Gabe woke up an hour ago."

            The girl rubbed her forehead, "W…where's Asami?"

            He hesitated for a minute, "She's still sleeping in the next room."

            "Sleeping, why she's sleeping?"

            He hesitated again. Once he and Shiro had awoken, the adults had told them that Asami allowed the Demon Master to drain her Fate and Chance powers so the others would be safe. Jyou did not want anyone to disturb her since they were still testing what effects that drain would have on her. If Mitsuo and Hikari were not the only ones allowed to be with her, he would have been right at her side. Before he had evolved to Mega and passed out for a few hours, he and Asami had declared their feelings for one another, and he was eager to further the beginnings of their relationship.

            "Gabe?" Kasumi asked, "Hello, Earth to Gabe."

            "Um, yeah, she was just kinda tired…"

            "Oh…" She sighed, glancing to the ground for a moment, then looked back at him, "Gabe, I…I'm sorry for how I acted towards you."

            The boy blinked in shock, "W…what?"

            She sighed deeply again, it appeared that it was difficult for her to speak, "I…I treated you like shit, I…I guess I was just jealous, and I never thanked for saving me before…"

            Gabe blinked for a few moments, "I…um…" He smiled slightly, "Well, I guess…I was kinda jealous of you too." He sighed deeply, "I mean…everyone in America just kept talking about how great the Yagamis were, and I always felt like…like what the hell was I? What good was I if all everyone wanted was a Yagami. So…" he smiled slightly, "I probably didn't really make it easy for you either."

            She returned the smile and he continued, "So…what happened to you? I was there when you died, how did you come back?"        

            Kasumi thought of her time spent in the Underworld. "I was just given a second chance." She wanted to change the subject, "Where's Shiro?"

            Before Gabe could answer, the teenage boy entered the room. "Kasumi!" he gasped, "You're awake!"

            "Yeah," she chuckled, "Where are our partners?"

            Shiro mentioned the doorway, and Kenji entered the room with their partners in tow. "My Dad just wanted to make sure they were okay."

            Yuki Agumon tackled Kasumi, and the teenage girl hugged her tightly. "Yuki…" 

            "Kasumi," she grinned, "Evolving to Alforce V-dramon was so cool!"

            "Yes," Shiro's Psychemon said, "I heard you had Mega evolved as well."

            "Yeah," Yuki Agumon nodded quickly, "It was such a rush! It was so cool!"

            "Yeah, you said that," Gabe's Kotemon replied.

            "Kotemon," Gabe said, holding out his hand, "Come on."

            His partner grumbled slightly, "Yeah…yeah…"

            "You guys evolved too, right?" Yuki Agumon asked, clearly still excited.

            "Yes," Psychemon said, slightly annoyed at his friend's enthusiasm, "Shiro and I became Duftmon."

            "And me and Gabe were Dynasmon," Kotemon nodded, proudly.

            Otamamon turned to Kenji, "And we're stuck as ourselves."

            Kenji looked down at him, "Yeah, pity…"

            Otamamon jumped onto his back, "Oh come on, you don't want to  merge with me? Why, are you afraid you might like it?"

            "Get off!" he snapped, dropping his partner to the ground.

            The others all laughed.

--

            Masa led the group through the overgrowth of the forest. As they pushed through the tree branches and over the twisting roots, Akira spoke, "This doesn't make a lot of sense to build a base in this, right? I mean, you can't tell if anyone's coming!"

            Tachi smiled. "That's a good observation, son, but sometimes this type of environment gives enough coverage that you don't really need to worry about an invasion."

            Yasu wanted to add something, so she blurted out, "Yeah, and we got someone on the inside, right?"

            Masa glared into the darkness of the night, "The only reason you're here is to help me save my mother, I'm not part of your group, got it?"

            Yasu blinked, looking as if she was about to cry. Akira growled, "Hey, don't talk to her like that!"

            Taichi grabbed his son's shoulders, "Easy, all right, easy." He glanced over, Eliane and Yamato were standing by Yasu, so he addressed Masa. "I don't know why you have such a 'loner' attitude, but trying to do everything yourself won't solve all your problems."

            Masa kept his face staring straight ahead. Dorumon looked to his partner hopefully, but the teenage boy continued forward. "It's not far now."

            "What the hell's his problem?" Yasu grumbled. She then gasped and covered her mouth. She slowly looked over her shoulder, expecting her father to reprimand her for swearing, but he was speaking to Taichi. She sighed in relief.

            "He was so cool before," Akira said, "Why's he acting like a jerk now?"

            Behind them, their fathers were speaking as well. "He kind of reminds me of you," Taichi said.

            "He's you too, ya know," Yamato said, staring at him, "He's like…like someone took _us_ and fused us together or something…."

            Taichi turned back to study the young man, "Certainly full of secrets…"

            "Well, I don't care about his personal problems," Akira growled, "I just wish he'd hurry up and get us there!"

            "We'll get there," Taichi told his son.

            Yamato chuckled, "_He's_ definitely your son."

            Taichi glared at him, then broke a smile, mentioning to Yasu, who was still clinging to her father since Masa's snap at her before, "And _she's_ your daughter alright."

            He only sneered slightly, but before he could retort, Masa stopped. "We're here."

            The group peered through the tree and saw a large structure nestled neatly within the shrugs and trees. "This is the Hunter's Neodigital Base."

            "Neodigital?" Agumon X asked, "They've got a base on Earth?"

            "Yeah," Dorumon answered, "But we only get there by going through the Gate here, so we don't know where on Earth it is."

            "I see," Taichi frowned, "All right, show us how to get…" He suddenly realized that his son was not standing next to him. "Akira?"

            "Out there!" Eliane gasped, pointing forward. The redheaded boy and his partner were charging across the clearing to the metal building.

            "What the hell does he think he's doing?" Taichi exclaimed, running after him.

            "Yeah," Yamato smirked, "Like I said, he's your son."

            They ran to the side of the building without being seen, and Taichi whacked the back of his son's head, "What the hell were you thinking?"

            "I wasn't just gonna stand there all night!" he shouted back.

            Taichi stared down at him, "I don't know what's gotten into you, but get over it, understand me?"

            "Yes," he frowned.

            Masa mentioned with his hand, "Come on, this way." He led them around the building through twists and turns before stopping. "Okay, right here."

            Eliane glanced around, "But…where iz ze door?"

            "We're not going through the front door," he said. He pointed up and the others looked. There was a gated opening, an air vent. "Through there."

            They climbed up the side of the building and slid through the metal ductwork, snaking and sliding along the twisting before arriving at a vacant hall. Masa kicked the grate out and landed gracefully on the ground. The others soon followed. "All right," Yamato said, "Where to now?"

            Masa glanced around, then mentioned with his hand. "This way, my mother's down here."

            "All right," Taichi nodded, "But don't forget, we're here to get info on the Hunters too."

            "Yeah, yeah, once we get my mother, I'll show you to the main control room. Orion's usually in there all the time, if we're lucky, he's out on an assignment."

            They moved in silence slinking around corners until arriving at a hall that contained numerous doors on both sides. "This is the residential wing," Masa explained, "The Hunters all have their personal rooms here…me and my mother share an...'apartment,' but we don't get to come and go like they do."

            Masa approached a door in the center and hesitated for a moment. "What's he waiting for?" Akira whispered, "Come on."

            "Akira," Taichi said, slowly and sternly, "What is going on? Huh? You've never acted this…eager to fight before. What's going on?"

            "Nothing," he mumbled.

            Before Taichi could respond, Masa slowly emerged from the door with a middle-aged woman behind him. She was dressed in a simple pair of jeans, a white shirt, and a stripped blouse, yet, she still carried herself in a regal manner as she walked. However, she did have her head twisted to the side, hiding her face behind her brown hair. Yet, Taichi still smiled, "It's been a long time…Megumi…"

            "You knew all along, didn't you?" she asked, moving her hair away.

            Agumon X embraced Plotmon. "It's so good to see you again!"

            Taichi smiled at Masa's mother, "Wow, you haven't aged much at all! Jeeze, I'm starting to get gray hairs, but you look….jeeze, Sora's gonna be really jealous…"

            Yamato studied him, "You don't have gray hair."

            He shrugged slightly, "Yeah, the miracle of hair dye, heh…"

            "Better then the hair spray you used to use, right?" the blond man said with a chuckle. He turned to the woman, "Wow, Taichi's right, you haven't really aged at all."

            She began to blush, "Please, stop, I know you are lying, I must look ancient."

            The children glanced at Taichi and Yamato, then at Masa's mother. "Hold it!" Yasu exclaimed, "You guys know his mother?"

            "Oh, right," Taichi said, "This is Megumi, you might know her better as the Priestess Miayag. She's my cousin."

            "Cousin?!" Akira and Masa exclaimed at the same time. The two boys looked at each other and shouted, "So _we're_ cousins?"

            Miayag smiled, "They sound like we did when we first found out, yes? It was your mother who…" Her smiled quickly faded, "Your mother! She was in a coma the last we were together, did she ever…?"

            "Huh? Oh yeah. She did have a relapse when Juro...you know…killed us…but when we came back she was fine. She did have some brain damage, she needs to walk with a cane, and sometimes she has trouble speaking, but otherwise…yeah, she's fine."

            Akira and Falcomon were staring at Taichi. "What the hell are you talking about? You were…dead?"

            "Huh? Oh yeah…heh…"

            Yamato smiled slightly, "We really don't like to talk about that…we really didn't mean to _not_ tell you, but…"

            "You too?" Yasu exclaimed.

            "It was fifteen years ago," Taichi said, "So right around the time your Mom was pregnant with Kasumi….no, wait, she wasn't really showing it yet, so it must have only been a few weeks after your sister was conceived…"

            "Oh…come on!" Akira shouted, covering his ears, "I don't want to picture you and Mom having sex! That's disgusting!"

            "We didn't always look so disgusting you know!" he shouted back, "Mom was pretty hot when she was in her twenties."

            Akira was about to gag, when he smiled slightly, "So, you mean Mom's not hot now?"

            Taichi stuttered for a moment. "If you tell her I said that, I'll ground you for the rest of your life, understand?"

            His son chuckled.

            Masa shook his head in annoyance, "Yeah, this is all fascinating…Mom, I met someone leading the Demon Chosen who said he was _Masanori?!"_

            She nodded slowly, "I…see..."

            He narrowed his eyes at her, "He told me about him…and our father…"

            "Father?" Eliane asked.

Miayag sighed deeply, "Lord Sentry is his father."

            "What?!" the three children exclaimed.

            She stared at the floor. Her Plotmon gently rubbed her head against Miayag's shin, "I think it's time you told them."

            She nodded, "I met him shortly after the encounter with Juro. He told me his name was Hagan. We had such fun, and we were so much in love…" She frowned, "But…I suppose _I_ was the only one in love. I quickly became pregnant, and I thought I was going to have a happy family. But…I discovered that my lover was not the man I thought he was. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that he was, in reality, someone I _did_ know." She looked to the ground, "I ran from him, but I was pregnant, and so as I grew, it was harder to run and hide. And when it was time, I had no choice _but_ to stop. I knew that a hospital would lead him straight to me, but I would not risk the life of my child."

            She looked at the others, "I did not give birth to one child, but twins. I could feel them, I could feel their energy, the one I named Masahiko had the power of Fate, and the one I named Masanori had the power of Chance. I had no idea _how_ that was possible, but Hagan found me." She looked to the ground once again, "I was only able to escape with Masahiko."

            Masa nodded. "So…my father…has Chance? How?"

            "Because, I am a grandson of Juro."

            Everyone twisted around and saw a group of Hunters standing behind them: Mixcoatl, Adan, Bolades, and Ines, lead by Lord Sentry himself. The Hunters' leader focused on Masa and he began to wiggle his extended forehead. "Tch, tch, tch…you knew I would have seen you escaping on the security cameras in your room, and yet you didn't run when you had the chance."

            The DATS team narrowed their eyes, staring down their opponents. Masa ran forward, glaring at Lord Sentry, "Y…you! You're my father!"

            He nodded slowly, "Yes…yes I am…"

            "Why? Why didn't you tell me?"

            He shrugged, "It was easier to control you without you knowing, besides, why are you getting angry at me? Your mother knew all along, and yet she didn't say anything."

            Masa glanced at Miayag, then looked back. He held out his hand and summoned the Staff of Fate in an explosion of light. He glared at Lord Sentry, but Mixcoatl suddenly leapt in front. "Sorry, traitor, you're fighting me!" He shot forward, swinging his Spear, but Masa blocked with his Staff. Dorumon evolved to Dorugamon while Patamon evolved to Kentarumon; they began to attack one another with a mixture of cannon balls and beams of energies. The others screamed and ran to attack one another. Akira ran to confront Adan, and Yasu and Eliane dove to the side to battle Ines and Bolades. The leaders of DATS stepped forward to confront the leader of the Hunters.

            "Power Metal!" Dorugamon shouted, blasting a barrage of metal balls at his opponent. Kentarumon pointed his palm forward and blasted energy waves forth.

            "Hunting Gallop!" His beams of light destroyed the balls of metal in a blast of smoke. Kentarumon shot through the cloud and swinging his fist into the Beast digimon. Dorugamon leapt into the air in an example of agility and whacked the centaur digimon in the head with his tail.

            "Why are you fighting me?" Dorugamon asked, "I thought we…"

            "We're nothing!" Kentarumon shouted, "My partner is all that matters to me, and he wants you two defeated."

            "You don't have to…"          

            "Would you say no to your partner?" he snapped.

            Dorugamon hesitated for a moment, then glanced over to where Masa and Mixcoatl were battling with their weapons. This hesitation gave Kentarumon the opportunity to fire his Hunting Gallop; Dorugamon ducked with only seconds to spare. He fired another Power Metal that knocked into Kentarumon's legs, flipping him onto his side. Dorugamon jumped into the air, ready to strike.

            The Staff of Fate and the Spear of Metal clashed into each other loudly, causing a sound wave that traveled through the tight halls. "Why are we fighting, huh?" Masa asked, dodging a jab, "I thought we were just starting to get along…"

            Mixcoatl continued his assault, "I told you when you escaped from us, I wasn't going to just let you go. I must reclaim my honor!"

            "Look!" Masa snapped, now angry, "I just want to save my mother, all right? I want to know what the hell's going on, okay? Can you understand that? This has nothing to do with you, or your little problems, all right?"

            Mixcoatl stared at him, then roared with anger. "I'm going to kill you!"

             Eliane's Mushmon and Yasu's Dobermon Jogressed evolved to Machgaogamon in order to battle Ines and Bolade's Jogressed partner, Deramon, comprised of Keeya's Grizzmon and Ines's Mekanorimon.

            "You are Daughters of ze First as well, correct?" Eliane asked.

            "Yes," Bolade's nodded, "I am Keeya Genet's niece."

            Ines added, "and I'm Iduia Ramiro's cousin."

            "You are just like us!" Eliane gasped, mentioning to Yasu, "We are ze same, why do you want to fight us?"

            "We don't," Ines replied with a sigh, "But…we are Hunters, and so, that is our mission."

            "Why are you Hunters?" Yasu questioned, "You're not like the rest!"

            Ines sighed deeply, "We are Hunters because we had no choice, they came for us, they showed us our powers, they helped us understand how to be Chosen. Mixcoatl…he was there for us, we owe him so much, we have to do this."

            Bolades nodded in agreement, "Though it's detestable to us, please, forgive us."

            "Forgive you?" Yasu snapped, "That's the biggest load of bull I've ever heard! Yeah, maybe you do owe him something, but you shouldn't have to…to sell out just because of it!"

            "You don't know what we've been through!" Ines shouted, her calm exterior suddenly shattered, "You don't know anything!"

            Yasu and Eliane stared at the older teenage girls, Eliane was hesitant, but Yasu was angrier then she had ever been. "Machgaogamon, if tearing them apart is the only way for them to see how fucked up they are, then do it!"

            Before Bolades could respond, Ines screamed, "Deramon, I want them begging for mercy!"

            The two Jogressed digimon charged at each other, ready to do the bidding of their partners.

            Adan and Akira were having a similar discussion. "…he's my brother, understand? I can't abandon him."

            "Yeah, I understand that!" he shouted, "But, you _know_ that this isn't you! Come on, I'm here 'cause I want to help you, please. I know about being loyal to your older brother…I feel the same way towards Kasumi…" He smiled slightly, "Seems we both have the same problems with older siblings…"

            "Then you know, I can't just leave him."

            "But…!"

            Taichi and Yamato were standing in front of Miayag as Lord Sentry slowly approached. Taichi clenched his fists. "All right…so, were you really in love with my cousin, or did you just force yourself on her?"

            The Hunters leader chuckled, "A little of both, perhaps, or neither. I could easily say what you wanted to hear, or something to provoke you, doesn't it really matter?"

            Taichi held out his palm and summoned the Katana of Fire. "So," Sentry grinned, "You think that's really going to stop me?"

            "As a matter of fact, yeah, I do!"

            "Be aware," Miayag said from behind him, "He is far stronger then he appears."

            "Yeah," he muttered, "They usually are…"

            "Why not just give up?" Sentry chuckled, "You're outmatched, you can't possibly win against…."

            He was cut off abruptly as force struck him in the head with a loud explosion. Taichi twisted to see Yamato lowering his Shotguns of Light. "Nice shot!"

            The blond man shrugged, "Yeah, well, you know…" He turned back to Lord Sentry, who had his head twisted away from them, the metal half of his face was lying on the floor.

            "You actually damaged my armor, it seems those weapons have more power then I thought…"

            "Give it up, Kurata!" Yamato shouted.

            "Kurata?" Sentry laughed, "Kurata? Ha ha ha!"

            "What's so funny?" Agumon X demanded, "Huh?"

            "Nothing, except…Kurata's not here…in fact, he's been dead for some time…." Sentry slowly twisted his head back so that the DATS leaders could clearly see his face. Yamato and the digimon gasped loudly, while Taichi stared.

            "I thought so…Masa kinda of looks like you…"

            He narrowed his eyes…

…"Schmidt…"

--

            The hospital was about to have some unexpected visitors of its own. This group of five silently and secretively made their way through the back ways of the buildings, through stairs and unoccupied elevator shafts before stepping into a vacant floor. They glanced from left to right. One of the group mentioned down the hall, "Me prey is over here."

            The other four glanced in the opposite direction, "Ours is this way."

            "Then this is where we part," the first said, "Good luck."

            She smirked, "It's DATS that's gonna need the luck."

--

            Asami was still unconscious. She lay in the hospital bed, her eyes closed, softly, as if she were sleeping. Her father placed his hand on her forehand and gently brushed aside a strand of her hair. "It's my fault."

            "What?" his V-mon questioned.

            He turned to him, "It's because of me!"

            "You don't know if that's true or not!" his partner shouted back, "You can't believe what the Demons say!"

            "Then how did she get that Chance power, huh?" he retorted, "Hikari's grandfather was Yuushi, he had the power of Fate, so…" he sighed deeply, "so…that means that….that Juro must have been my grandfather…"

            A weird feeling passed over V-mon, "Wow…"

            "Yeah, I…I know," he fell into a chair, "I didn't even really think about that until right now…I…I mean, my mother never really spoke about her father, but I never thought that…"

            He glanced towards the closed door, then to his partner. V-mon nodded slowly. Mitsuo stood up and faced the door. "My daughter's recovering in this room, so I'd prefer if you stayed right there, _we'll_ come out to you."

            There was no response, so Mitsuo and V-mon flung open the door and jumped into the hall. Standing before them was a woman with bright green hair, and a knee-length green jacket. "You!"

            Flidais chuckled, "I'm please ta see that ye still remember me."

            "Of course we remember you!" V-mon sneered, "You attacked us in that stadium after your partners sent Taichi and Yamato to the emergency room!"

            She only smirked, "Yeah, well…"

            "Like I said before," Mitsuo continued, "I'm not going to allow a battle here."

            The Hunter shrugged "Sure, whatever." She bowed slightly before executing a back flip, easily passing through an open window. Mitsuo and V-mon did not even flinch as they followed her out of the building. Flidais landed gracefully on the ground below, while V-mon evolved to Metal Tyranomon and landed with a might thud. Mitsuo was on his partner's back, and slid down his tail to also land on the ground.

            As soon as he turned around, Flidais had already begun the battle. She jumped at the dinosaur's snout and kicked as hard as she could. Metal Tyranomon stumbled backwards, but the Hunter continued her assault. She kicked and punched until even the metal shell of the dinosaur's nose cracked.

            "This is going to be harder then I thought," Metal Tyranomon exclaimed.

--

            The other members of Flidais's group of Hunters had found their way to a room further down the hall, blocked by a closed door. The one in the lead placed her hand on the knob and slowly turned…

            …the door was suddenly thrown open, knocking them into the far wall. Kasumi, Shiro, Gabe, Kenji and their partners rushed into the hall. "You think we're amateurs?" Gabe snapped, clenching his fists.

            Shiro blinked upon viewing the group, "H-Hunters?" His eyes focused on the tall man in the rear, "Orion…"

            Kasumi gritted her teeth at the woman who had been leading the group, "Artemis, you little bitch! How dare you come here! I'm gonna make you pay for what you did to my father!"

            The Hunter snickered, "Well, be that as it may, ya forgot about my friends here, Hoakah and Nanook." She stared at Gabe, "The first guy fought yer dad, and the second guy fought the dear Mrs. Yamaki."

            Gabe had been staring at Artemis, so when he heard her mention Hoakah, he turned to face him. When the teenager saw the face of the Hunter, his body began to quake, his eyes bulged, and his face turned bright red.

            "What's the matter?" the Hunter chuckled, "See someone you know…?"

            Gabe screamed with rage, exploding from deeply buried memories, "Ralph!"

            Kotemon shot forward, his body instantly evolving to Mystimon. The warrior digimon slammed his fist into Hoakah's head, smashing both of them through the wall. The Hunter twisted around in the air before crashing to the street below. He jumped to his feet in time to block Mystimon's sword.

            Kasumi gasped. "Ralph? T…that guy that killed Gabe's entire team?" She spun to face Artemis, "So who the hell are you?"

            The Hunter shrugged, "No one you'd know, the name's Madelyne Osborn."

            Orion nodded, "And I was once called Ivan Kragoff." He looked over to where Kenji was staring, disbelievingly at Nanook. "Those two have their own unresolved issues to deal with, maybe we should give them some privacy."

            Artemis laughed, "Sure." She quickly whipped out her crossbows and fired a barrage of arrows at Kasumi.

            "Look out!" Yuki Agumon shouted, tackling Kasumi to the ground. Unfortunately, due to their proximity to the hole caused by Gabe and Hoakah, they fell straight through, heading for the ground. Artemis leapt after them.

            Shiro ran to the hole, "Kasumi!"

            "You had better watch yourself!" Orion called, knocking both Shiro and Psychemon out of the building.

            Mystimon and Hoakah tore into one another, punches and kicks slamming into one another. The Hunter chuckled, "I'm sure your father told you about my powers, eh?"

            "Shut up, you fucking piece of shit!" Gabe screamed louder then even he thought possible, "Kill him, Mystimon, _kill him!"_

            His partner charged at the Hunter, readying his sword. Hoakah held up his fist, "Strength of a Bull!" He punched the digimon with enough strength to bend the sword, but, thankfully, it did not break.

Psychemon landed on an adjacent roof as Weregarurumon. Orion landed gracefully before him. The Hunter held up his left arm, then used an blade on his right arm to cut a large gash on the front. A trail of blood oozed to the ground. Orion began to maneuver his fingers, and the blood began to move and twist on its own.

            The blond boy frowned, "Oh yeah, I remember now."

            "Good," Orion snickered, "Then you won't wonder how I kill you!" He grabbed the stream of blood with his left hand, then used his right hand to swing it like a ball and chain, striking Weregarurumon in the leg. It felt like a lead ball smashed into his ankle.

            Yuki Agumon had evolved to Aero V-dramon, and was now attempting to connect her fists with Artemis, but the Hunter proved to be far more agile, easily darting and dodging each jab. "Havin' some trouble?" she laughed, landing gracefully on the top of a flagpole, "Here, how 'bout I stand still?"

            Aero V-dramon shot at her with all of her speed, but Artemis was once again able to dodge with ease.

            Back in the hospital, Kenji and Nanook were staring at one another, the DATS Agent seemed frozen in place. "It…can't be…Langelet…?"

            "Yeah," he yawned, "It's me…."

            Kenji was shaking his head, "I…I don't understand! How…"

            "Am I a Hunter?" he shrugged, "Well, after I got out of jail…I dunno, revenge I guess? I couldn't find that girl…"

            Kenji growled, "Her name was Kara, and you drove her insane!"

            "Yeah, maybe, maybe not. Looks like she couldn't handle it like you…"

            The teenager was struggling to keep his temper under control, "You're nothing but a bigot."

            "Yeah, well…better then being a coward, right?" He sighed deeply, yawning, "I guess I'm gonna hafta make the opening move, eh? Man…" He removed his gloves and cracked his knuckles.

            "Remember what Mrs. Yamaki said," Otamamon cautioned, "About his hands!"

            Nanook dove for Kenji, but the DATS agent darted to the side, and the Hunter's hand touched the side of the wall. It instantly began to decay and crack.

            "This isn't going to be easy," Kenji sighed.

--

            While the battles raged around them, Taichi, and Yamato were staring at their enemy.

            "Schmidt…Schmidt!" Yamato exclaimed. He glanced at Miayag, "You…fell in love with _him?"_

            The Priestess sighed deeply, "He was different at that time…he fooled me…I was lonely…he was there…."

            "How are you still alive?!" Taichi screamed, "You were on the Digital World when it exploded!"

            "Yes," Lord Sentry nodded, "The destruction of the Digital World, I remember it well, I saw it first-hand, after all…"

            He placed his hands behind his back, "I shoulder have died, but…it seems that for whatever reason, a section of the Digital World remained intact, and I awoke on it. Equally surprising, I was not alone; Madelyne Osborn and Ivan Kragoff had found their way there."

            "Kragoff?" Agumon X gasped, "The guy that was exterminating Chosen in Nightsun?"

            "Yes, he and Madelyne managed to survive your assaults, and were floating within the void. We joined each other on that remaining chunk, I don't know how long we were there, but when a gate opened on its own, we dove through and returned to Earth. Again, time seemed to have passed at a different pace, or some kind of time-warp occurred, because when I tried to contact my grandfather, I found that he had been dead for almost a month."

            "Grandfather?" Yamato gasped, "You mean…"

            He nodded. "Right, Hagan von Schmidt, the First Chosen known as Juro." His smile grew when he examined the expression on Yamato's face, "Ah…I see, you know, don't you? Interesting."

            "Yeah," Yamato's eyes narrowed, "Akira told us that my son figured it out."

            "Smart boy. Yes, you, your son and your daughter are descended from Juro as well, as is Mitsuo Yamaki and his daughter. I'm sure your grandmother must have mentioned the man she…heh _knew_ before her husband."

            "Hold it," Taichi shouted, "You tried to contact Juro? So…you knew about him before….?"

            "Of course, who do you think trained me? I joined the Chosen Council so that I could find my grandfather's Flail, and I became the leader of the Council, effectively, the leader of the Digital World. You should not have left…"

            Taichi growled slightly.

            Gabumon X shook his head, "But…why are you….?"

            He tapped his metal face place, "This? I learned that my grandfather had been conspiring with Kurata, and I raided all of that scientist's notes. I learned about his experiments with DNA and genetic manipulations, and his involvement with the super soldier project, everything, was right there…"

            "What about your sons?" Taichi asked, "huh?"

            "That was all to create a fusion of Miayag's Fate and my Chance, however, that perfect child split into two…"

            "Twins…"

            "Right, one with Fate and one with Chance. Megumi managed to flee with Masahiko, the one with Fate. I took Masanori, the one with Chance, made him the master of my genetic Demon army. Using Kurata's notes, it was a similar matter to use his DNA/data conversion to create Araki, a clone Miayag, and use her DNA and Masanori's to create the Gifts of Uni and Decima, all in an attempt to generate enough energy of Fate and Chance. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that Mitsuo Yamaki was a grandson of Juro as well. I had my Demons test Asami, and found that she possessed a perfect melding of Fate and Chance…nature had done what my technology could not."

Taichi could see the expression on his cousin's face, she seemed to actually be close to tears. He then knew, whatever had happened between them, it was special enough for Miayag to mourn its lost. He must have hurt her terribly when she discovered who he really was. He began to shake with rage, then spun to face him, "You piece of shit!"

            "But why?" Yamato questioned, "What are you trying to do?"

            Before he could answer, Mixcaotl suddenly slammed into him, throwing both of them into the wall. The DATS team spun to see Masa rushing forward.

            "What are you doing?" Yamato demanded.

            "Sorry!" the teenage boy snapped back, "I just threw him, I didn't know where he was going to land!" He suddenly blinked and glanced over his shoulder; Miayag was kneeling on the ground, staring blankly at the floor. "Mom!"

            Taichi, Yamato, and the digimon partners looked at well. The usually-calm and collected priestess appeared to be shaking. Masa fell to her side, "Mom! Don't worry, we'll get you out of here."

            Lord Sentry threw Mixcoatl off of him and jumped to his feet. He stared at the DATS team, his eyes burning red with rage. Agumon X and Gabumon X ran past their partners, quickly evolving to Metalgreymon X and Weregarurumon X. "Hurry and get out!" Metalgreymon X, "Well distract him."

            "Wait!" Taichi shouted, "I want to know more!"

            Lord Sentry punched Metalgreymon X's jaw, then twisted in the air and slammed his feet into Weregarurumon X's chest. "I don't think he feels like talking right now!" Miayag's Plotmon exclaimed.

            Taichi hesitated for a moment, then stomped his foot into the floor, "Damn it!" He turned to the others, "Akira! Yasu! Eliane! We're leaving!"

            Machgaogamon had just dodged Deramon's Royal Smasher. Yasu twisted to stare at Taichi, "What? Already?"

            "Don't argue, young lady!" Yamato snapped, "Move it!"

            She frowned, "Machgaogamon, you heard him."

            "Right," her partner replied, clenching his fists.

            Bolades seemed relieved, but Ines had a mixed expression on her face, "Deramon, they don't leave until we say they do, understand? The little princesses need to learn that not everyone gets to be as spoiled as them!"

            "Spoiled?" Yasu blinked, "I…I'm not spoiled…"

            No one was able to answer her as Machgaogamon and Deramon charged one another. The plant/Bird digimon readied to use his Royal Smasher attack, but the wolf Cyborg executed his Winning Knuckle, catching Deramon in a twirling whirlwind. The Bird digimon was thrown through one of the walls, creating a hole large enough for the ceiling to began to collapse.

            "We've got to leave now!" Taichi shouted, "Let's move, move!"

            Masa placed his mother and her Plotmon on Dorugremon's back and they began to run down the hall. Machgaogamon and his two partners quickly followed. "Akira!" Taichi snapped.

            The redheaded boy continued to stare at Adan. "You'd better go," the Hunter said.

            He hesitated for another moment before speaking, "I'm not giving up on you." He and Diatraymon twisted and ran after the others. As they followed Masa through the twisting halls, Akira kept his head low, "_Adan__, I wasn't kidding, I'm not giving up on you,  I am going to save you, I swear!"_

--

            Back in Tokyo, Mitsuo and his Metal Tyranomon were still battling Flidais on the ground. The metal dinosaur had been reluctant to fully fight, as Flidais was only a human, but after a kick to his snout had nearly toppled him onto his back, he and Mitsuo decided to not hold back any longer. He pointed out his right hand and fired a large missile from his palm, "Giga Destroyer II!"

            Flidais smirked, then leapt into the air far higher then any human could reach. Her elongated tongue flung from her mouth, wrapped around the missile and used it to send the projectile twisting back at him. "Crap!" the dinosaur gasped. He fell to his side with seconds to spare; the missile flew over his body and struck an unoccupied car, causing it to explode.

            Mitsuo stared at the Hunter, "What in God's name are you?"

            She giggled, "Far from the human weakling I use ta be."

            "You joined the Hunters, right?" he asked, "Why?"

            She smirked, "Revenge."

            "Revenge?" he blinked, "A..against us?"

            "What did we do to you?" Metal Tyranomon asked.

            "Ye don't remember, do ye? Well, I'm not surprised, after all, I didnea look like this the last time we were together."

            Mitsuo blinked, "W…what?"

--

            Hoakah and Mystimon were still tearing into each other, Gabe's rage fueling his partner. "Kill him!"

            The Hunter was panting heavily, his right arm clearly injured, "W…well…you're not even interested?"

            "I don't care!" Gabe screamed, "I want you dead….dead! Mystimon!"

            The Warrior digimon swung his flaming sword, maneuvering through Hoakah's defense and imbedding the weapon deep in his shoulder. The Hunter yelled out in pain.

            Above the battle below, Orion was using his blood-controlling power to assail the wolf with small missiles of blood, as well as blood-created swords, whips and chains. "Stop that!" Weregarurumon screamed, "Stop that and fight me with your hands!"

            Orion chuckled, "So, you do have a temper after all. I was wondering, someone who's too cold under pressure doesn't really…"

            He was cut off when Weregarururmon slammed the side of his face with his hell. "Full Moon Kick!"

            "Good shot!" Shiro nodded.

            Orion rubbed his head, "Point taken, shall we continue?"

            Aero V-dramon was having difficulty even touching her opponent. Artemis continued to use the shadows to leap from one location to another, unleashing a barrage of arrows that struck the digimon's back. The dragon twisted to attack, but the Hunter had disappeared into another shadow. "Damn it!"

            She began to quake with rage, shouting loudly. "Aero!" Kasumi screamed from the roof below them, "Calm down, that's the old us, remember? You can out think her!"

            The dragon nodded, taking a deep breath. She glanced from left to right, there were too many shadows for her to try to guess which one Artemis would be emerging from, but there was another way to figure out her path. She always vanished into a shadow and attacked her from behind, which meant…

            Aero V-dramon twisted around quickly in time to see Artemis emerging from a shadow being cast by a horizontal flag. The Hunter saw that she had been discovered, but had already exited the shadow and was hovering in the air. Aero V-dramon twisted around, connecting her foot with the Hunter. Artemis managed to stop herself in mid air and twist to continue the battle, but Aero V-dramon appeared right in front of her.

            "You like arrows, huh? Why don't you try mine? V-breath Arrow!"

            From her mouth she expunged a beam of energy in the shape of a v that Artemis only missed by inches, but the beam still was strong enough to lob off her right hand. "You bitch!" she screamed, "You're lucky that was my mechanical arm!"

            "Yeah, yeah, whatever," Aero V-dramon said, cracking her knuckles.

            Artemis glanced around, her team of Hunters were not faring well: Orion's neck had been injured, Hoakah had a massive laceration through his shoulder, she was missing an arm, Nanook did not even appear to be fighting, only Flidais was still at full strength, but how much longer would that last?

            She smirked at her opponents, "Well, it's been fun, we'll do this again real soon." She pressed a button on her mechanical arm. A similar button on the arms of the rest of the Hunters began to beep.

            Flidais gave a slight bow, "Well, time ta go." She waved, "Later." She used her inhuman leg muscles to leapt onto the top of a skyscraper and vanish.

Orion sent a barrage of blood blobs into Weregarurumon's eyes to cover his escape.

            Nanook stared at the glowing button and frowned. "Oh man, I was just getting into it…oh well." He gave a slight wave at Kenji and Otamamon, "Later." He then leapt through the window.

            "Leaving?" Aero V-dramon chuckled, "You're not going anywhere!" She flew to grab Artemis, but the Hunter dove from the sky. She unleashed a quick group of arrows into Mystimon's back, then grabbed Hoakah and the two Hunters vanished into the shadow of a building.

            "No!" Gabe screamed, "No!"

--

            Lord Sentry was seated behind his desk, observing the view through his large window of the Tokyo skyline. "Another failure, eh?" he said, shaking with rage, "Failures, I'm surrounded by failures!"

            "Don't forget Masanori and Araki."

            He sighed deeply at the sound of the other voice, "Yes, you're right, they have yet to complete their mission." He turned, "Are they close?"

            "They are approaching Digiphi as we speak," Sakumi replied.

            Lord Sentry grinned, "Excellent…excellent…"

_The fall of the Chosen begins next!_


	31. The Agent of Destruction: Chapter 1

_My name is Hikari Yamaki, and I am a Chosen member of DATS. I am also descended from Yuushi of Fate, the heroic leader of the First Chosen. It was because of this that my daughter, Asami, was captured by the Demons. They wanted to drain her power of Fate, and her power of Chance, inherited from her father, because they needed the combined powers of Fate and Chance. After they sucked the power from her, she ended up in the hospital, and the Hunters attacked to eliminate her, Kasumi, Kenji, Shiro, Gabe and my husband. Taichi, and Yamato lead a team to enter the Hunters base to rescue Masa's mother, and she's my cousin, Megumi/Miayag! Even more surprising, Lord Sentry is Masa's father, a grandson of Juro, and the Chosen Council leader, Victor von Schmidt! Artemis is really Madelyn Osborn, Orion is Victor Kragoff, Chosen Council members! Hoakah is Ralph Azala, the one that killed the entire New York team._

_And now, events are about to begin that will change our entire world._

--

_Digimon__: Magog_

_The Agent of Destruction:_

_Chapter 1_

_--_

Hong Kong

The day had started out so well; the meeting had been first thing in the morning, but he spotted that error, saved the company billions-his boss had even promised him a promotion, that girl in accounting had agreed to go out with him, the cafeteria had served his favorite lunch, it was such a great day.

So why was he now running for his life? He passed the strange man in the hall, the only reason he ducked seconds before the spear shot over his head was because he heard the sound of the projectile shooting through the air, a developed trait since he spent most of his life with his digimon partner, fighting in battles. Right now, he only hoped he could make it home before his enemy attacked again.

He ran through the streets of the city, glancing over his shoulder every few seconds; the strange man was not behind him. He made it to his apartment building, ran up the stairs, fumbled with his keys before opening the door and jumping inside.

"Kudamon!" he shouted, "Kudamon!"

He heard a loud yawn and he twisted to the bedroom to see his partner trot out. "What's wrong, Rentarou?"

"We've got trouble," he gasped, "There's a…"

Before he could finish, the large glass windows that overlooked the cityscape shattered as the mysterious stalker landed in the living room. Both human and digimon could only stare as the figure marched closer. "Rentarou Satsuma and Kudamon. You may call me Rudra, I am a Hunter."

"Hunter?" they both gasped.

"Ah," he smiled, "You've heard of us, I guess the DATS base must have alerted all of its agents. Good, that will save us some trouble…"

Rentarou reached for his digivice, "Kudamon, get ready…"

Rudra pointed his arms at the Chosen and digimon, the loose sleeves of his jacket flapping beneath his arms. Suddenly, a swarm of locusts emerged from the gapping cloth. This swarm easily enveloped both human and digimon before returning to Rudra's sleeves. The flesh and blood had been picked clean, all that remained of his prey was Rentarou's bones, which fell to the ground with a crash.

Rudra pulled up the sleeves on his left arm to reveal a metal box attached to his forearm. A screen came to life, giving a list of names. He quickly scanned them until he located the one he was searching for: Satsuma, Rentarou. He pressed a button on the side, and a line appeared through the name. "Another one down," he chuckled, "Who's next?"

* * *

Hikari could hardly contain herself when Taichi told her who he had brought back from the Hunter's base. She rushed over to the DATS building as fast as she could, and when she was Miayag, she launched at the slightly younger woman, embracing her tightly. "Megumi! Oh it's so good to see you again!"

The other woman returned the hug, "Yes, it is good to see you as well, _juushi__."_

Gabe looked past the two women to the teenage girl limping behind Hikari. "Asami!" he gasped, rushing to her side, "How are you doing? Are you okay to be walking around like this?"

"I'm fine," she said with a slight smile, "Besides, I heard that you had to fight a group of Hunters while I was still asleep." Her smile faded, "I can't just let others fight anymore, I have to help."

Miayag smiled as she studied Asami. "_Juushi__,_ she looks just like you."

Hikari shrugged slightly, "Yeah, before I got old and gray, right?"

"Oh please," she said, "I have aged far worse then you, you still have your hair color."

Asami glanced at the two women, then over to Masa, who was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed. "So, that means we're cousins?"

He nodded, "Yes, on _both_ sides."

She blinked. "I…I'm sorry, I don't…"

"Your mother and my mother are cousins, and your father and my father are cousins. And if you add in that Shiro Ishida's father is my father's cousin too, and I have a twin brother that's serving my father, the leader of the Hunters, gives us one screwed up family."

The teenage girl hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to say. Dorumon looked to his partner, then to the others. "Um…p…please forgive him, h-he's a little stressed…"

Gabe looked at Masa, then at Asami. _"The only reason I came was 'cause Asami was going to be here. So much for being able to spend some time alone with her, damn it."_

He sighed, then mentioned to Masa. "Speaking of which…what are we gonna do about the Demon Master?"

"That is correct," Miayag nodded, "This is not the time for reminiscing, if they are able to achieve the path to god, then both worlds are in grave danger."

"Then why are we just standing here?" Gabe gasped.

Hikari glanced at her watch, "Taichi and Mitsuo were in a meeting with the Prime Minister, let's see if they're done yet."

They begin to walk through the halls, Gabe standing close to Asami behind the others. "So, are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes," she nodded with a smile. She then began to blush, "Thank you for worrying about me."

He began to blush too. The two teens quickly turned away from one another. _"This is ridiculous,"_ he thought, _"I'm not a little kid. Think of something to say to her…"_

He turned back, "Um, so…how does it feel to have a Fully Evolved par…" He trailed off when he saw that she was speaking to Masa.

"Will I be able to use my powers like you can use yours?"

He shrugged, "Yeah, I guess."

Excitement begin to rise in her voice, "And…and does that mean I'll be able to sense others like Akira and Yasu?"

"I don't know."

She frowned, "I…I'm sorry if I made you angry."

He flinched slightly, "No, y…you didn't…um…I…" he sighed, "I just don't know enough about _my_ powers to say what will happen with yours…but, it feels to me that you have more Chance then Fate."

"Really?"

"Y…yeah, but that could just be because I'm not really sure was _Fate_ feels like, since I can't really feel my _own_ power."

"No," the girl smiled, "I understand."

Gabe frowned and turned back. _"He's related to her, so she can't really be attracted to him…right?"_

The group entered Taichi's office, and found that he and Mitsuo were joined by Sora, Yamato and Noriko. Taichi had his desk phone in his hand. "Oh, I was just about to page you." He placed the phone back down.

Sora smiled warmly at Miayag. "I'm glad to see you again. It was fifteen years since we last saw you, we were all worried." Her smile grew, "Noriko most of all."

"Yeah…yeah," the other woman said, "But it's good to see you again, and I'm glad you're safe."

After the introductions were made for Masa, Taichi spoke, "Now, we need to figure out what's going on here?"

Miayag answered before anyone else, "If the Hunters have the merged powers of Fate and Chance, then I can only surmise that they are seeking to open the path to god, and both worlds will be in grave danger."

"Path to god?" Sora asked, "I don't understand."

"Neither do I," she said with a slight smile, "But from what I have heard, a mysterious being referred to as the "Agent of Destruction," is somehow connected. If the tales of his power are true, then perhaps my hus…then perhaps Lord Sentry's plan for Masa was a being with enough power to defeat this Agent, as well as using him to unlock this 'path.'"

"Do you know where this path is?" Mitsuo asked.

"No," she replied, "But I would surmise that the island you call Atrops would be its logical starting point, as the Oracle of Digiphi resides there."

Taichi nodded, "Okay, so we'd better get this as soon as possible."

Masa began to walk towards the door. "Where are you going?" Miayag asked.

The teenage boy mentioned to the others, "I'm not part of their group, I'm not going to wait for their approval to do what I need to do. I'll stop my brother and my father myself."

"Really?" Gabe snapped, "From what I hear, you needed Mr. Yagami and Mr. Ishida's help to rescue your mother, now that she's here with the 'group-you-don't-need-to-wait-for-their-approval,' you're suddenly Mr. Attitude! Now what I think, you're a coward!"

He stopped at the door and slowly turned to face the other boy, "Coward?" He walked towards Gabe at a face pace, his face inches from Gabe's, "Why don't you say that now?"

"I'm not afraid of you," Gabe replied, staying calm, "You're a coward because you're too scare to admit that you're _not_ the tough shit you think you are. You were probably the star of the football team, right? Straight A student? Girls wanted to be with you, guys wanted to _be_ you. You're probably so used to being the 'star of the show," you can't stand it…_stand it!_ when you need someone's help, huh?"

Masa grabbed his shit with his left hand and pulled back his right fist. The others ran to surround them, but Gabe shouted quickly, "I know what that's like! I'm the same as you!"

Masa's fist held in mid-air and he stared at Gabe. The other boy continued, "I was an arrogant piece of shit back home, go ahead, ask my parents or my sister, they'll tell you. I used to think I was the greatest in the world, hell, I was even the field leader of a group of DATS agents in America. But one day, we had a mission, it was going to be the first one where I lead the group completely by myself, without my parents there, and you know what happened? I was so focused on impressing a girl, that I let my arrogance get the better of me, and a team member betrayed us, killed the whole team. I was so cocky, I thought, _I'm_ here, I can handle anything, well, I couldn't. You can't be so powerful that you don't need help! You know what? Better yet, talk to Kasumi, I'm sure she'll tell you the same thing, she's learned that lesson too, but she's lucky, she didn't have to lose people she cared about before she got it. You need to learn it the way she did, not the way I did."

Masa released his grip on Gabe's shirt. He turned and walked away, but stopped when he reached the door. He did not turn around, but did speak, "Come and get me when the team is ready to leave." He glanced over his shoulder at Gabe, "And just so you know, it's not arrogance, it's extreme loneliness."

* * *

Mexico City, Mexico.

The man had been waiting for her when she left school. She knew that he was after her, a feeling that proved true, as he began to chase her through the streets of the city. Once shot reached her home, she threw the door open and ran inside. "Mama!" she screamed, "Mama!"

She ran into the kitchen and her blood turned cold, her mother was lying on the ground in a pool of blood, her throat slit. Tears came to her eyes and she began to scream; she was so lost in her emotions, that she forgot she was being chased, that is, until he entered the house.

"Hi," he said, "The name's Nanook…" he shrugged, "I don't know why I told you that….oh well..."

She was panting heavily, glancing around, fear in her eyes.

"If you're looking for your digimon, sorry, your mother's Gotsumon X and your Gotsumon are already dead."

The girl began to shake and she screamed at the top of her lung. Nanook flung his chakrams, and the bladed weapon easily sliced off the young girl's head. He then took out a blackberry and called up a list of names. Once he found the names he was looking for, he pressed a button to cross them out. "Chichos and Maria, dead. This was too easy….man…"

* * *

Kasumi studied Masa carefully. "So…we're related?"

"Yeah, we're cousins…well, second cousins, technically, but…" he shrugged.

The pony-tailed girl nodded. "Right, yeah…" She fidgeted for a moment, "But…um…when and Yuki were Demons…well, thanks for helping me get back to normal."

Masa blinked, "Oh, you mean during the Demons' invasion of Tokyo."

"Yeah, thank you…"

The two teens, along with the other children, were seated in one of the waiting areas of the DATS building. "Damn it," Gabe said, pacing the floor.

Lizzie was examining her face in her small compact mirror. "You gotta calm down, Big Bro, remember your blood pressure."

Kenji blinked, "You…have high blood pressure?"

"It's a medical condition!" he snapped.

"Yeah," his sister said, "From stressing out too much."  
"I'm not stressed!" he snapped, "I'm just waiting to get going. The whole world's at stake here!"

Shiro nodded. "Yeah, I agree, we don't have any idea what this…'path to god,' means, but I'm really interested in finding that out."

The room grew quiet. Eliane then spoke what the others were all thinking, "Do you zink zat zis god…is ze real one?"

The room fell silent, but before anyone could speak, the adults entered. Gabe looked at Taichi eagerly. "Here's what we're going to do," he said, "A team will try to intercept the two Demons or gain information about what exactly it is they're after. The team will be: Miayag, Masa, Asami, Gabe, and it will be led by Hikari."

"Yes!" Gabe hissed under his breath.

"Da-ad!" Kasumi whined, "I've got to stay here?"

"I've got to stay too," Lizzie pouted.

"I don't understand," Shiro spoke, "Why not send my father or yourself? The Demon Master has a mega digimon, and while we're not sure what level the Demon Priestess can reach, it is assuredly at least Fully Evolved."

"I have my reasons," Taichi replied simply, "Besides, you, Gabe and Masa have Mega partners, and Asami, Miayag and Hikari have Fully Evolves. And…Hikari is under strict orders: if it looks too dangerous, you're to call for reinforcements."

The small group nodded.

"Okay," Taichi said, "I don't need to tell you that time's running out. Get going, and good luck."

* * *

Beijing, China

"Hair Raising Rage!"

Hoakah raised his palm and shouted, "Turtle!" A shell suddenly appeared on his forearm, and he blocked each flying strand of hair with ease. He then clenched his fist, "Bear!" He shot forward, swinging the newly-created claws on his hands. These blades easily tore through Hanumon's chest, deleting him instantly. The Hunter smirked, then turned to face the Chinese woman who was staring at him in horror.

"I would have expected more from you, Yuehon. I was able to kill Hoi with ease."

"Shut up!" she screamed, "Hoi would not allow himself to be killed by you!"

Hoakah chuckled, "Actually, he didn't really _allow_ me to kill him, I mean, he put up a pretty good fight, but for someone who was able to stand up against two of the most powerful Chosen, he…and you…are nothing."

Before she could respond, he shot forward once again, slashing across her stomach with his claws. She stumbled for a moment before falling to the ground, screaming in pain. Her screams soon died, and Hoakah wiped his hands. "Yuehon and Hoi, two more down."

* * *

Yamato and Gabumon X ran into the main control room of the DATS building, throwing the doors open as they did. They spied Taichi and Mitsuo, along with their partners, standing in the center while staff members ran in a frenzy around them. "I just got your message," the blond man exclaimed.

"Yeah," Agumon X frowned, "It's bad, really bad."

Yamato stared at the two men. "How…really bad?"

Mitsuo was staring at a sheet of paper in his hand, "At our last estimate, sixty-three DATS agents have been killed since early this morning."

Yamato gasped, "By who?"

"Descriptions by witnesses indicate the Hunters."

"Damn them!" he shouted, slamming his fist into the metal table, "Shit!"

"Yeah," Mitsuo's V-mon replied, "we know."

Yamato struggled to stay calm. "We should get Mimi and Michael to get here…as well as Dingo's family, and Anna and her son."

"Already done," the other blond man nodded, "We weren't able to get in touch with Dingo's family, but we're still trying. The rest should be arriving here later today."

"There's something I don't understand," Gabumon X spoke, "The list of DATS agent's is classified, how could…" He gasped and all eyes turned to Taichi. The brown-haired man was simply staring blankly forward.

"Taichi…?" Yamato asked, cautiously.

"Yeah," he replied simply, "It's the same list I gave to Kazuki."

He could not believe his ears, "The Finance Minister is working with the Hunters?!"

"I think so." He sighed deeply, "I've had my suspicions for a while now, the Hunters always knew too much about what was going on with us, where we would be, how best to attack us. That's why I didn't want you, Shiro, Mitsuo or Kasumi going with Hikari, I needed to have a good force here too, I had to split the teams the best way I could."

"Ge…I…b….but the…the…." He stared at Taichi, "How can you be so calm about this?"

"Yamato," he said calmly, turning to him, "If the Hunters somehow got the list from Kazuki, then that means it's the same list I _gave_ to Kazuki. Those Chosen are dying, because of _me, got it?!"_

Yamato had to take a step back, "Y..yeah…got it…"

Taichi turned back to staring forward, "Kazuki's coming here later today, I'm planning on placing him under arrest."

"How? You've got proof it was him?"

"No, but I'll force that _fucking confession out of him!"_

* * *

Nanook frowned as he surveyed the apartment. "Damn it," he mumbled. He removed a small communicator from his pocket, "This is Nanook calling base."

"Orion here, go ahead."

"We got a problem, Anna Trepov and her son are gone."

"Gone?"

"Yeah, the place is a mess, they skipped out on us. They knew I was coming."

"All right, move onto your next target."

"Right."

* * *

Gabe glanced around the small island. "Are you sure this is where the Demons went?"

Miayag nodded. "Yes, if they are searching for the path to God, this would be the best location, as here is the holiest place in this new Digital World."

"Yeah, well, no offense, but…"

She smiled slightly,"…how do you know you can trust me?"

"You can trust her," Hikari suddenly cut in, "She's usually right about these kinds of things."

Miayag chuckled, "A manifestation of Fate power, is the ability to see collections of energy, and the purest energy is emanating from that island."

Asami looked to her, "Will I be able to do that too?"

She hesitated for a moment, "I am sorry, but I do not yet fully understand your merged powers, it is possible that you have a mixture of Fate and Chance, or will developed one power over the other. However, since you only recently discovered these powers, it may be some time before we know that fully."

"Oh," she said, sadly.

"Hey, don't worry," Gabe said quickly, "I know you'll figure it out."

She looked to him, "Really?"

"Yeah, you'll be able to make your powers work, and you'll be great. You can do it, I know you can."

She smiled warmly, "Thank you."

Hikari glanced over her shoulder to her daughter. When she saw the expression on Asami's face, she smiled to herself and turned back. "Look's like she's got her first crush," Plotmon X said.

Hikari nodded, "Yeah…my little girl's growing up."

"She's not like you and Takeru, or you and Daisuke."

"What were they like?" Miayag's Plotmon asked.

"_Really_ friendly."

Hikari started to blush. "W…well, I knew Takeru and Daisuke a lot longer, Gabe and Asami just met."

"Did you say something, Mom?" Asami asked.

"N…no!" the middle-aged woman called back, "Nothing!"

Miayag looked to her son, "What about you Masa? You haven't found a girlfriend, have you?"

He began to blush, "Mom, please!"

"That Lizzie girl looks cute, doesn't she?"

"Mom!" he snapped again, his face turning bright red.

Hikari suddenly gasped, "Oh no!"

The other ran to catch up to her, and when they saw what had horrified her, they all gasped as well. The village of Fortuna was completely destroyed. The wooden houses were in shambles, the trees were destroyed, and there was not any sign of the Patamons, Plotmons and Lopmons that once populated the village.

Asami was crying softly, while Gabe was twitching with rage. "Those…bastards!"

Dorumon was sniffing the area. "Well?" Masa asked.

"Yes," he replied, "This was the Demons."

Hikari turned towards the path that twisted through the forest, leading to the monstrous mountain, "They have to be going to Digiphi."

"We must move fast!" Miayag gasped, "Come, and run like the wind is at your heels!"

* * *

Kasumi was pacing the floor. She stopped for a moment, glanced at the clock on the wall, then started pacing again, "Oh come on! How long are they gonna be?"

Shiro looked up from his book, "You sound like Gabe, you should calm down."

"I can't!" she whined, "I'm starving! They said they weren't going to be too long!"

"They had an important meeting," Shiro explained, "They're running an important government agency."

The pony-tailed girl crossed her arms and plopped onto the couch next to him. "Yeah, I know, but they promised they would take us to lunch, remember?"

Shiro frowned slightly, "Yeah…I know…." He sighed, sadly.

Taichi and Yamato entered the lounge area. The two teens jumped to their feet. "Are we gonna go?" Kasumi asked, excitement clearly visible in her eyes.

"Yes," her father chuckled, "But we're going to eat in the DATS cafeteria, okay? We've got an important meeting later."

"Okay, whatever," the teenage girl exclaimed. She grabbed her father's arm and dragged him towards the cafeteria. Shiro and Yamato were walking at a slower pace. "So, what was that meeting about?" Shiro asked.

His father shook his head. "Nothing to worry about." Taichi had told him that he did not want the others to worry about the extermination of the DATS agents, which is why they decided to keep their lunch date with their children.

Shiro, however, could tell that his father was not telling him everything. He kept his suspicious quiet.

* * *

"….but then I used the Claymore, and me and Yuki evolved to Alforce V-dramon!" Kasumi exclaimed, "It was so cool!"

Taichi chuckled, "Yeah, I'm sure it was."

Yamato smiled at his son, "And you evolved too, didn't you?"

He nodded. "Yes, in order to defeat Shinji."

Kasumi looked at him, "Oh, it was you that sent her…" She stopped herself abruptly.

"Sent her where?" Shiro asked.

The girl grew quiet. The blond boy looked at her with a serious expression, "Does this have anything to do with that girl that looks just like you?"

"What?" she gasped, "What are you talking about?"

"Akira didn't tell you?" he asked, "Yasu told me…maybe he just didn't have a chance…"

"What girl?" Kasumi asked again.

"He told us that when the Demons took her powers, a girl that looked just like you attacked them. "

Taichi and Yamato stared at each other. "Was this girl…wearing a cloak?" Yamato asked.

Shiro nodded, "Yes."

"A Demon Lord!" Taichi gasped.

"Demon Lord?" Kasumi asked, "You mean those guys that you had to fight? They looked like you…and…Mom….I have a Demon Lord? H…how can I have a Demon Lord?"

"A Demon Lord is created when someone's negative energy collects in a physical form," Taichi explained, "But, that's only the power, the actual _form_ shouldn't have happened unless…someone dies…"

Kasumi's eyes grew wide, and Shiro stared at her. "K…Kasumi…you…really did died?"

Taichi and Yamato turned to stare at the teenage girl. With all three sets of eyes staring at her, she frowned, staring at the table. "Y..yeah, I think so…"

"What?" Taichi exclaimed.

"I….the Demon Master k…ki….did it. I went to a place and….and…." She suddenly ran from the cafeteria, crying loudly. Yuki Agumon followed her.

* * *

Masanori, the Demon Master and Araki, the Demon Priestess, along with his Dexdorumon and her Phantomon, were standing before d'Arcmon, the Oracle of Digiphi. "What is it you seek from me?" she asked.

Masanori smiled, "We seek the path to god."

"That cannot I help you, for that path had been sealed long ago by the warriors known as Yuushi and Juro."

"Yes, but we have the keys to unlock that seal."

"That may be, but no one may seek god. Only the High Priest of the Gods, who slumbers within Rylth, may access the almighty."

"That we know, and we have the Gjallorhorn, the means to awaken him."

d'Arcmon nodded. "Very well." She mentioned to the massive tree growing at the face of the mountain peak, which still stretched into the sky. "By cracking this trunk, the path will be opened. However, know that it has been my mission to guard this path, once unlocked, I will vanish."

Masanori shrugged, "Sure, whatever." He approached the trunk, grinning wildly. He removed from his cloak a sharp crystal, which he held above his head before jamming the point into the trunk. Gold and silver light erupted from the object, flowing through the tree. A kaleidoscope of colors exploded into the sky. The Demon Master roared with laughter as the mighty trunk began to crack, small splinters fell to the ground before the tree finally exploded, revealing a path leading into the mountains.

"Excellent!" Masanori roared, "The path is open!"

d'Arcmon nodded, "May luck be with you, reviving the High Priest and bringing the presences of the Gods to the Digital World once more." She nodded, vanishing a moment later.

"Delusional woman," Araki chuckled, "We care nothing for the Gods, or their High Priest."

Masanori mentioned with his hands, "Come, we must keep moving, our prize awaits!"

* * *

When Hikari's group reached Digiphi, they followed the two Demons through the open tree trunk and down the darkened path. They were not aware that while they followed the Demons, two figures were following _them._

They traveled the winding tunnel for only a few fleeting moments before exiting the tunnel in darkness. "Night?" Gabe asked, looking up at the dark sky, "No…we couldn't have been walking for that long."

"I think it's just overcast," Masa explained, "But look at all this fog…it's so thick…"

Gabe sighed, "We can't even see where the Demons went."

"No problem," Dorumon said, "I can sniff that scent anywhere."

Kotemon grumbled, "Just cause you can smell doesn't mean you're so great."

Dorumon sniffed the ground, leading the group down a sandy-path winding through a grassy hill. As they neared the top, the small digimon began to sniff the air quicker, "The scent's getting stronger…really strong! They're right here!"

"Blasted bloodhound! So much for a sneak attack." The large grass parted and two figures emerged onto the sandy path: Masanori and Araki, along with their partners. The Demon Master chuckled as he surveyed the group, "Well, I wasn't expecting this lineup: Mother and Brother, well, this _is_ a surprise."

Miayag sighed, "You are my son, yet, if you continue on this path, we will have no choice but to stop you with force."

Masa hesitated for a moment, "Y…yes…"

He began to laugh, "If it's a fight you want, then you will be sorry. There is none that can match my power!"

"Don't bet on it," Dorumon growled, "We're just as strong as you!"

Masanori's Dexdorumon growled loudly, salvia dripping from his jaws. "Easy, my pet, easy." The Demon Master said, rubbing his partner's head. "It seems we will have to fight."

He looked to the Demon Priestess, "Araki, take the Gjallorhorn, and complete the mission."

"T…that does not make sense! It is your power we need to pass the High Priest of the Gods, the Agent of Destruction!"

"Do not fear," he grinned, "It will not take me long to defeat them, go!"

"As you wish," she nodded. She and her Phantomon quickly continued running through the sandy path.

Masa stepped forward, "You had better go after her," he said to the rest of the group, "I take care of this."

"By yourself?" Asami asked, "Masa, are you sure you can…?" When she saw the intense expression in his eyes, staring at his twin brother, she stepped back. "We have to go after Araki."

Hikari nodded. "All right, come on."

Miayag hesitated for a moment. "You have to go Mom," Masa said, "Please."

She nodded, "Very well." She gave a last look at her sons before following the others.

Once they were gone, Masa stared at his twin brother, "If you're really my brother, then we shouldn't be fighting one another. I didn't know I even had a brother, I want to get to know you, we should join forces so that we have _time_ to get to know each other."

Masanori gave a short laugh, "Unless you're planning to join _my_ side, I'm not interested. I serve our father loyally and willingly, and…guess what…since Asami gave us what we needed, that means you're expendable."

He held out his palm and summoned the Flail of Chance with an explosion of silver light. Masa sighed deeply, and called for his Staff with an explosion of gold light. The two brothers stared at one another for another moment before calling for their partners. Their weapons began to glow with intensity.

"Dorumon…"

"Dexdorumon…"

"…warp evolve to…"

"Dorughoramon!"

"Dexdorughoramon!"

The two metal dragons hovered in the air, staring at one another. "Well," Dexdorughoramon chuckled, "We're exactly the same, this should be interesting."

Dorughoramon did not respond. The two dragons hovered for another moment before charging each other, fists flying.

* * *

The two figures passed by the battle between the two Mega dragons. "Let us not interrupt them, if we're lucky, they will destroyed one another," the first figure said, "Besides, the others are the real threat, they are quickly approaching the sleeping High Priest."

The second figure nodded in agreement. He pointed to the ground, where the DATS team was running across the sandy path. "There."

"Good," the first figure said.

They both dropped to the ground.

Hikari's group had left the sandy path and arrived on a beach with a roaring shoreline. "What is this place?" Gabe's Kotemon asked.

"A vacation resort?" Asami's Leormon snorted.

Hikari's eyes moved from side to side, "This looks familiar…"

Suddenly, a figure landed before them, throwing up a wave of sand. This was followed shortly by another figure that landed behind them. The one that had landed in front was a massive creature with a round body that had a small volcano on his back, two large arms and equally as large legs. The figure that had landed behind them was a large fish woman holding a trident.

Miayag cautiously studied them, "Are you…Ancients?"

"Yes," the fish woman bowed slightly, "I am Ancient Mermaimon."

The massive creature grunted, "Ancient Volcamon."

"And if you know of us," Ancient Mermaimon continued, "Then you know of our mission."

"I know you seek to destroy those who you feel are a threat to the Digital World, but we are no threat, we seek to stop the ones that are the threat."

"You have come to this land to awaken the Agent of Destruction, this we cannot allow."

Gabe growled, throwing his arms open, "You're stopping us from stopping the one that's going to do it!" He pointed down the shoreline, "She 's down there, _she's_ the one you need to stop!"

"No!" Ancient Volcamon snapped, "Stop you! No trick!"

"It's not a trick!"

"You must believe us," Miayag continued, "We are the descendants of the First Chosen…"

"You are traitors to the First Chosen!" Ancient Mermaimon said, pointing her trident at them, "They were never come here, this is an evil place! You must be destroyed!"

The middle-aged woman sighed, "You are truly honorable warriors, but you are misguide! We are not your enemies!"

"Enough," the fish woman cut in, "Prepare yourselves for battle."

"I guess we have no choice," Hikari frowned.

"Any ideas?" Plotmon X asked.

She nodded. "Keep them busy, and if you have a chance to run after Araki, do it." She took a deep breath, "Okay, evolve!"

Plotmon X, Plotmon, and Kotemon quickly evolved to Nefertimon X, Bastemon and Dynasmon X. The Royal Knight cracked his knuckles, staring at Ancient Volcamon, "I'll take the potato-shaped guy."

Hikari nodded, "Then we'll take the other one. Asami, you'd better have Leormon ev…" She gasped, twisting her head from side to side, "Asami? Where's Asami?!" Her daughter had apparently vanished, but then she noticed a set of footprints in the sand, leading down the shoreline. "Oh no, Asami!"

* * *

The teenage girl and her Leormon were following Araki's scent across the beach. "Was it really a good idea to leave the others?" the small lion asked, sniffing the ground.

"N…no," she said, her heart pounding, "B…but someone needed to go after Araki, and if my power is going to wake up this horrible Agent of Destruction, then I have to try to stop it! Oh, Mom, Gabe, please be okay…."

They continued down the shoreline until they reached the beginnings of a thick forest. Asami sighed deeply, "More forest…"

"Well, it seems we have company, Phantomon."

The girl and her partner gasped slightly as Araki and her partner leapt down from the top of the trees. The Demon Priestess chuckled as she examined the teenage girl. "So, you are to be our opponents? Very well."

Phantomon chuckled, "Killing you will be a simple matter, then we will be able to continue with our mission."

"Don't do it!" Asami pleaded, "If everything's true, and this Agent of Destruction wakes up, it can't be good!"

"But it can't be helped," the Demon Priestess replied, "Only the Agent knows the beginnings of the path to god. Now…" she opened her arms, "Are we ready to begin?"

"Don't worry, Asami," Leormon said, "I'll stop them."

The girl nodded. "Just be careful."

* * *

Taichi found Akira in the game room of the DATS building with Yasu and Eliane. "Hey Dad," the redheaded boy said.

"I need to talk you, in my office," he said.

Akira nodded and followed his father out of the room. "Uh oh," Yasu whispered to her friend, "Someone's in trouble.."

When they reached Taichi's office, Akira sat in one of the chairs, but instead of Taichi sitting behind the desk, he sat in the other chair, facing his son. "I need to talk to you," he said, "About your sister."

Akira's heart began to beat faster, "A…about what?"

He stared at him. "Shiro told me…"

He blinked, then sighed, staring at the ground, "Y…yeah…okay…."

He took a deep breath, "I….when we went to rescue Asami, the Demon Master, that Araki girl and some girl that looked just like Kasumi attacked us. She had an Orochimon as a partner."

Taichi's eyes bulged slightly. "A…and she was wearing a cloak?"

"Yeah, she was."

"A Demon Lord," he frowned, "It's got to be, but how? The only way to have a Demon Lord that looks like someone is for that person to have died!"

"Died?" he gasped, "Kasumi…."

* * *

Taichi and Agumon X found Kasumi and Yuki Agumon on the roof of the DATS building, staring at the cityscape in the horizon. "Hey."

He stood by her side, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Talk about what?" she asked.

"About whatever happened to you." He turned to stare at the horizon as well, "You're different, you know."

"I am?"

"Yeah, you're….just not yourself…"

"Yeah, that's the problem."

She took a deep breath, "D…dad, I…" she mentioned to her partner, _"We_..d…died…The Demon Master killed us, and…and we ended up in…in the Digital Underworld or afterlife or something." She stared at her father, "I met Maria."

Taichi and Agumon X glanced at one another, "What?"

"Yes," she nodded, "And Catherine, Iduia and Keeya too. T…they helped me get back, and while I was there, I…I was able to..to beat my Demon side…"

He nodded slowly, "I…see. So, that's where Sakumi came from…"

Kasumi's shoulders began to twitch. Taichi placed his hand on her shoulder, but she launched at him. She began to sob loudly into his chest.

He embraced her tightly. "Kasumi….it's okay…it's okay…" Tears began to form in his own eyes, "I'm just glad you came back to me."

She continued to cry into her father's chest, "Daddy…"

* * *

"Ca-annonba-all!"

The water exploded in a mighty geysers that erupted into the sky. When the teenage boy poked his head through the water, he encountered a sea of angry stares. "What?" he asked, "Come on, ya're all in the water! Jeeze…"

He swam to the edge of the pool and climbed out of the water. He walked over to the chair where his personal belongings were lying. He grabbed his towel and dried himself before plopping onto the chair.

"Joey!"

He looked over to see his father running over to him. "Dad, what's up?"

Dingo was panting, he must have been running for a while, "We got trouble, we gotta move, now!"

He just nodded, quickly following his father out of the public pool and into the parking lot, where his mother was standing outside the family car, which was loaded down with suitcases. Their partners were crammed into the back seat. "We goin' on a trip?" he asked.

"Tokyo," Lynna said, "We jus' got a call from Mitsuo, Hunters are commin.'"

"After us?" he gasped, climbing into the seat.

"Yeah," his Kamemon said.

"So we're runnin?" Joey gasped, unable to believe his ears.

As Dingo quickly speed out of the parking lot and into the street, Lynna looked over the seat to her son, "We don' like it anymore then you but those Hunters'll cream us. We gotta get to where we'll get help."

"But…"

"Ya should listen to her," Dingo's Ganimon X said, "No point in getting' killed for no reason."

"Yeah," he frowned, "Yeah…"

Dingo chuckled, "Yeah, no worries. I'm sure Taichi'll want to fight, he ain't gonna want just sit around and wait for somethin' ta happen ta him. Once we're all there, he'll probably want ta fight."

Joey grinned, "Cool…"

Lynna's Gizamon pressed his ears up against the window. "What are you doin?" Gizamon asked.

"Don't you hear that?" he asked.

"Hear what?" Lynna questioned.

"That sound…like bees buzzin…"

A swarm of chattering insects flew past the car, enveloping the front wheels. At the speed Dingo had been traveling, the sudden lost of the front tires caused the tire to spin out of control, then tumbling into a roll before finally coming to a stop in the center of the road. The car was smashed, but thankfully all the occupants were uninjured.

"What the hell happened?" Lynna screamed.

Joey stared into the sky, "I think he did!"

Hovering over them was young man dressed in an oversized shirt with long sleeves, covering his hands. "Dingo, Lynna and Joey Hogan, as well as Ganimon X, Gizamon and Kamemon, greetings, I am Rudra of the Hunters."

Joey smirked, "Looks like we gonna have to fight after all."

Rudra laughed as his locusts swarmed around him. "Attack me all you want, I will still kill you."

The three digimon evolved to their Adult forms: Gesomon X, Ebidramon and Gawappamon. Rudra crossed his arms and his locusts hovered around him, "Okay, give me your best shot."

"DJ Shooter!" Gawappamon began to fire a barrage of cds from the top of his head. Rudra's locusts quickly swarmed in front of the Hunter, enveloping the spinning discs, and when they scattered, the objects were gone.

"What?" the turtle gasped.

"My turn!" Ebidramon shouted. He jumped into the air and whipped his large claw at the Hunter, "Twin Neptune!"

The locusts collected above Rudra, acting as a massive arm to block the Deep Saver's attack. Ebidramon twisted through the air before crashing into the ground.

Gesomon X smirked, "All right, let's see how you handle this one! Deadly Shade!" He took a deep breath and exhaled a blast of black ink. The locusts swarmed around the black oil, devouring it with ease.

Rudra smirked, "As you can see, there is nothing you can do to stop me. My lovely pets here will devour anything you can throw at me, a plague of locusts to destroy you all!"

"Side Winder!"

He stopped laughing and quickly twisted to his side, throwing his palm forward. The swarm of locusts swarm in front, blocking him from a barrage of missiles. When the insets parted, the Hunter could see a blond boy riding atop a gray pterodactyl, and a blond woman on a unicorn.

"Anna!" Lynna called.

"And Aleksey!" Joey exclaimed. The Pteranomon flew down and the Russian boy leapt onto the ground. "What's up, man?" the Australian boy asked.

"When Mr. Yamaki alerted us to the threat of the Hunters, Mother felt we should come here to help you."

"Really?" Lynna asked, glancing at Anna, "What, ya didn't think we could handle it?"

The woman chuckled, using her ability to sense Lynna's Water energy to find her. "Well, with _you…_heh…"

The other woman crossed her arms. "Oh yeah….?"

Rudra scanned his opponents. "Well, looks like I get to hunt Hoakah's prey too. Good…I didn't want this to be too easy…"

"We got ta get rid of this guy," Dingo shouted.

The Hunter laughed. He threw open his arms, and the locusts began to fly around him. "Then let's go!"

* * *

Taichi sat in the conference room, tapping his fingers on the table. His mind was racing, he could not control his thoughts. DATS agents, and possibly all Chosen, were being killed by the Hunters, using the list he had handed over to the Minister of Finance in an agreement to get DATS reopened. He probably would not be so adamant about attacking Kazuki, but he had _insisted_ on that confidential list.

And another thought was his daughter. If she had really gone to the afterlife, then…what did that really mean? He believed with all his heart that there was something after death, but…did this prove it?

There was a knock on the door, and Lt. Onodera entered. "Mr. Yagami, Mr. Kazuki is here."

Taichi stood as the Minister of Finance entered. "Yagami," Kazuki exclaimed, "What is the meaning of this?"

Taichi mentioned to Lt. Onodera, and she exited the room. The DATS commander took a deep breath, "Okay, we need to talk…"

* * *

Kasumi and Yuki Agumon were still on the roof when Akira and Falcomon found them. "Here you are," the boy exclaimed.

"Yeah," the girl said, unenthusiastically "Here I am."

Akira slowly walked over to his sister, Falcomon trailing behind him. "Oneechan…I…."

"What?" she asked, slightly annoyed.

"Um…I…I'm happy you're back…."

She blinked and turned to him, "You are?"

He nodded quickly, beginning to blush."Y…yeah, y…you're my only sister….a….and I'd probably get pretty lonely if you weren't…."

He suddenly stopped as Kasumi embraced him tightly. "Otouto…."

"Oh, that's so cute…"

The two siblings pushed apart when they heard Yasu's voice snickering. "Oh yeah?" Akira snapped, "What about you and Shiro?"

"What do you want?" Kasumi asked.

Eliane hesitated, "I…I apologize, but ze…" She pointed towards the edge of the roof. The Yagami's and their partners glanced towards the ground to see a group of familiar Chosen standing in the street.

"Mixcoatl!" Kasumi exclaimed.

"And Adan," Akira sighed.

Yasu growled, "Yeah, and Ines and Bolades too."

"Where's your brother?" Kasumi shouted.

"He and Kenji went to check something out in the bay."

"Check something out in the bay?" Falcomon asked.

Yasu's Labramon nodded, "Mr. Yamaki told them there was some weird energy or something, he wanted them to check it out."

"All right, fine," Kasumi nodded, "We'll have to handle this ourselves."

* * *

Adan was nervously glancing around. The DATS building was looming before them, with the edge of the city behind them. "I still don't think this was a good idea, we're completely in their line of sight, and there's no where to hide."

"Quiet!" Mixcoatl snapped, "We will do this, now! I'm not gonna have Rudra and the rest talking down to me!"

"Rudra, huh? That another person you're blaming for your problems?"

The Hunter smirked, "Good, I was hoping it would be you." He looked to the sky as Aero V-dramon, with Kasumi on her back, descended to the ground. Akira, Diatrymon, Yasu, Eliane and Machgaogamon landed a moment later.

Akira jumped off of his partner and stared at the younger Hunter. "Adan…"

Ines was smirking as her eyes focused on Yasu. "Well, the little spoiled princess is here!"

Bolades stepped towards the Brazilian teenager, "Ines, please…"

"No! She has grown up having everything simply handed to her, she knows nothing of true hardship!" She pointed at the blond girl, "Tell me, how would you feel if you were hunted and killed simply because of what you are!"

Yasu growled, "Like your friends are doing to the other DATS agents!"

The Brazilian was clearly shaken, but she quickly regained her composure," Shut up!" She looked to her fellow Hunter, "Bolades!"

The African teenager sighed, "As you wish." She grabbed her digivice, then nodded at her Grizzmon. The large bear Jogressed evolved with Ines's Mekanorimon to form Deramon.

Yasu was clenching her fists so tightly that her nails threatened to draw blood. "You don't have any idea what you're doing! You're hurting so many people, and if the only way to make you understand that is to kick your butt, then that's what we're gonna do! Machgaogamon, go!"

While Deramon and Machgaogamon began to battle, Akira and Adan stared down one another. "Funny how pissed girls can get with each other, huh?" the redheaded boy chuckled, "They're even worse then boys."

Adan stood motionless, "I know what you're going to say, but…."

"Then why don't you listen to it?" the redhead shouted, "Come on, you know what you're doing is wrong, there's still time to change!"

Adan hesitated, "I…I…" He looked to his Gotsumon partner. "W…wha…"

The digimon just nodded, "Whatever you decide, I'll be right behind you."

The Latino boy nodded slowly, "Y..yeah, b…but…" He looked to Akira again, then frown, "My loyalty to my brother has to come first, I'm sorry. Gotsumon…"

His partner began to run forward, "Gotsumon evolve to Monochromon!"

"They just don't get it!" Akira's Diatryamon shouted.

"I guess we got no choice either," the redhead said, "We're just gonna have to arrest them."

His partner nodded, "Gotcha, knock 'em out, but don't kill. No problem."

Mixcoatl pointed his spear at Kasumi. "This is it you know, no more walking away, no more putting this off, today, I'm going to kill you."

"Yeah, yeah," she muttered, "But, do you really think your sister would like what you're doing?"

"Shut up!" he screamed, "You don't know anything!"

"You're wrong!" she shouted back, "I…" She paused, then took a deep breath, "I saw her! I met Maria!"

The Hunter gasped quickly, "W…what? You _saw_ her…?"

"Y…yeah…w…when we were in Neodigital, th…the Demon Master k…k…killed me, and I saw her in the afterlife. Lino," she said, using his real name, "I really did meet her, and she wanted me to stop you…"

Mixcoatl kept his gaze towards the ground, but then he began to roar with laughter. "You know, that was really low for you DATS guys, to saw something like that…"

"I'm not lying!" she shouted.

The Hunter pointed his weapon at her, "Just 'cause you got your ass beaten and you started to hallucinate doesn't mean anything! People don't come back from the dead!"

"I did!" she snapped.

"Enough!" he shouted, charging her with his weapon. He swung down, but she quickly summoned the Claymore of Air, using it to block.

"A weapon?" the Hunter gasped, "Wait…this is Asami's…"

"Not anymore," she replied, gripping it tightly, "She gave it to me to save her life, and I'm gonna use it to save yours! Maria believed enough in me to help give me another chance, and I'm going to repay her by beating some sense into the fucking thick head of yours!"

As they began to fight, their battle lust affected their partners, causing Aero V-dramon and Mammon to battle with extreme ferocity. The dragon slammed her fists into the mammoth's head, but he used his trunk like a whip, batting into her side. Aero V-dramon grabbed the tusk and squeezed tightly. Mammon countered by firing his tusks into the dragon. She was thrown into the air but managed to stop herself. She glared at her opponent, then shot back into battle.

* * *

A mile away, Shiro, Kenji and their partners had arrived at the bay water-front edge of the DATS building's property. They scanned the water, and saw what they were searching for, traveling beneath the surface was a massive black shadow. "Oh man," Kenji frowned, "We just _had_ to find something…"

"It's something all right," Shiro nodded, "But we don't know what it is. We need to get a closer look."

Kenji frowned, "I was afraid you were going to say that."

Shiro lead the group to the water's edge. They strained to examine the shadow, but the water was simply too murky. Kenji turned to Shiro, "You don't want to dive under the water, do you?"

"No," he said with a slight smile, "That's what _you're_ for."

Kenji muttered, "Finally develops a sense of humor…"

His Otamamon laughed, "Oh come on, don't be so scared. Here, I'll go first." He dove off of the ledge and into the water.

"Otamamon!" Kenji shouted.

"That idiot!" Psychemon exclaimed, "He's going to get hurt!"

The Deep Saver poked his head through the surface, "Oh, it's fine."

"Don't just sit there!" Kenji exclaimed, "Hurry and look at what that thing is before…"

Otamamon was suddenly thrown through the air as a beam of red light exploded from the dark shape. The digimon twisted through the air before crashing into his partner, "…it knows you're there," Kenji sighed.

The shape suddenly began to move; like a torpedo, it shot towards a metal pier that jutted into the water. "It's got to be a digimon," Psychemon said, as they chased after it, "Nothing native to Earth can move like that."

"Or fire energy blasts," Otamamon muttered, "I think my butt's singed."

The dark figure moved faster then the DATS team could run, and quickly reached the pier. The water parted as a black claw broke the surface, grabbing hold of the metal structure before another claw joined it. The two limbs strained and a face soon emerged from the depth, followed by the rest of the body-a massive black lion. The creature roared into the sky before continuing walking forward.

"Where's he going in such a hurry?" Otamamon asked.

"That's got to be an Ancient!" Kenji gasped, "Look how big it is!"

"An Ancient?" Shiro asked, "You mean those warriors you had to fight in that temple?"

"Yeah," he nodded.

Psychemon swallowed, "Well, does it really matter what it is? Because it's heading straight for DATS!"

* * *

Outside the building, the battle between Kasumi's group and the Hunters were raging. The teenager girl and the Hunter were dueling with their weapons, while Aero V-dramon and Mammon fought in the air and on the ground. Akira was still pleading with Adan while his Diatrymon reluctantly battled Adan's Monochromon. Ines and Yasu were still tossing insults at one another while their Jogress partners only watched.

* * *

The Hunter, Rudra was easily batting aside the feeble resistance offered by Aleksey's Pteranomon, Joey's Gawappamon, Dingo's Gesomon X, Lynna's Ebidramon and Anna's Unimon.

* * *

Hikari and Miayag watched as their partners fought against Ancient Mermaimon, barely holding their own against the ancient. Dynasmon X was doing far better against Ancient Volcamon, but not nearly enough.

* * *

Asami's Grappleomon and Araki's Phantomon appeared to be evenly matched, but the teenage girl knew it was only a matter of time before the ghostly demon would overtake her beast man.

* * *

Kazuki sat in the conference room while Taichi readied himself to make his case against the Minister of Finance.

* * *

And while these battles erupted against the DATS agency, the Hunters continued their extermination of the Chosen…

…and Ancient Sphinxmon began his march towards the DATS command building.

To be continued……..


	32. The Agent of Destruction: Chapter 2

_My name is Mitsuo Yamaki, one of the commanders of DATS. The organization was fifteen years in the making; I was attempting to build the need for this organization in the Japanese Diet, while Taichi and Yamato were rising through the ranks of the Japanese government and military. Taichi became a member of the Diet, while Yamato was quickly climbing through the ranks of the military. Ten years ago, we were finally ready, and the agency was founded. We built this organization from nothing, and I assume that's why when the Finance Minster, Kazuki, demanded the list of the undercover DATS agents in exchange for reopening DATS, I think Taichi had no choice. But now, that list he gave to Kazuki is being used to kill Chosen around the world. He is about to confront Kazuki on the charges that he is working with the Hunters._

_ Hikari was leading a group to go after Masanori and Araki to stop them from awakening the Agent of Destruction to continue with Lord Sentry's plan, but two Ancients arrived. Hikari, Miayag, and Gabe started to fight Ancient Mermaimon and Ancient Volcamon, while Masa fought Masanori and Asami started to fight Araki._

_ Back on Earth, Mixcoatl, Adan, Ines and Bolades arrived, and Kasumi, Akira, Yasu and Eliane started to fight them. And lastly, a giant Ancient, Ancient Sphinixmon, started his march towards the DATS building. Things are not looking good._

--

_Digimon__: Magog_

_The Agent of Destruction:_

_Chapter 2_

_--_

Outside the DATS building, the battle between Kasumi's group and the Hunters were raging. The teenager girl and the Hunter were dueling with their weapons, while Aero V-dramon and Mammon fought in the air and on the ground. Akira was still pleading with Adan while his Diatrymon reluctantly battled Adan's Monochromon. Ines and Yasu were still tossing insults at one another while their Jogress partners only watched.

Mixcoatl gripped his Spear of Earth tightly as he once again charged at Kasumi. The DATS agent had her own weapon, the Claymore of Air, which she used to block the deadly accuracy of the Hunter. "I'm impressed," he chuckled, thrusting with his spear, "You've only had the weapon for a few days, but you act like you've used it all your life." He smiled, "I guess maybe there really is a thing called destiny."

"You wanna talk about destiny?" Kasumi huffed, trying her best to keep up with her opponent, "Well, I hardly think _your_ destiny is this!"

"Your parents made this destiny for me when they left me…left _us_.." he mentioned to Adan, Ines and Bolades, "Our family members were killed, but they never came to comfort or heal, they left us to hate!"

"You're just fooling yourself!" Kasumi screamed, "Come on, wake up!"

Despite the battle, Mixcoatl was able to make an observation, "Something's…different about you…you're not talking like you usually do…"

Kasumi did not answer.

Aero V-dramon rose into the air, staring down at Mammon for only a moment before exhaling a blast of red hot air in the shape of a pointed beam. "V-breath Arrow!"

The mammoth fired two missiles from his tusks. "Tusk Strikes!"

The projectiles struck the energy beam, exploding with such force that both combatants were thrown backwards. Mammon landed on his side, and struggled to rise to his feet, but Aero V-dramon twisted through the air, and was easily able to right herself. She dove for the fallen mammoth, the sharp blades jutting from her forearms glowing with energy."Twister Saber!"

Mammon suddenly whipped his tusk so it was pointed at the dragon, "Tundra Breath!"

"Shit!" Aero V-dramon screamed, climbing into the air, but the mammoth's icy breath struck her tail, coating the tip in a sheet of ice. The suddenly increase of weight dragged the dragon back to the ground. Mammon attempted to jab her with his tusks, but she began to block with the blades on her wrists.

Adan and Akira were both reluctantly watching their partners battle. As Monochromon bashed his head into Diatrymon, Adan wanted to call out to his partner, order him to stop, but he knew that he could not. As Diatrymon tackled Monochromon, Akira wanted to shout with all his might, plead with Adan to stop, but knew that his words fell on deaf ears. So both boys stood in silence as their partners fought for no reason at all.

"Howling Cannon!" Machgaogamon screamed, firing a blast of energy from his mouth. Deramon rolled to the side, avoiding the energy blast. He trotted forward quickly, pulling his head back as he leapt into the air.

"Royal Smasher!"

Machgaogamon quickly blocked his head with his arm. Deramon began to pound his beack into the metal gauntlet like a woodpecker. When the Bird finally pulled his head back, the metal gauntlet fell from the Cyborg's arm, clanking to the ground. While Deramon chuckled, Machgaogamon swung his other fist around, pounding it into the Bird's nose, throwing him backwards like a ball.

"Ha ha!" Yasu laughed, "Yeah, get 'em Machgaogamon!"

"Do not let it affect you, Deramon!" Ines called, "You can do it!"

"No he can't! It's all you, Machgaogamon!"

Ines stared at the younger girl, "Spoiled princess!"

Yasu sneered at the older girl, "Arrogant bitch!"

Both girls glared at each other, rage radiating from their eyes.

Their Jogress partners watched hesitantly. Eliane placed a hand on Yasu's shoulders, "Are you sure you really want to fight her?"

Bolades stood in front of Ines, "Are you sure this is the best course of action?"

"Yes!" they both shouted at their human partners. They then both turned to their digimon partners, "Get him!" they shouted in unison.

* * *

The Hunter, Rudra was easily batting aside the feeble resistance offered by Aleksey's Pteranomon, Joey's Gawappamon, Dingo's Gesomon X, Lynna's Ebidramon and Anna's Unimon.

After their initial attack failed miserably, Lynna was the one to rally the group. "Come on! We hafta fight back! Make this guy pay for killin' so many Chosen!"

Rudra only smirked. "Yes, I did that…and it was fun too. I had such a rush, but not nearly as much as this!" He swung his arm to the side and a group of his locusts swooped down to attack. Unimon's Holy Shot was enough to sent them screeching back.

"They are hungry," Anna mentioned, "I hear it in their vibrations."

Lynna squeezed her friend's hand, "Come on guys!"

Dingo nodded to his wife, then looked to Aleksey, Joey and their digimon. "Attack him together, hit 'em with everyin' we got!"

"Try all you like, it won't work," the Hunter chuckled.

The digimon did not listen to the taunts and leapt into battle. Each one blasted their projectile attacks, attempting to stay out of reach of the buzzing locusts, but the insects were able to block every attack. Rudra then swung his arms wildly, causing the insects to act like battering rams, knocking the digimon to the ground.

"Damn it!" Joey swore, clenching his fists.

"Stay calm," Aleksey cautioned, "It will do us no good to be lost in rage."

"But this guy's kickin' our butts!" he exclaimed, "We gotta do somethin!"

Rudra responded, "Continue to fight and die, or surrender and die. Either way, I win…"

* * *

Hikari and Miayag watched as their partners fought against Ancient Mermaimon, barely holding their own against the ancient. Dynasmon X was doing far better against Ancient Volcamon, but not nearly enough.

"This guy's really tough!" the Knight shouted as he blocked the Ancient's jab.

"Your flattery will not get you anywhere against me," he replied, swinging his right fist. Dynasmon X crossed his arms over his face and the Ancient's fist connected with the arms, cracking the metal gauntlets. AncientVolcamon grabbed Dynasmon X's arm and swung him around quickly before smashing him into the ground. He then jumped into the air and fell as hard as he could, body- slamming the knight. Dynasmon X swung his legs around, knocking the Ancient onto the ground. He executed a back-roll, landing on his feet. He took a deep, then unleashed an explosive aura. "Breath of Wyvern!"

AncientVolcamon was thrown backwards, tumbling across the ground like a bowling ball. Dynasmon X followed, ready to continue the attack, but the Ancient twisted around and fired a mighty explosion from his back, "Supernova!"

Dynasmon X shot into the air to avoid AncientVolcamon's attack, but he did not avoid the second one, and the eruption blasted him in the back.

Only a few feet away, Hikari's Nefertimon X fired her Curse of Queen beams, but Ancient Mermaimon whipped them aside with a swipe of her trident. Miayag's Bastemon darted around behind the Ancient and slashed at her back. Ancient Mermaimon whipped around, knocking her trident into the cat woman, causing her to wince loudly.

"Bastemon!" Miayag exclaimed, "Are you harmed?"

"No, not yet, at least," she hissed, leaping to her partner's side.

"This isn't good," Hikari sighed, "Can't you evolve?"

Miayag shook her head, "No, my son is now the owner of the Staff of Fate. I could call it, but then he would loose his power."

The other woman nodded. "Yes, I see."

Ancient Mermaimon raised her trident, gathering water vapor into a ball near the point of the middle spear. "Crystal Billow!" She swung the weapon, sending the water vapors, now transformed into barrage of crystals that tore across the two digimon.

Hikari grimaced. "Well, I think we had better think of something…fast!"

"Yeah," Nefertimon X replied, "Or we're all going to be destroyed."

Ancient Mermaimon stared at her opponents, "While I respect your desire to keep your honor by fighting to the end, it will do no good, I will defeat you, for I serve the greater good."

"Listen to yourself!" Miayag shouted, "You are an honorable warrior, all of your group are, but in this instance you are misguided. We do not desire to bring any harm to the Digital World, we wish to save it."

"That may be, but your very presence is threatening the existence of this world. I must destroy you!"

* * *

On another section of the battlefield in the dark area of the Agent of Destruction, a fierce battle was erupting between two Mega dragons, both reflections of one another. Dorughoramon blocked a punch by Dexdorughoramon with his palm. "Please, we shouldn't be fighting!"

"Stop with that sentimental speeches!" Dexdorughoramon exclaimed, "You may be my brother, but that means nothing to me! We are enemies, I travel one path, and you travel another. That is enough for me."

"It's not for me!" the other shouted.

Beneath them, Asami's Grappleomon and Araki's Metal Phantomon appeared to be evenly matched, but the teenage girl knew it was only a matter of time before the ghostly demon would overtake her beast man.

"Soul Predator!" the phantom shouted, swinging his scythe with such force that the air exploded with energy blades, tearing across Grappleomon's skin.

"Don't give up!" Asami shouted from the sideline, "We are the only ones standing in their way, we can't let them awaken the Agent!"

--

Kazuki sat in the conference room while Taichi readied himself to make his case against the Minister of Finance. "Hurry up, Yagami," Kazuki growled, glancing at his watch, "I have a very important…"

"No you don't," he answered, locking the door of the conference room, "I've checked your schedule."

"What? You broke into my office to read my private file? The Prime Minister will hear of this!"

"Shut up!" Taichi screamed, "You're not going to be talking to the Prime Minister again, at least, not without a set of bars between you!"

He blinked, "What are you talking about?"

"DATS agents are being exterminated around the world by the Hunters! And they only way they could know where each agent is, is by that list you forced me to give you!"

Kazuki blinked, "Y…you think I have something to do with those terrorists? Yagami, you have clearly lost your mind."

Taichi cracked his fist across Kazuki's face. The Minister of Finance stare at him, rubbing his jaw, "Yagami, you're going to end up in prison for the rest of your life for this!"

He went to stand up, but Taichi pushed him back into the chair. He put both of his arms on the arms of the chair and stared directly at Kazuki's face. "You're not leaving here unless you tell me where the Hunters are!"

He was about to respond, but Taichi moved in closer, "And don't tell me that they'll kill you if you talk, because the one you really need to be scare of is me!"

Outside, Yamato was pacing the floor in front of the conference room door. "I still don't think it's a good idea for him to do this alone."

"Yeah," Agumon X grumbled, "We know, you've only said it 15 times."

The blond man glared at him, "He's _your_ partner, why aren't you worried?"

"Come on," the orange dinosaur said, "Taichi can handle one pencil pusher."

"I think he's right," Gabumon X added, "He's just a normal human, I think Taichi will be fine."

Yamato crossed his arms, "Well, I still don't like it."

* * *

Ancient Sphinxmon began his march towards the DATS command building. The actual building was built on the Tokyo Bay water front, to ease with transportation of sensitive material; the same reason that DATS has a private railway system. Due to this secretive nature, a nearly half-mile perimeter existed between the building and the outer walls. The Ancient was now smashing his way through the concrete wall with relative ease.

Shiro, Kenji and Otamamon were chasing him riding atop Gururumon. Ancient Sphinxmon was quite large, and moved slowly, so they caught up to him quickly. Although, they were not sure what to do once they arrived at his large hind legs.

"Let me handle this!" Otamamon shouted, leaping from the wolf's back. Kenji attempted to grab his partner's leg, but he was just out of reach. Otamamon evolved as he leapt through the air, reaching his Grademon form. The large knight landed on Ancient Sphixmon's back and held his swords above his head.

"All right, let's see how you like this!" He went to jab his sword into the Ancient's back, but Ancient Sphnixmon had a thick coat of armor around his torso, and Grademon's sword bounce violently against it. The vibrations caused Grademon to stumbled off of the Ancient's back, landing hard on the ground.

"You idiot!" Gururumon growled.

"Hey, give me a break!" he shouted back.

"Stop arguing!" Shiro ordered, "We've got to stop him!"

* * *

In the mysterious dark world, the two dragons were continuing their fierce battle. Dorughoramon swung his fists into Dexdorughoramon's back. The Virus whipped his tail around, striking the other in the head. Dorughoramon grabbed the tail and began to spin his reflection around in the air before releasing him, sending him into a tailspin. Dexdorughoramon quickly righted himself. Both dragons stared at each other, their mouths glowing brightly with flames.

"Doru Diin!" they both screamed, throwing their balls of flames into each other. They exploded in a spectacular light show.

Down below, Grappleomon dodged a swipe of Metal Phantomon's scythe, then fired a blast of energy from his fist, "Lion Beast Killing Wave!" The phantom darted aside, but Grappleomon whipped his leg around, cracking his foot against Metal Phantomon's back.

Asami cheered, but Araki glared. "Metal Phantomon, you can't lose, understand?"

"Yes," he replied, gripping his weapon, "I will not lose." He swiped again and Grappleomon rolled to the side, but the blade cut away a swath of skin on his leg.

"Grappleomon!" Asami screamed.

"Don't worry," he hissed, "I…I'm fine."

"Nicely done, Metal Phantomon," Araki nodded, "Very good."

Above them, Dexdorughoramon had succeeded in landing a hard punch in his double's face, knocking him back. He turned to stare at the Demon Priestess down below. "Araki!" he hissed, "What are you doing? Accomplish that which we came here for!"

She winced, then nodded, "Y..yes, of course." She turned and ran towards the shoreline.

"Go after her!" Grappleomon called to his partner, "I'll cover you."

Asami nodded, then quickly ran around the two battling digimon. Metal Phantomon raised his scythe to attack her, but Grappleomon swung his leg around. "Whirlwind Kick!"

Araki ran to the shore and stood in the cool sand, allowing the waves to splash against her legs. She reached into her cloak and pulled out the _Gjallorhorn__._ She paused for a moment, staring at the dark sea, then took a deep breath and blew into the instrument. The sound waves emanated so base and low that the entire ground shook. Asami ran up to her, only to stop when she witnessed a geyser of water only a few feet from shore. A statue had erupted through the surface, a statue that was of a black marble, in the shape of a snarling gargoyle. Asami forget herself and called out, "That's the Agent?"

"Yes," Araki replied, "He is trapped within, sealed there by Yuushi and Juro. And as their combined energy trapped him, only the combined Fate and Chance may release him." The Demon Priestess grabbed the two crystals from within her cloak, the same crystals that contained the energy of Fate and Chance. She pointed then at the far statue…

"No!" Asami shouted, running towards her, "I won't let you!"

A beam of gold fired from the Fate crystal, and a beam of silver fired from the Chance crystal. Asami tackled Araki to the ground, but it was already too late, the twirling energies both found their mark, smashing into the center of the statue and coating it in a gray color. Both girls stared in anticipation as the statue began to quake, then crack, before exploding into the sea. The shards of the statue seemed to melt as it hit the water, turning into a black film. However, their eyes were staring at the statue…or rather, the nothing that remained.

"No…no!" Araki gasped, "I…I don't understand…t…the Agent should be trapped within…."

Dorughoramon landed behind them, chuckling. "Well, it appears that your information was completely wrong."

Dexdorughoramon arrived a moment later, with Grappleomon, who threw an unconscious Pico Devimon at Araki's feet. "Metal Phantomon has been subdued," he said with a chuckle.

Dexdorughoramon growled. "Well, I do not know what has happened to the Agent, but I will not leave here without your heads!"

"You've lost!" Dorughoramon gasped, dodging a punch from his double, "Just give it up."

"No!" he screamed, "This isn't over! If we can't have the Agent, if we can't have the path to god, then we'll have your heads!"

The virus dragon fired shards of metal from his mouth, which Dorughoramon countered with his own Brave Metal technique. Both attacks impacted each other, covering the sky in a sparkling sea of metal.

Dexdorughoramon darted beneath the sparkling sight and executed an uppercut to Dorughoramon's chin. The dragon twisted around, and the dark dragon continued his assault. He began to slam and bash, whip and pound, again and again until Dorughoramon was able to fly out of the way. He whipped his tail around, striking the back of his dark double. He took a deep breath and exhaled a blast of hot flames that leapt across Dexdorughoramon. "Doru Dinn!"

Asami cheered as Dexdorughoramon slowly fell to the ground.

They were all unaware, however, that the black oil created from the dissolving statue was moving towards the shore.

* * *

As the battles raged around them, time seemed to stand still for Kasumi and Mixcoatl. The Hunter was determined to kill the girl for reasons he was now not even certain of, while Kasumi was trying to save the boy because of a promise she made to his older sister, a woman she only met once, yet felt as though she was a very old friend. Kasumi knew that words would not do any good, so she would have to use force.

She held her Claymore tightly, waiting for the Hunter's next attack. He glared for a moment, then charged. The girl braced herself, but the Hunter used his fire and brimstone technique, slamming the Spear into the ground and sending up a hail of rocks that fell back to earth covered in flames. Kasumi braced herself, but that gave Mixcoatl the opportunity to throw her to the ground. He pressed his weapon against her neck, her weapon lying only a few inches out of reach.

She looked around: Aero V-dramon and Mammon were still fighting, as were Machgaogamon and Deramon. Yasu and Ines still shouting taunts at one another. She turned back to Mixcoatl, who was pressing his Spear tightly against her neck, "What, no more taunts or comebacks?"

"You already know what I'm gonna say."

"You're right," he said with a chuckle, "So let me shut you up before you say it!"

He tightened his grip on his weapon, but did not push the tip through the girl's neck. Instead, he hesitated, not moving. "_What am I doing?"_ he thought, staring down at her, "_This is what I've wanted, this is what Lord Sentry wanted me to do! I am a Hunter, this is my mission, I have to! What's wrong with me? No! I have to do this!"_

Suddenly, a massive growl was heard blasting through the area. The battles ceased and all eyes glanced in all directions. "What the heck was that?" Yasu exclaimed.

"Up!" was all Eliane was able to exclaim. Coming down to the ground fast was a black shape that landed with such force that threw everyone onto the ground.

They all stared at the massive figure, Eliane and Yasu even quivering. Akira was gasping, "Is that…an Ancient?"

Akira nodded, "Yes, that has to be it!"

"Ancient?" Aero V-dramon asked, "What's an Ancient?"

"You don't want to know," Mammon answered, "Let's just say that even Masa and Dorumon had trouble with the ones we faced."

"You're kidding, right?" Yasu gasped, "_He_ had trouble?"

They were soon joined by Shiro, Kenji, Grademon and Gururumon. Shiro stared deeply at Mixcoatl. "Are you here to help?"

The Hunter stared back.

"Right," the other boy sighed, "Of course…"

The creature suddenly flapped his golden wings, sending an explosion of air through the area. "I am Ancient Sphinxmon, I have come to destroy you, traitors of the Dragon Warriors. Prepare your feeble defense, so I may break it down before moving onto my true target." He glanced towards the DATS building half a mile behind them.

"What?" Kasumi gasped.

"Long story," Gururumon growled, "But we barely took down the Ancients we faced in Neodigital, and I don't think they even come close to this guy."

Shiro sighed, "All right, Psychemon and I will jump in, Kasumi, if you can evolve to Mega, I'll need your help. Machgaogamon and Grademon, back us up. Akira, run back to DATS, get Mr. Yamaki, and our fathers. Hunters, if you're not going to help, then please just get out of our way. Let's go!"

Gururumon charged forward with Shiro on his back. The boy summoned the Lance of Darkness into his hands. Their bodies began to glow brightly in unison. Gururumon devolved to Psychemon, then merged with Shiro to form Duftmon X so fast it happened in the blink of an eye. Grademon quickly followed. Yasu and Eliane nodded at one another, then the pigtailed girl glanced to Ines. "I'll kick your butt later." She turned back, then ran forward, "We're coming, Oniichan."

Aero V-dramon landed next to Kasumi, regressing to Yuki Agumon. The teenage girl turned to Mixcoatl, "Are you gonna help?"

"No," he said, "I'm through helping you, my mission is to kill you! I could easily do it now, but what's the sport in that?"

"Oh come on!" she exclaimed. She pointed at Ancient Sphinxmon, "If he gets past us, he'll go on to kill all the humans on Earth. Don't you care! You're human too! What about your family?"

"I don't have a family anymore!" he screamed.

"What about your brother?!"

He flinched, turning to where Adan was standing with Akira. "Come on," Kasumi said again, softer this time, "You just want to protect your little brother, I want to do the same with mine. I know little brothers can be a pain, but…how lonely would you be without them?" She smiled slightly, "Please, from one big sibling to the next, help me protect my brother."

He hesitated for another moment, breathing heavily. He finally turned, pointing his Spear at Ancient Sphinxmon, "Mammon!"

His large mammoth trampled forward, bashing his head into Ancient Sphinxmon's face. The human ran after his partner, and Kasumi smiled, "I guess you were right Maria, he _is_ pretty cool after all."

"Well?" Yuki Agumon asked, slightly annoyed, "Are we fighting or not?"

"Oh yeah," she grinned, gripping the Claymore, "Ready?"

The small dinosaur nodded. "Yeah, let's go! Yuki Agumon warp evolve to Alforce V-dramon X!"

As the large knight flew into battle, Ines and Bolades stood on the sides, nervously watching. The Brazilian girl mentioned to Mixcoatl, "He runs off, but what do we do?"

"Help them," Adan answered, "We're going to help DATS."

Bolades smiled, "Very well. Come, Deramon, let us…"

"No," Adan said, shaking his head, "There's another way."

"What?"

Adan turned to Akira, "In your building, you're holding the Shield of Metal and the Bow of Forest, right?"

The redheaded boy nodded, "Y…yeah…"

Akira turned back to the two teenage girls, "Go to DATS and bring those weapons back. You have the powers that will be needed to charge them again."

"And then more Megas!" Ines nodded.

Bolades grinned, "A good plan. Ines, Deramon, let us go."

"Great idea," Akira nodded, turning to stare at the battle, "Now, are we gonna jump in?"

The other boy grinned, "Of course."

Their digimon charged, ready to join the battle. Diatrymon leapt into the air and exhaled a blast of supersonic sound waves. "Destruction Roar!"

Monochromon joined, spewing blasts of flames at the large sphinx. "Volcanic Strike!"

Ancient Sphinxmon seemed to laugh as he easily batted aside the Adults' attacks. He then ducked to jab his head into the incoming Mammon, bouncing him backwards. He then exhaled a massive blast of dark energy at the incoming Machgaogamon before using his wings to block the energy blasts of Duftmon X and Alforce V-dramon X.

"Shit!" Alforce V-dramon X swore, "This guy's kicking our butts!"

"No!" Mixcoatl snapped, "We will not give up! Mammon!"

The mammoth jumped to his feet. "Tusk Strikes!" He fired his twin missiles from his tusks. They blasted into Ancient Sphinxmon's face, but he did not seem fazed.

"He iz not even hurt!" Eliane exclaimed.

"I bet he is," Kenji nodded, "He's just not showing it. Grademon, attack the same spot!"

"You too Machgaogamon," Yasu ordered her partner, "If he's not hurt, make him hurt!"

The wolf man took a deep breath, then screamed, "Howling Cannon!" A beam of energy shot from his mouth, smashing into Ancient Sphinxmon's face. Grademon was right behind the beam, using his swords to slash across the impact zone of the Tusk Strikes and Howling Cannon.

"There," the warrior said, hovering in the air, "That had to hurt!"

"Grademon!" Kenji screamed, "Don't just sit there!"

Ancient Sphinxmon took a deep breath, then blasted forth a ball of darkness from his mouth, "Dark Blast!" This energy bomb grabbed Grademon and smashed into Mammon and Machgoagomon. When the dark light faded, Otamamon, Patamon, Mushmon and Labramon remained.

"Oh no!" Eliane gasped.

"They're Childs again!" Mixcoatl shouted, "Damn it!"

Adan called over to him, "We're still here, Big Brother."

Duftmon X swooped over them, "But you're not strong enough, leave it to us."

Akira gasped, "But…"

"No butts," Alforce V-dramon X ordered, "Just stay there." She joined Duftmon X as he began his assault.

Duftmon X held his rapier above his head, then slashed quickly sending a mist spiraling into the Ancient. "Brown Mist!"

Alforce V-dramon X joined her friend, blasting a V-shaped beam from the V-shaped chestplate, "Shining V-force!"

Ancient Sphinxmon used his wings as shields, blocking the attacks. When he flung them back open, he fired two beams of red light from his eyes, "Necro Eclipse!" The two knights twisted around in the sky to avoid the blasts, but to no avail. The red beams struck their targets, sending both knights into a tailspin.

"Kasumi!" Akira shouted, watching Alforce V-dramon crashing into the ground. He started running towards her, but Ancient Sphinxmon noticed this. He unleashed another Necro Eclipse, this one exploding into the ground next to Akira. The redheaded boy was sent flying backwards before landing on the ground, hard.

"Akira!" Yasu exclaimed.

"Akira!" Adan shouted. He ran to the boy's side, Monochromon and Diatrymon following. The redheaded boy was lying motionless on the ground, his eyes closed. Adan gently lifted up Akira's back and shook his forcible, "Akira…Akira!"

The boy still would not move. "AKIRA!" Adan shouted shaking him even harder.

The redhead's eyes suddenly opened, gasping for air. "A…Adan?" he asked, panting heavily.

"You're okay!" Diatrymon exclaimed, gently rubbing his beak against his partner's head.

Akira hugged Diatrymon's head, then looked to Adan. "T…thanks…"

The other boy shrugged, "I…I didn't do…"

Akira only smiled and held out his hand. Adan returned the smile and grabbed it. Their hands began to glow bright; their partners began to glow too, exploding in light.

**Akira and Adan's digivices blinked, then turned to the same color, a dark red. A beam of light fired from both smashed together, sending out a glowing circle. Monochromon shot around from the left, "Monochromon…" Diatrymon shot around from the right, "Diatrymon…"**

**"Jogress evolve to…"**

**The two digimon began to spin around before entering the glowing circle, emerging as one being. A metal plate appeared over the figure's chest, sprouting a set of spiked wings. His left hand glowed, turning into a large gun barrel, which he promptly loaded, then spun the chamber before locking it into place.**

**"Rizegreymon!"**

The others stared in amazement at the large dinosaur dragon. "Wow!" Yasu said in awe, clutching her Labramon tightly, "They evolved just like us…"

Eliane nodded, too shocked to speak.

"So that's a Jogress evolution," Kenji nodded, "Amazing."

Akira and Adan held their vibrating digivices, "Ready?" Akira asked.

Adan nodded. "Yes."

Both boys shouted in unison, "Get him!"

Rizegreymon pointed his gun arm squarely at Ancient Sphinxmon's face. "Trident Revolver!" Three massive bullets of energy blasted from the barrel, smashing into the Ancient's nose.

"Yeah!" Akira exclaimed, "That's it!"

Ancient Sphinxmon roared loudly, flapping his wings. Rizegreymon's attack had no affect at all. "We need to think of something fast," Duftmon X panted, "Or he is going to destroy us all!"

* * *

Both Taichi and Kazuki glanced to the ceiling as alarms began to blare. "What's going on now?" Taichi gasped, running to a phone that was attached to the wall. He yanked it off of the receiver and placed it against his ear. "Mitsuo, what's going on?"

"The Hunters are attacking," he shouted back before the line suddenly went dead.

"What is going on here, Yagami?" Kazuki demanded.

Taichi turned to face him, "Looks like your Hunters are attacking."

"What?" he gasped, "The Hunters are attacking here?"

"Oh, drop the damn act!" Taichi snapped, "I know you're working with them, just admit it already!"

Kazuki sighed deeply, then began to chuckle, "Yes, perhaps you're right. I didn't order any group of Hunters to attack your building, they have acted completely on their own. But, it doesn't matter much now, anyway, we're so close to completely our plans, I think it's safe to reveal myself to you."

Taichi stared at him for a moment, then slowly smiled, "So, it's been you all along, hasn't it, Schmidt!"

Kazuki tapped his check three times, and his face began to shimmer before transforming into the half-metal face of Victor von Schmidt, now known as Lord Sentry. "Had light projection," he explained, "I can, theoretically, look like anyone."

"Stop bragging, you fucking bastard!" Taichi shouted, "You used me to get the list of DATS agents, just so you could….could exterminate them!"

"That's right," he sneered, "Your entire army, gone, made all the better, because it was _you_ that practically handed them over to me."

Taichi's eyes lowered, growling under his breath.

* * *

Rudra was roaring with laughter as he hovered in the air. His locusts were still buzzing around him noisily. "So," he chuckled, crossing his arms, "Do you want to keep this up, or are you ready to surrender?"

Joey and Aleksey stared up at him, while their partners stood beside them. Behind them stood Dingo, Lynna and Anna, their partners had been regressed to their Child forms, only Joey's Gawappamon and Aleksey's Pteranomon were left. "Do ya think we're just gonna let ya kill us?" Joey snapped, "Ya don't have any idea who you're dealing with, huh?"

"Actually, I do, and I'm not impressed."

Joey growled, clenching his fists tightly, "You little piece of shit…"

"Joey!" Dingo snapped, "Stay calm, understand?"

He ignored the advice of his father and shouted to his partner, "Gawappamon, make him pay!"

The Deep Saver began to fire a barrage of discs from the top of his head, "DJ Shooter!"

Rudra's locusts quickly swarmed from side to side, devouring the discus before they could ever reach the Hunter. "I'm sorry," he chuckled, "Let me know when you're ready."

Pteranomon glanced to Aleksey, "I am sorry, but my temper is about to get the better of me."

The Russian boy nodded, "Yes, I think mine is too…"

The Wind Guardian grinned and shot into the air. "Side Winder!" he unleashed a wave of missiles from his wings, which were, as before, devoured by the locusts. Gawappamon tried another round of DJ Shooters, but the locusts annihilated each and every projectile.

"Damn it!" Joey screamed.

"This is not working," Aleksey said.

"Yeah," he replied, "I know."

Rudra yawned, "Well, this has been fun, but it's time I got on with my mission." He uncrossed his arms, and his bugs instantly maneuvered into line formation. "May whatever god you worship watch over you souls!" He raised his fist, then swung it down quickly. The locusts shot down like a whip, whacking Gawappamon and Pteranomon to the ground.

Joey sighed deeply, dropping to the ground, "I hate ta say this, but I think we're screwed."

"No!" Anna called, still gripping Lynna's hand, "You must not give up! You are stronger then you think you are, you must believe in yourselves!"

"My mother is right," Aleksey nodded. He held out his hand, "Come, get to your feet, and let's continue this fight."

Joey stared at him, then smiled, "Yeah, ya're right. Heh, we're complete opposites, you're so serious all the time, and I always fly off the handle."

"That is why we make a good team."

The Australian nodded and held out his hand, grabbing it tightly. Their hands began to glow brightly, showering the battlefield.

**Joey and Aleksey's digivices blinked, then turned to the same color, a light purple. A beam of light fired from both smashed together, sending out a glowing circle. Gawappamon shot around from the left, "Gawappamon…" Pteranomon shot around from the right, "Pteranomon…"**

**"Jogress evolve to…"**

**The two digimon began to spin around before entering the glowing circle, emerging as one being. A red cloth spun around the figure, attaching to his neck as a cape. He held out his hands and green, scaly gauntlets appeared on his forearms. He grabbed a metal staff and twirled it above his head.**

**"Shawujinmon!"**

Rudra was clearly surprised. "Shawujinmon? Jogress evolution?"

"Jogress evolution?" Anna gasped, "Lynna, tell me, have they…"

"Oh yeah," the Australian woman grinned, "And I think Rudra's about to get his ass kicked!"

"Hardly," the Hunter sneered, spreading open his arms, "It doesn't matter how many times you evolve, I'll still complete my mission and send you to your graves."

Aleksey and Joey held their digivices while Shawujinmon leapt into the air. He held his staff above his head and spoke in a mixture of Pteranomon and Gawappamon. "Demon Slaying Staff: Whirlpool Formation!" He started to spin his staff quickly, sending out bursts of water through the air.

"Heh," Rudra laughed, "This again? Haven't you yet learned that you can't get past my locusts." He swung his arms from left to right, "Go my pets, go!"

The locusts swarmed around the balls of water and attempted to devour them, but their familiar technique did not work, the aqua spheres instead passed through their swarms and smashed into Rudra.

"What?!" the Hunter gasped.

"Ha!" Joey laughed, "Your bugs can eat anything, but it looks like they can't eat water!"

"Liquid," Aleksey clarified, "They cannot digest liquids."

"Whatever, point is we're kickin' ass!"

Shauwjinmon continued to execute his technique, firing round after round of water, smashing into Rudra, throwing him from left to right in the air. When he finally regained himself, he twisted to face his opponents, "When I get my hands on you…!"

He gasped loudly when he saw Shawujinmon hovering directly above his head. "Crescent Moon Slash!" he screamed, whacking the Hunter's head with his staff. Rudra spun through the air before slamming into the ground. He jumped back to his feet, "You will all…No!"

The DATS Agents were no where in sight. "Well," Rudra chuckled, "They can't get far, I can track them…"

He blinked for a moment, then light hit the left side of his head. He winked his left eye, but while he could see perfectly from his right, his left eye was nothing but a sea of static. "Damn it! They disabled my tracking unit!" He sneered, "Well, enjoy your escape for now, this is far from over!

* * *

Ancient Volcamon stared at Dynasmon X, the small volcano on his back spewing with molten lava. "Fight well, Said that I kill you."

The royal knight tightened his fists, his eyes narrowing. "Yeah, well, if you just walk away now and don't bother us anymore, I won't have to destroy you."

The Ancient chuckled, "Can't let you escape, you too powerful. If join Ancients, then you be saved." He smiled, "If you join, then you be hero, waking when Digital World in trouble.."

"Can't do it, sorry. There's too many people here that I care about. You're going to destroy them after me, so I've got to stop you here."

Ancient Volcamon nodded, "So be it. Atomic Bomber!" The volcano on his back erupted, acting like a rocket pack, propelling him forward, whacking his fist into Dynasmon X's head, twisting him around in place. He then whipped his other fist around, cracking across the Knight's nose. Dynasmon X countered with his own limb using his gauntlets to slash a large gash across Ancient Volcamon's side. The Ancient whipped both of his hands around, crushing Dynasmon X's head within his mighty fists. The Royal Knight stumbled backwards, but was able to leap into the air seconds before Ancient Volcamon charged him.

The Royal Knight shot further into the air, then unleashed a tremendous blast of energy. "Breath of Wyvern!"

Ancient Volcamon braced himself, then fired an eruption from the volcano on his back, "Supernova!"

Both attacks exploded with one another, covering the dark sky with light. Ancient Volcamon rose to his feet and chuckled. Dynasmon X suddenly swooped down, grabbed the Ancient's arm, and yanked him high into the air.

Meanwhile, Nefertimon X and Bastemon were still battling against Ancient Mermaimon. The Ancient began to swing her trident from left to right very quickly, and the black sea began to recede just as quickly, only to splash onto the shore with devastating force. "Great Maelstrom!"

"Tsunami!" Bastemon gasped.

Nefertimon X swooped down and grabbed Hikari and Miayag, hoisting both women into the air just as the waves crashed into the shoreline. Bastemon had to plant her claws deep into the ground and hold her breath deeply as the water raged around her. She found she simply could not hold her breath any longer and had to break through the surface. Above her, Nefertimon X was circling with Hikari and Miayag on her back.

"Bastemon!" Miayag gasped, "Thank heavens you are safe."

"Behind you!" Hikari and Nefertimon X shouted out at once.

Bastemon twisted around in time to see Ancient Mermaimon swimming towards her with her trident pointed outward. "Prepare thyself for death."

Bastemon raised her extended claws. Despite her disadvantage in the water, she was prepared to fight.

"Curse of Queen!"

Nefertimon X swooped down, blasting the Ancient with her twin beams. Ancient Mermaimon blocked with her trident, and was about to attack Bastemon, but at that moment the water receded, and Bastemon found herself firmly on ground once again.

"Time to get serious," the cat woman replied. She placed her hands together and began to shake her hips back and forth. She maneuvered from side to side in a rhythmic belly dance. "Vampire Dance!" She stopped suddenly, a wave of red energy blasted at Ancient Mermaimon. The Ancient waved her weapon and the energy wave vanished.

"That technique will not work against me," she replied. Ancient Mermaimon held up her trident again, this time collecting a ball of water above her weapon. "Prepare for death, Crystal Billow!"

Before her attack her fire, however, Ancient Volcamon suddenly landed atop her like a bomb being dropped from an airplane. Dynasmon X swooped down from above. He shouted to the other DATS agents, "Get out of the way!"

Nefertimon X grabbed Bastemon and they flew to safety as Dynasmon X dropped within inches of the two Ancients. "Dragon's Gust!" He shot back into the sky with such speed and force that it created a sonic boom, blasting around them. He climbed higher and higher into the sky before unleashing a devastating blast downward, "Breath of Wyvern!" His draconic energy smashed into the two Ancients, sending their data scattering in all directions.

The Royal Knight smashed into the ground, breathing heavily. "Damn that was tough," he panted.

"Guardians of the Digital World," Miayag commented.

"_This_ Digital World," Hikari added, "But in Kenji's report, the Ancient said they were chosen by the First Chosen, how can that be if that Digital World was destroyed?"

"I do not know," the Priestess replied, "But it is possible that if this new Digital World is merely a reconfiguration of the old, then many aspects of the old would be reborn in the new."

"We'll have to talk about this later," Dynasmon X said, "We've got to help Asami and the others."

* * *

Dexdorughoramon breathed in deeply, then fired a barrage of ice-covered metal shrapnel from his mouth, "Metal Impulse!"

Dorughoramon used his wings to blocked the metal shards, and when he whipped his wings opened, he expunged a spiked ball from his mouth, "Brave Metal!"

Dexdorughoramon whipped his tail, sending the ball spiraling backwards. He then executed another Doru Dinn which Dorughoramon just barely avoided. The virus dragon fired another Doru Dinn, then another. Dorughoramon kept dodging the flames, but every time he stopped, another blast came at him.

"Only one way through this," he sighed. He stopped short, and his dark double unleashed another fire blast. Dorughoramon took a deep breath and shot through the flames.

"What?" Dexdorughoramon gasped, seeing his light double shoot towards him. He was about to shoot out of the way, by Dorughoramon smashed his jaw with his fist. Dexdorughoramon fluttered through the air, and Dorughoramon began his attack. He bashed and punched again and again, before throwing his double into the ground. Dexdorughoramon landed on his back, and was going to fly into the air again, but Dorughoramon landed atop him, planting his feet firmly on the dark dragon's arms, pinning them to his wings, he was trapped.

"Release me now!" Dexdorughoramon screamed.

"There is only one way to stop you," Dorughoramon replied. He held his hand over his double, moving across his body before stopping over the dragon's heart. Dorughoramon whipped down his hand, actually piercing the dragon's armor. He struggled for a moment before ripping out an object from the dragon's chest. It appeared to be his heart, but at closer examination, it was the Flail of Chance!

"No!" Dexdorughoramon screamed, struggling to free himself, but it was no use, the data was already beginning to dissolve into the air. Soon, all that remained was Masanori and Dexdorumon.

"There," Dorughoramon panted, "Now, you can't evolve to Mega, and you are no longer a threat."

Asami and her Leormon cheered loudly, while Araki stared in disbelief. "Lord Masanori!"

Dorughoramon stared downward at Masanori, "Now, give up, brother."

The Demon Master rose to his feet, staring up at Dorughoramon. His eyes darted from the towering dragon to the shoreline. The Flail of Chance was firmly in the metal dragon's hand, he would not be able to reclaim it. His eyes, instead, focused on the two glowing crystals near the rolling waves, the same crystals Araki had used to attempt to free the Agent of Destruction….

Masanori smirked, "I will never accept defeat and become your slave!" He ran quickly, diving into a roll, grabbing the silver colored crystal and jumping back to his feet.

"The crystal?!" Dorughoramon gasped.

"That's right!" the Demon Master laughed, holding the crystal, which began to glow with a silver light, "The same power of Chance that was taken from Asami Yamaki. It might not have freed the Agent, but, I think it might have some more use left!" He jabbed it into his stomach, lurching forward.

"No!" the metal dragon screamed.

Leormon gulped, "I've got a bad feeling about this…"

Masanori's body began to radiate with silver light, pulling Dexdorumon into the glowing globe of energy.

**"Dexdorumon warp evolve to…"**

**The silver light of Chance wrapped around Dexdorumon and Masanori, binding tightly to their bodies, fusing them into one. This figure suddenly erupted in size, growing larger and larger. Two elongated arms burst from his torso, whipping from side to side. Large red wings erupted from his back, and purple armor flowed across his body.**

**"Dexmon!"**

All eyes were staring at the newly-evolved digimon. "I think we're in trouble," Leormon mumbled

Dorughoramon threw the Flail of Chance to the ground and braced himself for an attack. Dexmon took a deep breath, then expunged a stream of sickly green energy from his mouth. "Process F."

The streams of energy ripped across Dorughoramon. The metal dragon stumbled backwards, then to Asami and Leormon's horror, regressed back to Masa and Dorumon. "Oh yeah," Leormon exclaimed, "We're in trouble!"

Asami was panting heavily, her eyes darting to the gold-colored crystal in the sand. "_It worked for him,"_ she thought, but then her eyes looked past to where the Flail of Chance was lying in the sand. Masa's words echoed in her head, _"I just don't know enough about my powers to say what will happen with yours…but, it feels to me that you have more Chance than Fate."_

"More Chance than Fate…"

"What?" Leormon gasped.

The girl grabbed her partner and ran forward.

Dexmon stared down at Masa and Dorumon while the two stumbled backwards just as the towering Mega stomped towards them. The teenage boy and his partner soon fell over their own feet and landed on their backs. They attempted to jump to their feet, but Dexmon smashed his elongated arm into the sand behind them. He leaned closer so that his face was only inches above Masa and Dorumon.

"Looks like the end for you!" he laughed, raising his other arm into the air…

"Leave him alone!"

"What now?" Dexmon grumbled. When he turned he saw Asami and Leormon slowly walking towards him. "You? What chance do you think you have against me?"

The girl felt her legs start to quiver in fear, but she held them tightly. She swallowed hard, then held up her hands. She had envisioned herself in a dramatic speech like Gabe or Kasumi or her uncle would say, but all she was able to squeak out was, "This!"

Dexmon stared at the object in her hands, "The Flail? You think you can use the Flail? Ha! You are nothing but a weakling, and now you die!" He unleashed his Process F technique attack, sending waves of green energy forward.

Leormon stared in horror, "Asami!"

The girl clenched the weapon tightly, "Come on, please…."

The waves come closer and closer until the Flail exploded in silver light.

**"Leormon warp evolve to…"**

**The Flail of Chance exploded forth, showering Leormon and Asami. Both human and digimon began to rotate around a silhouette that appeared in the center. As they spun, their bodies merged together, first Asami's hand, then Leormon's hand, then a pink fist, first Asami's legs, then Leormon's legs, then legs covered with metal shin guards, first Asami's head, then Leormon's head, then a metal helmet that was smooth and form-fitting The new figure caught the Flail of Chance in her hand, then threw the Flail onto her back, the twirling chains became a long, twirling ribbon that flowed around her body.**

**"Rhodo Knightmon!"**

Dexmon roared in frustration. "How many times must we kill you?"

Rhodo Knightmon did not answer. Dexmon swung open his arms and charged at the knight, leaving Masa and Dorumon lying on the ground. The Undead Digimon swung his clawed hand, but Rhodo Knightmon leapt into the air, avoiding the trust, then used her foot to kick her head as hard as she could. He grabbed her leg and threw her into the sand. She twisted around and landed back on her feet.

"What do you think this is? A gymnastic competition! Fight me, do you not have any honor?"

"You're one to talk about honor!" she snapped back, her voice a mixture of Asami and Leormon's. She thrust her palm forward, and the ribbons on her back flowed forward, wrapping tightly around Dexmon, binding his arms tightly. Rhodo Knightmon ran at him, but Dexmon flexed his muscles, ripping the ribbons with ease. He slammed his fist into Rhodo Knightmon's face, then threw her into the ground, jabbing his elbow deep into her back.

On the sideline, Dorumon exclaimed, "She needs help!"

Masa summoned his Staff of Fate, but while he felt energy radiate from it, he could not force it into his body. "It's no use, I'm drained," he frowned, "We can't evolve like this right now."

"Masa!" Dorumon exclaimed, "What about that?"

"What about what?" he asked, looking to where Dorumon was staring. He saw the gold-colored crystal lying on the ground. He ran forward, skirting around the battling Dexmon and Rhodo Knightmon, and dove into a roll, grabbing the crystal tightly. He examined it,"Well, it worked for him…" He took a deep breath and jabbed it into his chest. The gold light flowed from the crystal and throughout his body. Dorumon ran to his partner's side as light enveloped them both.

**"Dorumon warp evolve to…"**

**The Gold Light of Fate wrapped around Dorumon and Masa, binding tightly to their bodies, fusing them into one. This figure suddenly erupted in size, growing larger and larger. Metal flowed across his body, forming into tight armor. The Staff of Fate grew and shifted in his hand, forming into large sword.**

**"Alphamon!"**

* * *

The Agents in Australia were able to defeat Rudra in order to escape. Dynasmon X had defeated the two Ancients, allowing him, Hikari, Miayag and their partners to escape.

* * *

Ancient Sphinxmon continued his assault, with the DATS agents and the Hunters preparing for a second round.

* * *

Taichi and Schmidt were staring at one another, each one waiting for the other to make the first move.

* * *

Dexmon stared down the two Royal Knights, unfazed by the sight of his opponents.

And the mysterious black ink from the destroyed statue continued to flow towards shore.

--

To be continued……

Author's note: Well, this was supposed to be only 2 chapters, but as this one kept stretching, I figured it would be better if I split this one into two.

This story just keeps going on and on…


	33. The Agent of Destruction: Chapter 3

--

_Digimon__: Magog_

_The Agent of Destruction:_

_Chapter 3:_

_--_

Taichi and Schmidt were staring at one another, each one waiting for the other to make the first move. Taichi's eyes darted to the door, then back again. "Looking for help?" Schmidt, Lord Sentry, chuckled, "I'm guessing that since you didn't run into the hall to call for your partner means you can't open that door, huh?"

Taichi did not answer, but focused momentarily on the keypad besides the large double doors.

"A password, is it then?" Sentry asked, "Well, go ahead, call for Agumon X, it won't make any difference."

Taichi turned back to stare at him, a smile forming, "You always were an arrogant son of a bitch."

Sentry smirked, "And yet, you left the Chosen Council, knowing full well I would becoming it's leader. You could have been ruler of the entire Digital World, but you left."

Taichi gave a slight smile, "Daisuke and Koushiro would never have forgiven me if I stayed there the way things were going."

"Or was it that the representatives like me better? Not a dinosaur like you."

Taichi growled, "Dinosaur! You're the same age as me!"

"A bit touchy about descending the hill, are we?"

"Shut up!" he snapped.

Suddenly, the lights and alarms ceased, darkening and silencing the room. "What now?" Taichi exclaimed. He suddenly ducked to avoid Sentry's punch. The Hunter swung his other fist, but it stopped abruptly when it connected suddenly with a blade of metal.

Sentry nodded slightly as Taichi rose, his Katana of Hidokoro in his hand. "Well played."

Taichi gripped his weapon with both hands and charged forward.

Outside the conference room, Yamato, Agumon X and Gabumon X were waiting impatiently. When the power cut out, the blond man grabbed the phone that was on the wall. "Reika? Megumi? Mitsuo?" he shouted into the transmitter, then slammed it back onto the wall.

"Nothing?" Gabumon X asked.

"Line's dead," he said, running to the sensor by the door. He ran his hand over the black box, but rather then the doors slide open, they remained firmly shut. He sighed, "Backup powers out too, great.."

He began to bang on the door, "Taichi! Taichi!"

He was answered by a loud bang from within. Agumon X and Gabumon X glanced at one another, while Yamato began to bang on the door even louder, "Taichi!" He took a step back, looking around the edges of the sliding doors, "Damn it…" He shouted, "Hang on, Taichi, we're coming!"

* * *

In the command center of the DATS building, the staff was running in confused circles. Megumi slammed her fists into her command console, "We're completely off-line!"

Mitsuo tapped his fingers against his desk. "What was our last update?"

"Ancient Sphinxmon was practically on our doorstep," Reika answered, "And Shiro and the others were still fighting against him."

"And you can't contact Taichi or Yamato?"

"No sir," Megumi answered, "But I've sent a group to find them, but if the elevators are off line, and no backup power for the lights in the stairwells…"

Mitsuo sighed, then mentioned to his partner, "All right V-mon, let's go. Reika, you and Megumi stay here in case the power comes back."

"Right!" they both cheered in unison.

The blond man and his small draconic partner charged out of the room and nearly tackled two teenage girls running through the hall, Bolades and Ines of the Hunters. "You?" V-mon gasped.

"What are you doing here?" Mistuo demanded.

Bolades bowed slightly, "Please forgive us, but Akira Yagami has sent us here."

"What? Why?"

"To get the two weapons you still have in your armory," she explained. She mentioned to Ines, "We have the ability to recharge those weapons, once we give them away, we will have two more Megas to help in the defeat of Ancient Sphinxmon."

Yamaki and V-mon glanced at one another, "Do you think we can trust them?" the digimon asked.

"There's no time for this!" Ines snapped, "If we don't hurry, that Ancient's going to come here and destroy everything.

* * *

Outside the building, Ancient Sphinxmon continued his assault, with the DATS agents and the Hunters preparing for a second round. Yasu and Eliane's Machgaogamon had fallen, as did Kenji's Grademon, but the agents were still defending their world from the invading monster. Mixcoatl's Mammon stood firmly in the Ancient's path, while Rizegreymon flew over the invader, landing with a smash behind the Ancient. The dragon warrior pointed his gun arm at Ancient Sphinxmon's rear, "Trident Revolver!" Three quick blasts struck his rear, but instead of the Ancient yelping in pain, he leapt forward, putting all of his weight on his front legs, then kicked backwards with his hind legs, knocking into Rizegreymon's nose.

Mammon growled and fired his Tusk Strikes, with Ancient Sphinxmon destroyed with his Necro Eclipse attack, the two beams continued through the exploding projectiles and into Mammon's face, throwing him backwards. Mixcoatl shouted out to his partner, as Alforce V-dramon X swooped in quickly, firing her V-breath Arrow, which appeared to have little affect on the Ancient. Duftmon X dropped to the ground and charged at Ancient Sphinxmon face and began to slash rapidly at Ancient Sphinxmon's face, "One Trillion!"

"Dark Blast!" Ancient Sphinxmon shouted in response, hitting the Royal Knight with a ball of dark energy.

Off to the side, the ones that had already been defeated were watching with anticipation and jealously.

"This isn't going to end too well," Kenji frowned.

Ancient Sphinxmon attacked again, knocking Alforce V-dramon X and Duftmon X into the ground.

Kenji's Otamamon snarled, "Damn it! If only I could evolve, but I'm empty."

Eliane clutched her fatigued Mushmon in her arms, "I wish we could help zem."

"Don't worry," Yasu nodded to her friend, "Once Mr. Yamaki gets here with Ines and Bolades and the weapons, we'll beat 'em!"

* * *

Dexmon stared down the two Royal Knights, unfazed by the sight of his opponents. Alphamon stood firmly in place, his arms at his side, his hands clenched tightly. Rhodo Knightmon was by his side, staring at the evil demon. Dexmon chuckled, "So, you two think you can stand a chance against me."

"Whatever it takes," Alphamon answered, "To knock some sense into your head, you don't have to follow our father, his way is wrong."

"His way is the way to power!" he shouted, firing green energy from his mouth, "Process F!"

Rhodo Knightmon leapt in front of Alphamon and used her shield to save them from the poisonous fog. Alphamon leapt from behind and fired beams of green energy from his palms, "Digitize of Soul!"

Dexmon used his left arm to block the blasts, then fired a massive ball of energy from his other palm, "Process O!" Alphamon had to execute a perfectly-timed back flip to avoid the blast. Once he landed on the ground, Dexmon fired another Process F, but RhodKnightmon's twirling ribbons wrapped tightly around the Undead Digimon. She flew at Dexmon and punched him as hard as she could, "Fist of Athena!"

Dexmon ripped through the ribbons and grabbed Rhodo Knightmon by the neck. Alphamon ran to her side, but Dexmon through her into him, and both digimon tumbled along the ground before jumping back to their feet.

As they continued the battle, they were unaware that the mysterious black ink from the destroyed statue continued to flow towards shore.

* * *

As Taichi avoided a jab by Lord Sentry, he panted. "Wearing yourself out?" the Hunter smirked.

Taichi did not want to admit it, but he was tiring quickly, he needed Agumon X, now. He could hear Yamato trying to break through the door and enter the room, but he worried that Yamato would be too late to save him, he needed to stall for time….and maybe gain some information as well.

"So," Taichi panted, "Let me get this straight, you disguised yourself as the Minister of Finance, just so you get can the DATS agent list?"

"Yes…and so I could have a place to conduct business, it's easy to hide billions from the books when you're the one writing the books."

"You stole from the taxpayers, didn't you? You son of a…"

"Flattery will get you no where."

Taichi glared at him, "You arrogant piece of shit. Why? Creating the Demons, killing DATS, why?"

"To uncover the path to the God of the Digital World!"

Taichi blinked, "G…GranDracmon?"

"Of course not, don't be absurd, I'm talking about an interface into the inner workings of the Digital World, with it, I will have command over all reality!"

"Why? What for?"

His smile grew wickedly, "I'm going to bring GranDracmon back to life."

Taichi felt his blood turn cold. "W…what? You're completely fucking insane!"

"Perhaps, but it was his will that kept me alive, his will that brought me back from the brink of death! And when he rules both worlds, I will rule alongside Cahiti and my grandfather, Juro."

Taichi just shook his head, "N…no! I won't let you do it!"

"You don't have a choice, and if my Hunters can stop you, then my…heh…ultimate project will."

Taichi blinked. "U…ultimate project?"

"Yes…another benefit of having access to Kurata's work, the man was truly a genius, it's a wonder why he wasn't a Chosen, but anyway. A project of his was to create an ultimate weapon, a digimon with the combined abilities of a certain number of digimon and Chosen. In this case, eight."

"Eight?"

"Yes, unfortunately, that's the limit of the amount of information that it can handle, eight digimon and Chosen, together into the ultimate creation."

Before Taichi could ask anymore, the doors exploded apart as Metalgarurumon X charged inside. "Taichi!" the Mega wolf shouted. He stared at his friend, then over to Lord Sentry. "You?!" He charged the Hunter, hitting him with all of his strength, propelling both of them through the wall and into the outside.

Agumon X was at Taichi's side, "Are you okay?"

Taichi brought himself to his feet, using his sword like a crutch, "We have to stop him, now!"

The dinosaur nodded, "S…sure, I'm ready."

"Agumon X warp evolve to Wargreymon X!"

The dragon digimon jumped through the gapping hole and joined Metalgarurumon X hovering in the air. Lord Sentry faced them, smirking. "You think this scares me? I have other abilities besides the anti-evolution field you saw me use before."

"Yeah?" Metalgarurumon X snorted, "Like what?"

Lord Sentry took a deep breath, pulling his head back. He exhaled deeply, throwing his head forward as a blast of icy breath exploded forth, "Cocytus Breath!"

Both Mega digimon flung aside to avoid the blast. "What the hell?" Metalgarurumon X gasped.

Lord Sentry held up both of his hands, collecting streams of burning hot energy into a ball, which he flung forward, "Gaia Force!"

They darted aside once again. "What's going on?" Wargreymon X demanded.

The Hunter smirked, "Kurata's research, truly amazing, think of it simply like a Copy feature on a word processer. I stored all of your techniques, and now I can use them against you!"

Metalgarurumon X glared at Wargreymon X. "You should have taken care of this guy back when you ran the Chosen Council!"

Wargreymon X flinched, but said nothing.

Lord Sentry laughed, cracking his knuckles. "Come on, let's get this started."

Wargreymon X clenched his fists, "You know what, Metalgarurumon? You're right, I should have done something when I first met him, but I'm going to do something now! He can use our techniques, he can stop Non-X-digimon from evolving, who knows what else he can do. Let's take him out, right now!"

The other Mega nodded. "Right, I think I understand."

The dragon man smiled. "Wargreymon X…."

"Metalgarurumon X…."

"Fusion evolve to Omegamon X!"

Lord Sentry raised his eyebrows in shock. "Already? Hmm, you're really jumping the gun, aren't you?"

"Shut up!" Omegamon X shouted, "I'm taking you out right now!"

* * *

Outside, those battling Ancient Sphinxmon heard the explosion of building material as the three combatants entered the sky. "What the?" Kenji asked.

"Dad?" Akira gasped at Wargreymon X.

"My Dad too!" Yasu said.

"And Lord Sentry," Adan added.

The redhead boy turned to his partner, "Rizegreymon, we have to help them!"

The dinosaur flew to aide Wargreymon X and Metalgarurumon X, but Ancient Sphinxmon blasted him in the back with a Necro Eclipse technique. From such an attack, he spun into the ground, crashing with a mighty shake of the ground. When the debris cleared, Falcomon and Gotsumon remained.

"No!" Akira shouted.

"Damn," Kenji frowned, "Now Rizegreymon's out."

Ancient Sphinxmon stared at the two Child digimon.

Mixcoatl noticed this glare and quickly shouted out to his partner, "Mammon!"

The mammoth nodded quickly and charged in front of Rizegreymon, just as Ancient Sphinxmon was about to attack.

"Dark Blast!"

The Ancient's attack flew fast, hitting Mammon directly in the face, throwing even the mighty mammoth tumbling backwards. "Mammon!" Adan shouted. He looked to his partner, "Rizegreymon, you have to save him!"

His partner flew threw the air, landing beside the fallen digimon. He pointed his gun directly at the Ancient's face, "Trident Revolver!"

Ancient Sphinxmon braced himself as the three blasts struck his face in quick succession. He roared loudly, the shockwave enough to knock Rizegreymon backwards.

"Damn it!" Akira exclaimed.

While Ancient Sphinxmon was chuckling at his opponents, he did not noticed Duftmon X dive bomb from the sky. He landed on the Ancients back and quickly began to slash with his sword, "One Trillion!"

The Mega screamed in pain, throwing the Royal Knight from his back.

"Excellent sneak attack," Mixcoatl nodded.

"Yes!" Yasu and Eliane cheered, jumping up and clapping their hands together.

Ancient Sphinxmon growled, his rage rising. Suddenly he expunged a massive Dark Blast at Duftmon X. The Royal Knight, acting solely on instinct, leapt aside. However, the Dark Blast struck Mammon. The mammoth digimon was enveloped in dark energy before exploding, dropping Patamon to the ground."No!" Mixcoatl shouted, rushing to his side, "Patamon!"

Adan and his Gotsumon both gasped. "Patamon!"

The small digimon tried to stand on his small legs, but simply could not. Mixcoatl gently lifted his partner into his arms, "Patamon."

The digimon glanced up at him, "S…sorry, I just couldn't…"

"No…no!" he screamed, "You can't leave me! You can't! We've always been together, right? For as long as I can remember…"

"I can't remember anything before you," he replied, "My first memory is meeting you." His eyes began to close, "No matter what I felt, I always followed you, I was always by your side…"

His eyes shut.

Mixcoatl squeezed his partner, "No…" He thought of the first time he meet his partner, when he was a little boy, crying because of the pain his older step-sister was enduring, the time he and Patamon tried to run away from home (because of a childish desire for adventure), Maria's funeral, when Lord Sentry approached him. They had been through everything together, he could not think of life without his partner.

"No!" Mixcoatl screamed, clenching him even tighter, "No!!"

Their bodies suddenly exploded with bright light.

**"Patamon warp evolve to…"**

**The Spear of Earth exploded forth, showering Patamon and Mixcoatl. Both human and digimon began to rotate around a silhouette that appeared in the center. As they spun, their bodies merged together, first Mixcoatl's hand, then Patamon's hoof, then a massive blue fist, first Mixcoatl's legs, then Patamon's legs, then legs covered with metal shin guards, first Mixcoatl's head, then Patamon's head, then a metal helmet that was smooth and form-fitting The new figure caught the Spear of Earth in his hand, twirled it around over his head before jutting the blunt edge forward, which formed another blade. He whipped it from side to side before resting it against the ground.**

**"Craniummon!"**

"_He_ evolved?!" Yasu exclaimed in shock, "B…but he's a Hunter!"

"And a Chosen," Eliane reminded her.

The blond girl stared at her friend, "Y..yeah, but…"

"She's right," Kenji added, "They're Hunters, but they're still Chosen." He watched Craniummon carefully, "Now what side is he going to be on?"

Duftmon X watched Craniummon warily as he approached Ancient Sphinxmon, but Alforce V-dramon X was grinning. "Way to go!" she cheered, "See, I knew you weren't all bad."

Craniummon stared at Ancient Sphinxmon, but the Ancient simply chuckled. "Your increase in ability and power will not save you." He took a deep breath, readying his attack, "Dark…"

Craniummon began to spin his spear at massive speed, "End Waltz!" A massive tornado fired forth, wrapping tightly around the Ancient, assailing him from all sides. Ancient Sphinxmon stumbled for a moment, but regained himself.

"Look," Carniummon shouted, "He's hurt!"

"I don't think so," Duftmon X replied, "I think he's almost out of energy."

"Then let's get him!" Alforce V-dramon X shouted, "We'll take him out, then help our Dads!"

The three Megas readied themselves for battle, when they heard a loud voice shout out to them, "Wait!"

The three Knights turned to see Mitsuo and his V-mon running towards them, with Ines, Bolades and their partners behind them. The two girls were holding the Shield of Metal and Bow of Forest in their hands. Mitsuo was smiling slightly, "Why not let five Megas handle this, instead of three?"

Adan slowly smiled, realizing the weapons. "You…?"

The two girls nodded. "Now," Bolades said, "Who will we give them to?"

Ines glanced at Yasu and Eliane, _"_Not those Princesses."

Bolades sighed at her, "Well, besides which, they, as well as the two boys, are Children of the First, like us, they have Jogress partners. We must give these weapons to Mitsuo Yamaki…" she glanced over to the sidelines of the battlefield, "And Kenji Kido."

Ines nodded, "Right."

Bolades gripped the Bow of Forest and ran as fast as she could, rushing past Yasu and Eliane before handing the weapon to Kenji.

He blinked. "What? T…this is…"

Ancient Sphinxmon began to roar. "There's no time!" the African girl said, "Please, you must stand still." She held out her palms and a green light moved from her fingers, flowing into the Bow of Forest as well and Kenji's body. The light grew in intensity, enveloping Otamamon as well.

Ines handed Mitsuo the shield and empowered the blond man with gray light. As the Shield of Metal began to glow, Mitsuo and V-mon were soon covered by the same light.

**"Otamamon warp evolve to…"**

**The Bow of Forest exploded forth, showering Otamamon and Kenji. Both human and digimon began to rotate around a silhouette that appeared in the center. As they spun, their bodies merged together, first Kenji's hand, then Otamamon's flipper, then a fist, first Kenji's legs, then Otamamon's rear flippers, then four legs, like a horse's, first Kenji's head, then Otamamon's head, then a metal helmet that was smooth and form-fitting The new figure caught the Bow of Forest and began to fire arrows into the air.**

**"Sleipmon!"**

**"V-mon warp evolve to…"**

**The Shield of Metal exploded forth, showering V-mon and Mitsuo. Both human and digimon began to rotate around a silhouette that appeared in the center. As they spun, their bodies merged together, first Mitsuo's hand, then V-mon's hand, then a white fist, first Mitsuo's legs, then V-mon's legs, then legs covered with metal shin guards, first Mitsuo's head, then V-mon's head, then a metal helmet that was smooth and form-fitting The new figure caught the Shield of Metal, slipping it onto his right arm. The shield glowed and fired a beam of energy forward.**

**"Dukemon!"**

Those on the sidelines were simply in awe as the five Mega Royal Knights approached Ancient Sphinxmon. The cat mega gritted his teeth, but still prepared for battle.

* * *

Alphamon's fist connected with Dexmon's face, causing him to yelp in pain. Alphamon continued his assault, punching and jabbing again and again. The last punch sent Dexmon twisting back, and when the Royal Knight readied to attack, Dexmon expunged his Process F technique, wrapping the Knight in green webs.

"Hold on!" Rhodo Knightmon shouted, running to his side.

"No!" Alphamon screamed, "Don't!"

It was already too late, Dexmon used his elongated arms to strike Rhodo Knightmon to the ground. "No!" Alphamon shouted, flexing his muscles to shatter the webs. He swung his sword at his evil double, to caught it within his palms, then threw it back. He swung his fist and connected with the Royal Knight. Alphamon jumped into the air to avoid the jab, then kicked Dexmon in the side of the head. Dexmon caught his leg and threw him aside, then raised his fist and slammed them both into Alphamon's back.

The two continued to battle, their rage and anger fueling them. Araki and her Metal Phantomon stood to the side, watching closely. Her eyes suddenly caught something to the side. She glanced to the rolling waves and saw a black film lying across the beach. A chill ran up her spine, and she gasped loudly.

"Masanori!" she screamed.

Dexmon dodged a punch from Alphamon. "I'm busy right now!"

"No, you do not understand!" she screamed, "The ink…the oil! Something is here!"

Dexmon and Alphamon both stopped and started looking around. "What nonsense are you talking?" Dexmon snapped, "There's nothing!"

Rhodo Knightmon's eyes focused on the black ink as well. "No!"

"What?" Alphamon asked.

"She's right, something's here! I…it was inside that statue and now it's here! I can feel it, cold..."

The black ink, which was covering the shoreline in a thin black film, suddenly began to pull together rapidly, forming into a massive figure, two large legs formed, then a large arm, while the other limb was a mess of tentacles.

"What's going on?" Alphamon gasped.

"Something's here!" Rhodo Knightmon replied.

"The Agent!" Araki screamed.

The black figure suddenly leapt to life, unleashing a gurgling roar. "I am Dagomon!"

* * *

The five Royal Knights stared at Ancient Sphinxmon. Those on the sidelines watched intently, their hearts beating with anticipation. The Knights and the Ancient stood perfectly still, staring at each other for what seemed like eternity, waiting…waiting…waiting….

Dukemon suddenly pointed his shield forward and fired a beam of energy. "Final Elysion!" Alforce V-dramon X, Duftmon X, and Craniummon jumped into the air as the energy blast exploded on Ancient Sphinxmon's face. He growled in pain, but managed to fire a Necro Eclipse attack from his eyes. The red beams struck Duftmon X and Alforce V-dramon X in the chest, throwing them back. This left Craniummon open for an attack from above.

"End Waltz!"

Ancient Sphinxmon stumbled backwards from the force of the attack, then shot a black ball of energy at Craniummon. The Knight batted it aside with his weapon, then landed in front of the Ancient. The cat Mega readied another attack, but Craniummon dropped to the ground; Sleipmon was behind him, pointing at arrow and Acient Sphinxmon. "Bifrost!"

A burning arrow shot from his bow, striking the Ancient directly in the forehead. The Ancient roared in pain, stumbling backwards. Duftmon X and Alforce V-dramon X kicked the Ancient's head from both sides, and he roared even louder. Craniummon slashed his back with his spear, and Dukemon slashed with his lance. Ancient Sphinxmon, now resembling a large wad of Swiss cheese, began to stumble from side to side. He finally fell onto his stomach, panting heavily. He glared at the group of Knights, "F…five against one..w…what chance did I possess…" He began to chuckle, "But…take this victory and enjoy it while you are still able, for two more Ancients yet remain, and they are stronger then even I." He grinned wickedly, "Ancient Greymon and Ancient Garurumon will destroy you all!"

The Knights gasped in disbelief. "Ancient Greymon?" Alforce V-dramon X exclaimed.

"Ancient Garurumon?" Duftmon X shouted.

Ancient Sphinxmon laughed until his data ripped from his body and he vanished.

Before they could discuss Ancient Sphinxmon's final words, they heard the sound of Wargreymon X and Metalgarurumon X evolving to Omnimon X.

"We'll have to talk later," Duftmon X said, "They need our help."

Alforce V-dramon X turned to Craniummon, "What about you? Are you coming with us?"

The Royal Knight hesitated, "That's my Master."

The other Knight shouted in frustration, "You're so stubborn! Arg, fine, whatever!" She turned to flew to her father's aide.

* * *

They just stared at the squid-creature, studying him closely. He glanced from left to right, then noticed the group. He stared at Dexmon, "I do not know you." He glanced over to Rhodo Knightmon and Alphamon, "You are Royal Knights, though, not the same as the ones that once…" He chuckled slightly, "I sense the powers of the Dragon Warriors within you…" He looked to Dexmon and Araki, "And you as well. There was only one way to set me free from my prison, with the powers of Yuushi and Juro. You four posses those powers…"

He glanced at Dexmon, "You posses Juro's power, but with a small bit of Yuushi's…" he looked to Alphamon, "You posses Yuushi, but with a small bit of Juro…" he stared at Rhodo Knightmon, "…And you…you are both Yuushi and Juro. Are you clones of them? Genetic manipulation?" He gasped, "Unless…of course….How long has it been since I was imprisoned? How long has it been since the War of the Dragons?"

Araki nervously stepped forward, "W…we are not entirely sure, there were not any records of that time, but we believe it was…."

Dagomon turned away from her, so she stopped speaking. He focused on the three Megas, "You are the descendants of Juro and Yuushi, yet, they were both males, and if I understand the reproduction means of the human race, there needs to be both male _and_ female, so I can only surmise you are father down their family tree then simply children. Tell me, what generation are you from them?"

They did not answer.

"What generation?!" he screamed.

Alphamon and Dexmon were ready to keep silent, but Rhodo Knightmon quivered at the sound of his voice, "W…we're their great-grandchildren."

Dagomon nodded, "Yes…then it has been some time since I once walked the Digital World." He grinned, "Then it is time that I, the High Priest of the Gods, set out once more to bring my masters bask to this world!"

"Sorry!" Dexmon shouted, "This world belongs to my father!" He charged forward, ready to attack.

Dagomon suddenly formed a trident from nothing and fired an energy blast that struck Dexmon's chest, and he flew backwards, crashing into one of the trees littering the area. "No way!" Alphamon exclaimed.

Dagomon smirked, "Now, it is time." He looked to the two Royal Knights, "We must go."

"Go?" Rhodo Knightmon questioned.

"We're not going anywhere!" Alphamon shouted.

Dagomon nodded. "Yes, I understand. It was not _you_ that freed me."

"What are you talking about?"

"You do not know? Very well, the Royal Knights, were the servants of Yddrisil, the great Tree of the Gods, and I was the Hight Priest of the Gods, and directly oversaw Yddrisil, and the Knights were my servants. The Dragon Warriors stole those Weapons from those Knights. Now…" He waved his glowing trident, and Alphamon and Rhodo Knightmon's bodies suddenly stiffen. "Excellent," Dagomon grinned. He pointed the trident into the air, "Now, every Royal Knight, whomever posses a weapon, heed my call and return to your master!"

--

Miayag, Hikari and Dynasmon X, having finished their battle against Ancient Mermaimon and Ancient Volcamon, now came running to aid Alphamon and Rhodo Knight. Dynasmon X suddenly stiffened, stopping in place.

"Dynasmon?" Hikari asked.

"What is wrong?" Miayag asked.

"M…Master calls…" he mumbled before flying into the air.

* * *

Back on Earth, the five Royal Knights that had defeated Ancient Sphinxmon came under the same spell the other two had. Above them, just as Omegamon X was about to strike Lord Sentry with his sword, he suddenly stopped, hearing the same call from Dagomon. All the Knights mumbled the same phrase, "Master calls."

Lord Sentry stared with confusion, "An interesting development."

Omegamon X joined with the other five Knights and they vanished into a Digital Gate.

Down below, Akira and the other stared in confusion. "Where are they going?"

Bolades frowned, "Something evil is afoot."

* * *

Dagomon smiled as Dynasmon X joined them. "Excellent, the others will no doubt return to the Digital World. Come, let us join them." He swung his trident quickly, and the four vanished in an explosion of light.

Araki turned to Dexmon. "What does this mean?"

Dexmon chuckled, "Something none of us foresaw. Let us head back to Father, this development will no doubt prove…interesting…"

_Next: The Fall of the Chosen._


	34. The Fall of the Chosen: Chapter 1

_

* * *

_

My name is Sora Yagami, and I think I'm about to lose my mind. My husband, my daughter, my niece, my brother-in-law, and six of my friends have suddenly disappeared. They could all evolve to Mega levels, something called Royal Knights. The Agent of Destruction, the High Priest of the Gods, Dagomon, was revived, and did…did something, and they all flew after him! Miayag, my husband's cousin, said that Dagomon must be the master of the ancient Royal Knights! So right now, we have no idea where they are!

_Digimon Magog:_

_The Fall of the Chosen_

_Chapter 1_

In a city on Earth, a mysterious light began to form atop one of the skyscrapers. A fog had rolled in, obscuring the view in the night sky. This fog began to thicken as the light intensified, and two large figures appeared in the thick smoke. Both were covered in strange armor, one stood on two legs and carried two massive buster swords. The other stood on all fours, and had two giant flaming wings emerging from his back.

The two figures stood atop the roof, staring down at the bustling metropolis below them. "This is the human's world?," the one with the swords asked, "It is…dead. Aside from the humans and the life-forms they call pets, there is no life."

"Do not be deceived," the dragon said, "This world is dangerous, very dangerous."

"Humans are not dangerous," the other snapped, "The ones that call themselves "Chosen" are dangerous, those are the ones we must annihilate."

"Yes, I agree."

Then, Ancient Greymon and Ancient Garurumon vanished into the night.

* * *

In Japan, the DATS building was in a frenzy, staff was running through the halls, investigators were examining the destruction of the conference room caused by Taichi and Lord Sentry, while the construction crew tried to repair the damage. Inside the main control room, Reika and Megumi were using the scanners to search all of Neodigital, as well as all of Earth, to search for their missing members.

"Anything?" Sora asked, hopefully.

"Nothing yet," Reika replied, "But there a lot of ground to cover, we only just began."

The redheaded woman frowned, "O..oh…"

Hikari had been standing beside her. She hugged her sister-in-law tightly, "Don't worry, we'll find them, I know we will."

She sighed, "Y…yeah, I know, I…I just can't help worrying…"

"Yeah, I know, me too…"

Sora forced herself to smile, then took a deep breath. "Okay…Lord Sentry was running the Ministry of Finance, Is there anything there that can help us at least find the Hunters?"

"I asked Noriko to look into it," Hikari said.

Sora nodded. "Okay, thank you."

Megumi tapped her earpiece, "The Minister of Defense has just arrived."

"R-right," Sora answered, nodding again "I guess I'll take care of it. Tell him to meet me in Conference room B."

Megumi nodded.

Hikari looked to Sora. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"No…no that's…okay."

The other woman nodded, "Okay, just remember I'm here…"

"Yeah, thank you."

Sora left the control room and made her way through the halls, passing by the damaged Conference room A and entered the second room. Minister Watanabe rose from his chair to greet her. "Sora, hello. Is Taichi or Mistuo here?"

She struggled to keep her anxiety from exploding within her. "N..no, they're not."

He could see the expression on her face, "What has happened?"

She quickly told him, struggling to stay calm as she spoke. Watanabe nodded. "And..how are you sure?"

"My husband's cousin was there when Gabe Barton flew off. He told her that his master was calling him, and she guessed that Dagomon was responsible since he was just revived only moments before."

"I…see. This is really serious." He frowned, "As well as this matter with the Finance Ministry."

"Noriko is investigating that building right now."

"Good…good…but the Prime Minister has to know and he will have to make a statement about what's going on."

Sora nodded. "Yeah."

"Okay." He rose to his feet, "If there is anything I can do, please, let me know."

"I will, thank you."

* * *

Jyou was staring through the bars of the prison cells. Adan, Bolades and Ines were staring back at him, as well as Lizzie, who was standing beside him. "How long are we going to be in here?" Ines snapped, "We helped you kill Ancient Sphinxmon, and this is the thanks we get?"

"You; re Hunters," Jyou sighed, "I'm not happy about keeping you here, but you did try to kill us in the past. And until we get things straightened out right now, we really can't debate your case."

Adan stared at him. "You're talking about the Royal Knights just leaving, right? I want to find my brother too. Please."

Jyou hesitated, "I…"

"We only want to find Mixcoatl," Bolades explained.

Lizzie snorted. "Yeah right! As soon as we let down those bars, you'll tear us apart."

Ines's Hagururmon laughed, "Trust me, you're not all that appetizing."

Bolades spoke before the others could continue, "The only reason we were with the Hunters is because of Mixcoatl. He is the one that came for us when we had nothing left." She looked to the ground, hiding her eyes beneath the fabric that covered her head. "We were not happy with being Hunters, but, we were indebted to him. We…'owed,' him, as you might say."

"Yeah, I understand," Jyou sighed, rubbing his temples, "But it's still a….security risk. I'm sorry."

Ines turned to her cell mates, "We are we just sitting here like this? We could break free." She grabbed her digivice from her belt, "Haguruamon, evolve!"

Her partner tensed his body, waiting for the familiar burst of energy, but felt nothing. "What gives?"

Lizzie smirked from the other side of the bars. Jyou pointed to the weird lamps in the ceiling of the cell, "Those are anti-evolution fields. You can't evolve while you're inside there."

"What?" the Brazilian girl snapped.

Bolades sighed, "This is why they do not trust us. Now please, sit down and wait for their decision."

Ines grumbled and sat on the bench next to her.

* * *

Reika told Sora that she would spend all night watching the monitors for any information, so she reluctantly returned to her apartment. She was surprised to see Noriko there. The two women hugged each other. "How are you doing?" Noriko asked.

"As best I can," she replied.

Her best friend shushed her and mentioned to the couch in the living room, where Hikari was sleeping peacefully. "Akira's sleeping in his room, and the girls are in the guest room." They walked into the kitchen and sat at the table, "Any news?"

Sora shook her head, "Nothing yet. What did you find out at the Finance Ministry?"

"Nothing," she sighed, "The place's been cleared out. The only thing I am sure of is that his embezzlement might be in the billions."

Sora nodded, running her hands through her hair, "The Prime Minister's going to make a public statement soon. I think there's going to be panic in the streets."

Noriko nodded, then sighed deeply. "I wish our husband's were here, they're so much better at this then us."

Sora reached over and squeezed her hand tightly, "We'll find them, and no matter what, we'll get them back." She forced a smile, 'I thought I lost Kasumi before, but we got her back. She, Taichi, and the others might be gone, but we'll find a way to save them again."

Noriko sniffled. "Yeah, yeah…"

* * *

The city of New York had begun its day long before the sun began to peak over the horizon. The streets began to congest, the sidewalks began to grow crowded; by the time the sun's rays had begun to shown, the city had awoken and was alive with the sound of daily life. This had continued since long before anyone could remember, it would seem that nothing could stop this daily trend, yet, this morning, something did.

Motorist were traveling towards the George Washington Bridge via United States Interstate highway 95. Traffic was usually slow, but this morning, it was flowing smoothly. That is, until a massive figure dropped from the sky, smashing into the highway. Cars came to a halt, people fled in terror, yet the figure remained in place, simply staring forward. This figure wore bony, sharp armor with large gauntlets on his arms.

* * *

With Dynasmon X appearing in New York City, the same scene was being repeated all over the world. Alforce V-dramon X had appeared outside the Kremlin in Moscow, Duftmon X brought intense fear to the population of Beijing, Sleipmon trampled through the boundaries of Cario, Alphamon stood firmly in the Reflecting Pool in Washington D.C., RhodoKnightmon stood beside the Eiffel Tower, easily able to annihilate it with little effort, Dukemon stood within the Brazilian capital of Brasilla, and Cranniumon had appeared in Mexico City.

However, it was not only the Royal Knights that had appeared to bring the world into terror. The two Ancients had begun their assault upon the human world. They had first appeared in London. They tore through buildings, destroyed schools, annihilated apartment buildings, yet, just as quickly as their assault had begun, they vanished, only to appear again in Madrid, Spain a few hours later, where they began to attack again. And, just as before, destroyed only a select locations before vanishing once more.

* * *

Dingo, Lynna, Anna, Aleksey, Joey and their partners had finally arrived in Japan sometime during the night. They had just made it to the DATS building when the red alert began to blare. They joined the remaining agents within the main control area. Each of the monitors were displaying a news report of the Royal Knights, each news cast from a different city.

Lizzie stared at an image of her older brother, then twisted her head away. "Gabe."

"What are they doing?" Noriko shouted, _"What are they doing?!"_

"It doesn't lool like they're doing anything," Joey commented, "They're just standing there."

Sora stared at the screens, focusing on the one of Alforce V-dramon X standing in the center of Moscow. She ignored the newscast of the reporter (she could not understand Russian anyway), and stared at her digimon-merged-daughter. She glanced to Hikari, who was holding back tears upon seeing her own daughter standing as RhodoKnightmon. The redheaded woman felt as though she was about to break into her own tears, when she felt someone squeeze her hand. She expected to see Noriko at her side, but instead, it was Miayag.

"Everyone needs you right now," she said in a motherly voice, "You must be strong."

Sora nodded, taking a deep breath, "Y..yes, thank you."

Then, mysteriously, all of the monitors began to flicker as static covered the screens. "What's going on?" Noriko shouted.

"Interference," Reika explained, "It's not anything to do with us, broadcasting problems."

The static began to clear, revealing the image of a squid-headed creature seated on a black throne. The room he was in was dark as well. The creature nodded slightly, "Greeting Earth, I am Dagomon, the High Priest of the Gods of the Digital World. My masters were once the lords of the Digital realm, and strived to take their place as masters of this world as well. That could not be accomplished before they were exiled from the Digital Plane. Now, I will accomplish that dream. My servants, the Royal Knights, have been stationed around the world in your major cities. My demands are simple, hand over the reigns of power before noon tomorrow, or I will unleash the Knights upon your world. I await your decision."

The screen then cut off, and broadcasts of the reporters resumed.

"No, no!" Hikari exclaimed, "Mitsuo, Asami!"

"Dad," Akira said softly, "Oneesan…"

"We've got another problem," Reika gasped.

"Another problem?" Jyou gasped, "How could this get any worse?"

"We're getting reports from Europe of two creatures that have been targeting civilian residences and buildings. They appear quickly, destroy, then leave. It appears to be random targets, but the buildings are places were Chosen are known to live."

"Targeting Chosen?" Noriko asked, "Who?"

"The descriptions can only be digimon," Reika continued.

"Ancients," Akira sighed, "It's gotta be the last two!"

"Damn it!" Joey swore, "This is just getting worse and worse!"

"Can't we save them?" Adan questioned.

"Perhaps," Miayag said, "If we were to defeat Dagomon, then they may return to normal, since it was his appearance that brought them under his control."

"But not even the First Chosen could stop him," Ines replied.

Lizzie looked to the others, "T…this is it, right? I…I mean, there's nothing we can do, right?"

The others were silent, staring blankly at the ground. After a moment of silence, Miayag stepped forward, "No, there is still hope." She looked to where Akira, Adan, Yasu, Eliane, Bolades, Ines, Joey and Aleksey were standing. "You…you all, are our hope now."

"Us?" Eliane asked.

"Yes," Miayag nodded.

"How?" Aleksey asked, "Are we to go Mega?"

"No," the priestess replied, shaking her head, "You have seen the damage done when one evolves to that level without an external object to handle that power."

"Our mothers did!" Yasu protested.

"They did so with the aid of the Digitamas of the Angels, we do not have that luxury now."

"So what do you want us to do?" Akira demanded.

"You must become so proficient with your Fully Evolved digimon, that you will gain the strength of a Mega."

"Really?" Joey asked, enticed by that promise.

"Yes," she replied with a slight smile.

"All right," Sora sighed, "You take them and do whatever you think will help. We don't know where Dagomon is right now, but I don't think we're going to stand much of a chance against the Ancients without Taichi and the others." She sighed deeply, "We're going to have to try to bring them back to us."

The eight teens followed Miayag as they exited the room. Sora ran a hand through her red hair. "Is there anything we can do?"

The room fell silent, so Jyou began to speak, "Well…we really, um, know _how_ they're being controlled, so we can't really undo it."

"What about that device you wanted to use on Kasumi?" Lizzie suggested.

"I barely made one," he replied, "And the prototype was destroyed when Gabe used it. Besides, Kasumi was a Demon because of her…um…emotional problems, and we have no idea what's controlling the others."

The room feel silent once again, and once again, Jyou began to speak. "Wait, let's think about this. Dagomon's controlling all the….the Royal Knights, so maybe, if we can cause them to de-evolve to their Child forms…and their Human forms, then maybe they'll be back to normal."

"Really?" Noriko asked, her eyes lighting.

"Yeah, it…it's possible…"

Sora nodded, "Then if that's our only option, then that's what we'll have to do."

* * *

In the Hunter's new base, a different conversation was occurring. Lord Sentry rubbed his chin as he watched Dagomon's ransom broadcast. "Interesting. Now this is something I didn't foresee."

"A major error on our part," Araki added, "The Knights were guardians of Yddrisil, Dagomon is the God's Priest, it should have been obvious."

Lord Sentry began to pace the floor.

"Boss is really thinkin' this time," Flidais said, "Looks like we gonna have some action soon."

Nanook yawned, "Yeah, whatever…"

Orion glared at them, "Dagomon's our only link to Yddrisil, Masahiko and Masanori were supposed to kill him, letting us access it; _this _wasn't part of the plan."

Artemis was seated on the edge of the table, gently playing with one of her arrows. "Ya got any plans?"

Lord Sentry stopped and stared at his team, "We need Dagomon to lead us to Yddrisil, but him threatening Earth won't be tolerated. This planet will soon belong to us, Dagomon can't have his way."

He stopped for a moment, then lightly tapped his fingers against the table. He turned to Orion, "Can we trace that signal?"

He nodded. "Yes. The only other ones that could possibly trace it would be DATS, but the recent damage to the building, I doubt they'll be able to."

Lord Sentry nodded, "Good."

* * *

Within one of the training rooms of DATS headquarters, Akira and the others were shouting out to their partners as they spared with one another. Rizegreymon swung his fist at Shawujinmon, but he blocked with his staff, then leapt into the air and struck the dragon's chin with his weapon. Rizegreymon swung his fist again, but the Deep Saver continued to twist and doge to safety.

"Come on!" Akira shouted, "Let's go! You can take him!"

"Ha!" Joey laughed, crossing his arms, "He doesn't stand a chance, he can't even touch him!"

Off to the side, Miayag and Plotmon were leaning against the wall, watching closely. "Rizegreymon's got the strength all right," the digimon commented, "But not the speed or the agility."

"Agreed," Miayag nodded, "and their fighting spirit is powerful, yet, they still hold their camaraderie in high regard." She sighed, "If only that was shared…"

They both glanced over to the other side of the room, where Machgaogamon and Deramon were fighting. They both battled with such ferocity that it was difficult to tell whether they knew it was only a sparring match. While their partners fought, Yasu and Ines shouted insults at one another.

"Spoiled princess!"

"Arrogant bitch!"

The two girls glared at one another, their eyes narrowed in rage, they fists clenched tightly. Bolades and Eliane looked apologetically at one another.

"Well, what do you expect?" Plotmon asked, "From what I hear, those two nearly killed them."

"But they have agreed to help us now."

"Yeah, but…"

Miayag sighed, "If you will recall, when the X-Chosen took us in, we were not any better."

The digimon stuttered for a moment, "Y..yeah, b…but we…you see, it…" She frowned, turning her head away.

The door to the room slid open and Noriko walked inside. At the sight of her mother, Yasu forgot her rivalry with Ines and ran over to her mother, hugging her tightly. "Mommy, are we gonna go after Oniichan yet?"

The woman addressed the others who were now staring at her intently. They were all eager to attempt to rescue their friends and family. "Yes," she said, sighed slightly, "Yeah, we're going."

* * *

Sora waited until everyone had arrived in the control room before speaking. "Okay, time is quickly running out, so I'll make this short. Dagomon's our immediate problem right now. We don't know what the Hunters' next move will be, and while the Ancients are a major problem, we can't stop them, we need Taichi and the others, and the only way to do that is to try and get them back. That probably means we'll have to fight them."

She took another deep breath, "Since four of our Fully Evolved digimon can only evolve through Jogress, I think we should split into groups of two." She nodded to Reika, who began to read from a list.

"We contacted Mimi and Michael, they'll be in New York City with Dynasmon, Sora and Anna will be in Moscow with Alforce V-dramon, Noriko and Lizzie will be in Beijing with Duftmon X, Joey and Aleksey will by in Cario with Sleipmon, Bolades and Ines will be in Washington D.C. with Alphamon, Yasu and Eliane will be in Paris with RhodoKnightmon, Hikari and Lynna will be in Brazil with Dukemon, and Adan and Akira will be in Mexico city with Cranniumon. Jyou, Dingo and Miayag will remain here because Jyou and Miayag can hopefully help with any injuries."

Dingo snorted, crossing his arms, "And I guess I'm here 'cause I do have a Fully Evolved, huh?"

Lynna smiled and hugged him, "Oh, you're here for emotional support, hun."

"Yeah, great…"

Sora stared at the two, and wished that it could be she and Taichi. She looked over to Noriko- she was no doubt missing Yamato, but when she looked at her son, she wondered if he was thinking of his sister.

Jyou cleared his throat, "Um, if I might make a suggestion, maybe you should stay here Sora."

The redhead blinked, "What? Why?"

"Well, if you're acting as the leader right now, you should probably stay where you can help better, um…lead us."

She seemed to be at a loss for words, "W…well, I…um…"

"I think he's right," Hikari said, stepping closer to her, "You and Noriko both, you two should stay here."

The two women glanced at each other. "W…well," Noriko started.

"Don't worry," Jyou said, "I'll go with Anna."

Hikari nodded, "And tell you what, why don't I go with Lizzie, then Dingo and Lynna can go together? They can take Beijing and Lizzie and I will still go to Brazil."

"And I can stay here to act as the…'healer,' Miayag said with a slight smile.

"And Kikku can help just as well as I can," Jyou added.

Sora and Noriko stared at one another for another moment before sighing. "I…guess."

"Kick ass!" Lynna grinned, embracing Dingo tighter. Their son, Joey, hid his face in embarrassment.

"All right," Noriko said, "You got your assignments, so go, just be careful. They're really strong, if you're in over your head, then get out of there, we'll think of something else. Okay, good luck."

The soldiers each nodded, then filed out of the room. Once they were gone, Sora sighed deeply, "Is this even going to work?"

"Sure it will," Noriko said, flashing a smile, "Of course it will."

Sora eyed her friend, "If you're acting so optimistic, then the world really _is_ coming to an end."

"Har har har, that was hilarious," Noriko glared.

"It's not a time to laugh," Sora chuckled, "But what else are we going to do?"

"Yeah, I know."

Sora's smile faded, "I just hope that they'll be able to stop the Knights, because if they don't, we might have to use the Electromagnetic Pulse to stop them, and if we have to use that, then…"

Noriko nodded, "Yeah, I know."

The room then fell into silence, the only sound the loud hum of the computer processors.

* * *

Around the world, the DATS agents were arriving in secret in the cities held under siege. Mimi and Michael were the first to arrive. They used the abandoned cars littering the George Washington Bridge to approach the silent Dynasmon X. The Knight had remained motionless since arriving, standing perfectly still. Mimi stared up at the armored digimon and rubbed her hands together. "I…I still can't believe that's Gabe!"

Michael nodded, "Yeah, I know, but we've seen Taichi and Yamato do it, right? We know it's possible."

"I'm not saying that!" she snapped, "Our son is about to attack this city!"

Michael and Betamon X both gasped slightly as they jumped back at her outburst. Palmon X looked up to her partner. "Mimi…"

"I'm sorry," she said, "I'm sorry. I…I haven't seen my little boy in almost two months, and this is how I see him again?"

Michael hesitated for a moment before embracing her tightly. "Listen, we'll find a way to save him, I promise."

"How can you be so sure?" she asked, almost pleading for him to tell her, she wanted him to tell her.

"Because I know we will," he said with a slight smile, "Just look at our track record, it's pretty good, right?"

She smiled back, "Y..yeah…yeah….yeah…"

Michael turned away and stared up at Dynasmon X. "_I just wish I could believe it. Gabe, come on, I know you can snap out of this."_

* * *

This scene was being replayed all over the world. Jyou, Anna and their partners stood outside the boundaries of the Kremlin; the group ready to do whatever was necessary to save Kasumi.

Dingo and Lynna were staring down Duftmon X in Beijing, wondering how this towering knight could be the same Shiro they knew.

Joey and Aleksey were staring down Sleipmon in Cario, wondering how they were going to reach someone they did not know very well, but they promised themselves that they would find a way, no matter what.

Hikari and Lizzie were in Brasilia, and Hikari was trying as hard as she could not to break down at the sight of Dukemon ready to destroy the city.

Adan had to hold back Akira from opening attacking Cranniumon in his attempts to awaken Mixcoatl, even though the young Latino boy was willing to do the same.

Within a darkened room, Dagomon sat upon a throne of mysterious metal that shimmered in the blackness. The digital creature was staring at a large sphere of unknown glass-this orb was large enough that images of all the Knights were displayed. The armored warriors had been standing firmly in place as they had been since arriving in their respective cities. "Time is quickly running out, I am surprised there has not been any attempt to cease our…"

He trailed off as he observed a group of figures appearing before each of the Knights. Dagomon narrowed his eyes, studying the newcomers carefully. "Ah, this must be the Chosen Army known as DATS. Interesting, they are not as I envisioned them." He was silent for a moment before continuing, "I should order them to attack right now, but my Masters were of this race, so I shall wait until the appointed time." He grinned, "After all, what is two more hours before the end of their world?"

His eyes were pulled to the images of Alphamon and Rhodoknightmon. The two Knights had begun to fight the DATS agents that appeared before them, Alphamon against Deramon and Rhodo Knightmon against Machgaogamon. "Curses!" He held up a tentacle hand, "Alphamon, RhodoKnightmon, cease at once!"

The two Knights did not stop, but continued to fight. He exhaled deeply, "Well, it should be no surprise, it would be difficult to control Fate and Chance." He smiled slightly, "Well, it should be interesting nonetheless."

He sighed and glanced over his shoulder to where Omegamon X was standing still as a statue. "Yes Master."

Dagomon frowned, "Yes, I should have known you would not be as communicative."

* * *

In Washington D.C. Bolades and Ines had only just arrived before Alphamon when he began to attack. He swung his sword at Deramon, and the bird digimon jumped to the side, the blade slashing a section of the bush-tail into the air.

"Hey!" Ines shouted, "We've got two hours left! You're early!"

"Ines," Bolades cautioned, "Do not antagonize him!"

Deramon fluttered into the air to reach Alphamon's head. He began to assail the knight with a barrage of hammer peaks to his head. "Royal Smasher!"The Knight bashed him aside easily with a swipe of his armored fist, sending the bird smashing into the ground.

Deramon stumbled as he rose back to his feet, "I think we are a little out-matched here."

"Don't give up!" Ines called.

The Wind Guardian leapt into the air, ready to fight once more, but Alphamon easily dispatched him again. Bolades stared up at the towering knight, "Masahiko! We were comrades together! Do you not know who we are?"

Alphamon roared and swung his sword down at her. She was only saved when Ines tackled her to the side. "This isn't good," the Brazilian huffed, rising to her feet, "He's got no idea who we are."

Alphamon spied the two girls beneath him. He raised his foot, intending to send it sailing down to squash them, but Deramon once again appeared before Alphamon's head. This time, he unleashed a hailstorm of nuts into the Knight's face, "Beck Buster!" As the nuts struck Alphamon in the eyes, he stumbled backwards in pain, sparing the girls below him.

"We are safe," Bolades frowned, "But I cannot say for how much longer."

* * *

In the capital of France, Rhodo Knightmon swung her large fist, but Machgaogamon jumped out of the way with inches to spare. The Knight's fist smashed into the street, cracking the blacktop. She swung around quickly, her shield knocking into Machgaogamon's face.

"Stop!" Eliane exclaimed, "Asami, it is us! Do you not recognize us?"

Rodo Knightmon send her ribbon smashing into the ground inches in front of the blond-haired girl. She pulled back quickly and her ribbons tore through the ground, sending up a hailstorm of debris. "That answer your question?" Yasu snapped.

Rhodo Knight began to spin around quickly, her ribbons creating a miniature cyclone before releasing the thin piece of cloth. Machgaogamon jumped in front of the girls and used his arm to block the ribbons, which wrapped tightly around his forearm, cutting through the skin like razors. He winced in pain, but endured it so he could pull on the ribbon as hard as he could, yanking Rhodo Knightmon towards him. He readied his other fist to punch her in the face, but at the last second, she whipped her shield around and smashed it against his head. He released his grip on the ribbon and stumbled backwards. Rhodo Knightmon was about to slash with her ribbons again, but Machgaogamon managed to execute a perfect maneuver and slip easily through the spinning whip. He landed on the ground, panting heavily.

"Great job!" Yasu cheered.

"Yeah," the wolf replied, "Only problem…that was pure luck…"

* * *

Alphamon swung his blade through the air and Deramon jumped to safety, then fired a barrage of nuts that bounced harmlessly off of his sword. He punched the bird with his other fist, then whacked him atop the head. He was about to slash the bird digimon, in half, but he shot further into the air, then used his beak to hit Alphamon in the head with all of his might. The knight was caught off balanced and he stumbled back. Dearmon executed another Royal Smasher, actually cracking the Knight's helmet. Deramon then dropped to the ground, grabbd his partners and started running.

"What are you doing?" Ines gasped.

"We're no match for him!" the bird exclaimed, "We've got to hide and come up with a different plan!"

Bolades looked to Alphamon, only to see him running after him. "He is following us!"

Deramon did not answer as he charged through the city streets.

* * *

RhodoKnightmon began to rain down roses upon the group, sharp thorns that tore through even the metal of the buildings. Machgaogamon executed a Gaoga Tornado, spinning the deadly flowers away from the girls. The Royal Knight swung her fist again, "Fist of Athena!"

Machgaogamon narrowly missed the technique with inches to spare. He unleashed his own punch attacking, "Winning Knuckle!" This was blocked by RhodoKnightmon's shield; when the fist crashed into the shield, the wolf felt as though his entire fist was shattered. The Knight knocked her shield into his chin, then spun around on one foots, striking him in the chest with her other. He flew backwards and crashed into a building. He jumped back to his feet and stared down the knight. "I don't want to hurt you…"

Yasu snorted, "Oh yeah, right, she's _real_ scared now."

The Royal Knight started to spin her ribbons again. "Spiral Masquerade

"Oh no!" Eliane exclaimed, "Not again!"

Machgaogamon's arm was caught in the attack, slicing the hair and skin from his bone. He winced, biting his tongue to keep from yelling out. He breathed heavily, keeping himself from passing out before rushing into battle again.

* * *

Deramon and the two girls had hidden themselves behind a large 18 wheeler that had been abandoned on the street when Alphamon had invaded the city. They were cowering behind the large vehicle, their backs pressed tightly against the trailer, they were completely silent, breathing as quietly as they could. They could hear the Royal Knight stamping in the distance, growing softer, and softer, and softer until nothing.

They all breathed a sigh of relief. "I believe he is gone," Bolades said.

"What are we suppose to do now?" Ines questioned.

Deramon suddenly exclaimed in a shout. Before the girls could say anything to him, the ground shuddered violently as Alphamon landed right before them. All three screamed aloud as the Royal Knight stared down at them. "No where to run," he grumbled, removing his sword from its sheath. "Prepare for your death." He swung his sword at them. Ines and Deramon braced for the attack, but Bolades shouted up to him.

"Masa, remember your mother!"

The sword suddenly stopped only inches above their heads. "M….mother…?"

"That is correct!" the African teenager rose to her feet, "Remember your mother. You were only with the Hunters to protect her, right?"

Alphamon stumbled backwards, his body shaking, his arms flailing, like his body was at war with itself. He dropped his sword and begun to clutch his helmeted head. He was screaming in pain, stumbling from side to side. Within the screams, he began to grumbled, "S…s…slide e…evolution…." His body suddenly exploded in light, changing the armored knight to a metal dragon, "…Dorughoramon!"

He dropped to his hands and knees, panting heavily. Deramon and the two girls stared cautiously at him, and Bolades stepped forward, "M…Masa?"

"Y…yes," he heaved, "I…it's me…It's me….Dagomon's control doesn't work in this form…."

He studied them," Where are the others?"

"With the other Royal Knights," Ines explained. She gasped, then looked at her watch, "In another hour, they're going to start attacking the cities! You started early.."

Dorughoramon rubbed his forehead, "I…I don't even really remember too much….it's like a dream…."

Ines nodded, "Well, yeah, okay, but you're back now."

"What is our next move?" Deramon asked.

"Stopping Dagomon," he replied, "But we can't do it alone, we need help…." He stared down at them, "Where is Asami?"

* * *

"Fist of Athena!"

Machgaogamon blocked with his left arm, and he felt as if his bones shattered. Rhodo Knightmon suddenly whipped around her other arm, grabbing onto his injured arm tightly, causing him to yelp in pain.

"Machgaogamon!" Eliane and Yasu shouted in unison.

The wolf man threw his other fist at the Royal Knight's head. "Winning Knuckle!"

Rhodo Knightmon pulled her head back and the fist cut through air. She head-butted his arm, and he felt it bend, but thankfully, did not break. Yet, Rhodo Knightmon still had hold of his other arm, and gripping it tightly, she slammed her knee into his chest. As he stumbled back from the pain, the Royal Knight twisted around quickly, bashing her shield into the side of his head. "Spiral Masquerade!"

Her ribbons began to tear across his chest, he instinctively blocked with his arm. The bladed fabric tore through his skin, ripping it to shreds. The two girls gasped in horror as their partner's arm hung limb at his side, blood dripping to the ground. The wolf man panted heavily, staring at the Royal Knight. Rhodo Knightmon began to walk forward, almost in a dance before kicking Machgaogamon's chin with all of her might, flipping him onto his back.

She stepped closer, but the wolf shifted his weight to his upper back, then threw his legs forward; he flew through the air, striking the knight squarely in the chest. She lost her balance and fell onto her back.

Eliane and Yasu cheered and Machgaogamon went on the attack. He jumped into the air and exhaled a blast of energy through his mouth, "Howling Cannon!"

The Royal Knight could not block in time and took the full force of the blast. The wolf man continued his assault, landing with all his weight onto her stomach. He then jumped back into the air, twisting around before dropping all of his might onto her head. He lifted her with his remaining arm and threw her into the ground. She kicked out his feet from behind him and he fell to his side. She kicked in the face, sending him tumbling along the ground before smashing into a building. He slowly rose to his feet, but he was clearly on his last legs, he could barely stand, blood was dripping from his open wounds. Rodo Knightmon's ribbons whipped through the air, wrapping tightly around Machgaogamon's neck. She yanked him off of his feet, supported only by the tight wrap around his neck.

He struggled to stand, but his feet slipped on the blood-soaked-ground. "Stop it!" Eliane screamed, "Asami, Leormon, please! Stop zis, we are your friends!"

Rhodo Knightmon stared at the girl for a moment before turning back to Machgaogamon.

"Asami!" Eliane screamed even louder.

"Brave Metal!"

Rhodo Knightmon suddenly released her grip on Machgaogamon and he fell to the ground. The Royal Knight jumped backwards just as a massive spiked ball flew past her, crashing through a vacated building. All eyes turned to the sky as a metal dragon descended to the ground.

Yasu was staring, "D…dexdorughoramon?" She stared closer, "No…Masa?!"

Bolades, Ines, and their Child-level partners ran towards them. "Oh, thank the heavens you are all still alive," the African girl said with relief.

Yasu pointed to the dragon, "Is that Dorughoramon?"

"Yeah," Ines replied, "He freed himself."

Rhodo Knightmon stared at Dorughoramon, her eyes narrowed. "Spiral Masquerade!"

Dorughoramon whipped up his arm, and the ribbons wrapped tightly around it. The Royal Knight began to pull back, but the dragon yanked on the fabric as hard as he could, throwing the Knight forward. He shot forward, executing a devastating uppercut to Rhodo Knightmon's chin, then whacked her in the side with his tail. He began to assail her with a barrage of punches that she was not even able to block. His assault cracked her armor and threw her off balance. She stumbled back, catching herself from falling, but left herself wide open.

"Please forgive me for this," Dorughoramon said, "But Dagomon's control does not work in a form other then the Royal Knight." He narrowed his eyes, "This will hurt. Doru Djinn!"

His fist exploded his flames and he punched across her chest, the flames leaping across her body. Rhodo Knightmon erupted in flames before exploding in a bright light, and when it faded, Asami and Leromon lay on the ground.

"Asami!" Yasu screamed, running to her side.

The older girl lay perfectly still for a few seconds before moaning loudly. She sat up slowly, breathing heavily. She stared at the blond girl, "Yasu?"

The younger girl lunged at her, squeezing her tightly, "Asami! Asami, you're you again!"

After Asami and Leormon were helped to their feet, Dorughoramon devolved to Masa and Dorumon, then quickly explained their options. "Dagomon's going to destroy the human population if we don't stop him," he said.

Yasu nodded, "Yeah, let's go help my Mom…"

"No," Masa interrupted, "That's a symptom, not the cause. We have to stop Dagomon."

"And how are you going to do that?" Ines asked.

Masa mentioned to Asami, "We know how to get to his base."

The teenage girl was silent.

"And we need to hurry," he continued, glancing at his watch, "They're about to start fighting, we've got to get to Dagomon before either side ends up killing the other."

"Daddy," Asami sighed, "Kasumi, Uncle Taichi.."

Yasu frowned too," Oniichan, Dad…." She nodded quickly, "All right, let's do it."

Masa smiled slightly, "All right, let's move."

* * *

Dagomon had been watching the two battles via his mysterious orb. "Curses! Two of my Knights, gone!" He frowned, "It is close enough to the appointed time, if they have not surrender yet, they will not." He raised his tentacle, "Knights, hear my voice, began your assault, and start with the death of those cursed DATS Agents!"

He turned to face Omegamon X, "Ready yourself, you must prepare to…"

He was suddenly cut off when a loud bang sounded through the room. A projectile shot through Dagomon's shoulder. The Deep Saver digimon twisted to see a human figure standing in the corner of the room. He had a large shotgun resting over his shoulder, smoke still flowing from the barrel. "_Gutten Tag_," he smiled, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Dagomon, I've heard a lot about you." His smile grew, "You can call me Lord Sentry. Now, what should we talk about?"

* * *

Above the city of New Delhi, the two Ancients hovered in the sky. "Whilst our enemy Dagomon may have been unleashed," Ancient Greymon said, "He hath certainly aided us."

"Agreed," Ancient Garurumon replied, holding his swords so that they glistened in the sunlight, "With his attempt to seize this world, he has freed the center of the traitorous Chosen from their base, and with their defenders gone, the rest will fall like slaughtered cattle."

_To be continued….._


	35. The Fall of the Chosen: Chapter 2

**Super garurumon:** Sorry,  a lot of things had come up, but I'm glad you're still reading.

**Warriorseadra****:** The Knights are as large as they were in Savers.

**HevnoAngered****:** Thank you.

**Yami**** Vizzini:** Yes, Dagomon did say that.

_            My name is Noriko Ishida, and it's taking everything I've got not to freak out right now. My husband, my son and my friends are under the control of Dagomon, the High Priest of the Gods. He sent the Royal Knights to different cities to attack them when the time limit for our surrender was up. But Alphamon and RhodoKnight attacked Yasu, Eliane and Ines and Bolades before the time limit was up. They were able to get through to Masa and Asami, and now they're going to attack Dagomon and free the others, but it's almost too late, because the other Knights have started attacking the city. And if that wasn't bad enough, the last of the Ancients are on their way!_

----------

Digimon: Magog

_The Fall of the Chosen:_

_Chapter 2_

------------------

Above the city of New Delhi, the two Ancients hovered in the sky. "Whilst our enemy Dagomon may have been unleashed," Ancient Greymon said, "He hath certainly aided us."

"Agreed," Ancient Garurumon replied, holding his swords so that they glistened in the sunlight, "With his attempt to seize this world, he has freed the center of the traitorous Chosen from their base, and with their defenders gone, the rest will fall like slaughtered cattle."

            The two Ancients chuckled to one another before dropping into the city, both landing in the center of a bust intersection. Cars were crushed beneath their massive weight while others cars were thrown in all directions. Traffic instantly stopped, sending vehicles smashing into one another. Those on the sidewalks had run in terror, but only so far, as curiously overtook their fear. They stared at the two invaders, and slowly moved back. They should have continued to run. Ancient Garurumon screamed, "Absolute Zero!" He fired a blast of blue energy from his mouth, instantly freezing intersection in all directions. He smirked at the frozen statues of people and vehicles. He smashed his foot into the ground, shattering all the ice sculptures into dust.

            "An excellent start," Ancient Greymon smirked, "Let's continue."

* * *

            Sora and Noriko walked into the DATS main room. Sora studied the staff busily working, "I guess things haven't gotten any better, huh?"

            Miayag, who had been watching the monitors with Reika and Megumi, shook her head. She turned to them, "The Royal Knights have begun their assault, and the Ancients have been spotted in India."

            Piyomon sighed, "I just hate sitting here."

            "No one's fighting the Ancients, you know," Noriko's Plotmon said.

            The redhead nodded, "I know, but we can't stand against them, right?"

            "So we just let them keep slaughtering people until Yamato and the others snap out of it?" Noriko questioned, "How many people are going to die in the meantime?"

            Miayag frowned. So many deaths, so many waiting to die. She knew she did not have the strength to stop them, even if she still did posses her Staff of Fate. Yet, she could not sit here and do nothing, she had to try. Force would do nothing, yet..... 

            She glanced to her Plotmon. "I think we should go to India."

            "What?" Sora asked.

            "You can't take them!" Piyomon exclaimed.

            "There may be a way," she replied, walking to the door.

              "What way?" her Plotmon question, trotting after her, "What are you talking about?"

             "Still being so secretive, huh?" Noriko snapped.

             Miayag stopped at the door and glanced over her shoulder. "I truly wish I had a secret…'ace up my sleeve,' but I am sorry, I do not."

            "Then what are you going to do?"

            "If force cannot stop them, perhaps negotiations might."

            "Negotiations?" Noriko exclaimed, not believing her ears, "What the hell could you possible offer them?"

            "I will not know until I can try. But you must remain here, if we fail, you will be their only hope."

            _"Their_ hope?" Sora questioned, "What about you?"

            She stopped at the door and looked over her shoulder, "If this should fail, we will not be returning."

* * *

            Around the planet, Agents of DATS had begun their offensive against the Royal Knights. In New York City, Lillymon X and Megaseadramon X were engaging Dyansmon X in the city streets. The duo had to roll through the sky to avoid his deadly jab. "Gabe, Kotemon!" Lillymon X shouted, "We're your family!"

            "Look out!" Megaseadramon X shouted, knocking his head into her body to throw her away from the knight's jab."We can't keep dodging him, we have to attack!"

            The flower woman looked to the ground, "Y…yes, but…"

            On the ground, Mimi and Michael watched horrified at the sight. With every attack of Dynasmon X, Mimi felt her heart crack a bit more. "Oh Michael…" she sobbed, burying her face in his chest.

            "I know," he said, "I know."

            She stared at him. "But…how is this helping him?"

            "Mimi," he said, "We have to think about this city first. Thousands of people are counting on us."

            "I know," she sobbed, "I know…" She hugged him as tightly as she could. She took a deep breath and shouted up to the digimon, "Lillymon, do whatever you need to do!"

            "You too, Megaseadramon!" Michael shouted in unison.

            Both digimon stared down at their partners, then back at the Royal Knight. They both reluctantly took to the offensive. Lillymon X placed both of her hands together and fired a blast of energy from her palms, "Flower Cannon!"

            Megaseadramon X joined her, "King's Javelin!"

            The two energy blasts joined together, striking Dynasmon X in the chest. He took a step back, then swung his fist, knocking them from the sky. They shot back into the sky, but he grabbed Megaseadramon X by the tail and began to spin him around overhead, smashing him into Lillymon X, throwing both of them into the ground.

            "Gabe!" Mimi shouted, "Stop this!"

            Dynasmon X stared down at them and roared loudly. He lifted his foot, intending to crush them, but the two digimon shot back up from the ground and engaged him in battle once again.

* * *

            In Moscow, Alforce V-dramon X was using her wrist-based claymore to keep Jyou's Anomalocarimon X and Anna's Hippo Gryphomon at bay. Jyou was wincing each time the Royal Knight's weapon connected with his partner. Thankfully, Anomalocarimon X's shell kept the weapon from slicing into organs. Hippo Gryphomon had no such protection, and was keeping his distance. He could only fire out a Sonic Boom from his screams, which appeared to have no affect on Alforce V-dramon X.

            Anomalocarimon X could only jab with his tail, but this strategy left him wide open, as he had to attack in close range. He jabbed his tail at Alforce V-dramon X's leg, but the Knight easily kicked him aside.

            "Come on Kasumi!" Jyou shouted, "Don't you remember us?"

            Alforce V-dramon X stared down at him, her eyes narrowing.

            "That's right," Jyou continued, "I'm your parents' friend…I'm your doctor! I bandaged your broken arm! I gave you medicine when you were sick, I gave you vaccine shots!"

            The Knight suddenly roared and swung down her claymore. Anomalocarimon X caught Jyou with his tail and whipped him to safety seconds before the blade cut into the ground. "Yeah," the Deep Saver panted, "I think she remembers those shots. Why did you mention those?!"

            "I'm doing my best here!" he shouted. He sighed, "If only I could make another DER, then maybe we could save her."

            "DER?" Anna asked.

            "It was just something that I made to save her from when she was controlled by the Demons." He punched his open palm, "Damn it! She gets controlled like this twice, and there's nothing I can do to save her again!"

            Alforce V-dramon X swung her claymore once more. Hippo Gryphomon flew in quickly, unleashing a Sonic Boom attack. The Royal Knight used her sword to block the blast of air, then twirled the blade through the air quickly, striking the street as she did so that chunks of debris flew into Jyou and Anna's faces. The middle-aged man threw the middle-aged woman to the ground, covering her body with his.

            "This isn't working!"

* * *

            That thought was being shared in Beijing, by Dingo and Lynna as they watched their Gesomon X and Waruseadramon dodge attacks by Duftmon X. The Royal Knight was slashing at his opponents, who could only continue to avoid. Gesomon X took a deep breath and spewed forth a blast of ink, "Deadly Shade!"

His attack struck Duftmon X in the face, blocking his vision. Waruseadramon circled around to attack, "Thunder Javelin!"

Duftmon X's vision returned at the last moment, and he blocked the lightning bolts with his saber, redirecting it back at the two digimon. They both darted aside, but Duftmon X swooped around and slashed at Waruseadramon. Gesomon X wrapped his tentacles around the arm, but the Knight easily threw him into an apartment building. Waruseadramon shot from behind to continue the attack, but Duftmon X swung at the last second, connecting the blunt side of his blade with the serpent's head, knocking him to the ground.

* * *

            Dukemon was using his shield to smash the buildings of Brasilia, knocking large chunks of concrete into the city below. Hikari bravely stood in the midst of the destruction, staring up at the Royal Knight. "Mitsuo!" she shouted, "It's me, Hikari, your wife!"

            He stared down at her, studying her curiously.

            "Please, don't you remember? We love each, we have a daughter, please…please, remember me…"

            Lizzie suddenly charged at her. "Mrs. Yamaki, look out!" she cried, pushing her out of the way seconds before a massive piece of stone would have crushed her. The girl's Blossomon darted over them and began to use her vines to smash the pieces into dust before crushing the two females. Once Lizzie had helped Hikari to her feet, Blossomon went on the offensive. She threw her snapping flower buds at the Knight, and they imbedded into his armor like throwing stars. This appeared to do no damage, and so he swung his lance around, only to have it deflect when Nefertimon X unleashed her Rosetta Stones.

            The Angel digimon stared at the Royal Knight, "Please, don't make me do this."

            Dukemon throw his shield like a boomerang, Nefertimon X ducking with only inches to spare.

* * *

            The only DATS Agents that were taking a offensive stance to the Royal Knights opponents were Joey and Aleksey and Akira and Adan. In Cario, Shaujinmon was engaging Sleipmon in the city streets. The Royal Knight was atop his steed, and so had the advantage of speed. He trotted around the city, firing flaming arrows from his bow. Shaujinmon was able to block by spinning his staff around quickly. Another arrow came right after the other, the Deep Saver fell to his side, the arrow passing overhead. Once Shaujinmon was back on his feet, he threw his weapon at his opponent. "Crescent Blade!"

            Sleipmon ducked, the blade spinning around behind him before coming around like a boomerang. While he had been watching the weapon, Shaujinmon had run closer. Now he met his weapon in the middle of the battlefield, catching it in the middle of the air. While still hovering, he spun his staff quickly, "Whirlpool Formation!" A tornado of water erupted forth, striking the Knight in the chest, catching him off guard. Shaujinmon dropped to the ground and quickly began a barrage of jabs with his weapon, watching Sleipmon's movements carefully. When he saw that the Knight was about to attack, he jumped back to a safe distance, gripping his weapon tightly.

            "Nice job!" Joey called from below, "Just keep it up."

            "Are you sure we should be doing this?" Aleksey asked.

            He stared at him, "What do you mean?"

            "Well, we are supposed to be trying to safe them, correct? Why are we fighting?"

            "Because we have to," he replied, "We can try ta get their heads back on straight once they're back at DATS! We gotta knock 'em out!"

* * *

            A similar strategy was being employed by Akira and Adan. In Mexico City, Craniummon was using his spear to slash through buildings, causing them to slide to the ground in an explosion of debris and smoke. Adan and Akira's Rizegreymon fired from his Trident Revolver at the Knight's back.

            Adan was staring at Craniummon, trying to block out the knowledge that it was really his brother. He could not think that way; this was not his brother, he was destroying, killing...murdering...

            He realized sadly, that was his brother. He had long tried to hide it from himself, but he knew the truth now. His brother had allowed his hate to rule his life, turning him into this monstrous creature before him. He would save him from himself, even if the only way was to save him was to defeat him.

            Akira was having similiar thoughts. He remembered his sister, trapped as a Demon, and how he wanted to do anything to save her. Yet, this was different, Craniummon was not acting like his Demon-sister, he was silent, not speaking, simply moving. He thought that perhaps Kasumi's transformation into a Demon utilized her inner thoughts, not really _controlling_ her, just liberating her negative emotions. Craniummon, on the other hand, could possibly _be_ under Dagomon's control, in which case, maybe defeating him, knocking him out of it, could save him. He wanted to save him, he wanted Mixcoatl to be with Adan again...they reminded him too much of him and Kasumi.

            The Knight spun around and blocked the projectiles with the shield on his arm. He jumped into the air with his spear pointed downward. Rizegreymon shot backwards and Craniummon's weapon pierced through the ground. The dragon dinosaur whipped around, smacking the Knight's head with his tail. Craniummon grabbed the appendage, but Rizegreymon blasted from his metal wings and began to levitate in the air. The Knight was force to release his grip and fell onto his back. The dragon pointed his gun back at the Knight, firing another round of bullets from his Trident Revolver. Craniummon whipped his spear around, slashing at the dragon's skin. He winced in pain.

            The Knight jumped back onto his feet and spun around quickly, sending a tornado of air into the dragon before slashing at him with his spear.

* * *

            These battles were being displayed upon the strange glass crystals within Dagomon's lair, but the so-named Agent of Destruction was not observing the war he had set in motion. Rather, he was focused on the individual that had dared to invade his lair…and dared to get his attention by shooting him in the shoulder. This figure was leaning against the door frame, holding the smoking rifle against his shoulder. "You may call me Lord Sentry."

            "How dare you come here?" Dagomon snapped, "Why should I not order your death immediately?"

            Sentry glanced over to Omegamon X, who was standing beside Dagomon, his sword ready to slice the intruder in twain. "Interesting trick, how do you do that?"

            "That is not your concern. Why are you here?"

            Sentry slowly walked over to the other side of the room where the bullet he shot through Dagomon's shoulder had landed. He stepped over the projectile, and it slid into a chamber within his boot. HE turned and continued speaking. "You are hunting the Chosen in those cities, that is your main objective in this invasion, correct?"

            He only stared at him, "It would seem you have guessed correctly, that is indeed part of my goal. Now, it would seem you have something to offer…?"

            He smirked, "Yes, I do."

            "What?"

            He mentioned with his head, "You first."

            The two stared at one another for another moment before Dagomon began to speak. "I am able to control these Knights because of the weapons they hold. The first Royal Knights were the defenders of the Mighty World Tree, planted by the Gods. The Dragon Warriors defeated these Knights, and took those weapons for their own. I am the High Priest of the Gods and directly oversaw the World Tree, so I am the Knight's Master."

            "And these Gods? They created the Tree?" he asked, feigning ignorance.

            "Yes…They were from your world, you know, and they created what had never existed before. They were superior to every being, and I am their like. How were you able to find me on a signal that none on Earth should be able to trace?"

            "I have the technology from a genus digital scientist named Kurata and I am also the grandson of Juro."

            Dagomon paled, "J…Juro?" He backed away, fear in his eyes. "J…Juro?! No…no I will not be sealed again!"

            Sentry chuckled, "So, it seems you have a weakness after all, huh? I came here to offer you a deal. I can give you a list of Chosen of which I have recently come into possession, and you can use this to secretly exterminate as many Chosen as you want. There is only one thing I want in return…access to Yddrisil."

            Dagomon overcame his fear and stared at him, "You will never have access to the Holy Tree. I need not you list." He mentioned to Omegamon X, "Destroy him!"

            Omegamon X swung his sword at Sentry, but the Hunter twisted to safety. He swung his arm in a full circle, sending out an eruption of flames that danced across the Knight's body, "Purgatorial Flame!"

            Dagomon raised an eyebrow. "Interesting technique."

            ""Yes, something I stole from Cahiti and Lucemon."

            "Who?"

            "Yes…that's right, you were not here when the Demons attack…."he replied, ducking a jab from Omegamon X, "And they destroyed the Digital World as well. Tell me, how is it that a new world, which is also older and more ancient, was remade in its place."

            "Is it new and more ancient, or perhaps when the other world met its end, it was reconfigured into its original formation."

            The Royal Knight swung his sword around but as Lord Sentry was smaller, he could maneuver with ease. Of course, the downside was his lack of strength against the Knight. Omegamon X swung his sword into the ground, and the Hunter jumped onto the weapon and ran up the length of his arm and onto his shoulder.

            "Paradise Lost!"

            He unleashed a barrage of punches into Omegamon X's face, before a deadly uppercut with his foot into the Knight's nose. This attack was powerful enough to cause the mighty giant to stagger. Sentry fired a laser blast from his finger, "3D Laser!"

            This last attack forced Omegamon X to fall to the ground. Sentry landed back on the floor and stared at Dagomon. "Farewell."

            He dove through the door and vanished.

            "A coward," Dagomon gurgled," Or one far more clever then I thought…"

            "Outside, Lord Sentry ran quickly through the city streets, hiding in the shadows. He held up his hand, which held the bullet he had lifted from the floow. He grinned, "There is always another way…"

* * *

            Masa and his group were silently walking through the abandoned streets. Most cities had evacuated the roads and sidewalks in fear of an attack…even though this city had not been threatened.

            Bolades looked around, "Such a strange place for Dagomon to hide."

Yasu nodded, "Yeah why is his base here? It's no…normal…"

            The African teenager nodded in agreement, "Yes, I don't think cities are more normal then Philadelphia, Pennsylvania…"

            "Something about zis place must be important to him," Eliane replied.

            Ines rolled her eyes, "Oh, that's a good one."

            "Shut up!" Yasu snapped back, "Why are you even here? We could've handled this ourselves!"

            "Right, you can't do anything without someone holding your hand!"

            "Just stop it!" Asami screamed, "Just….Just stop!"

            The others stared at her; she had never screamed like that before…never. The others all turned to her in shock. "Asami?" Yasu asked.

            The girl stuttered, "I…I'm so sorry, I…I didn't…"

            "It's okay," Masa said, "Let's keep moving."

            While the girls continued forward, Masa stepped beside Asami, "It's been a rough couple of days, hasn't it?"

            "I….I'm sorry…"

            "You don't have to apologize, stress gets to everyone."

            "You don't understand," she sighed, "I…I'm still the same weakling I always was."

            "What are you talking about?" her Leormon gasped, "You're so much stronger  now then you were."

            "No, I'm not. If I was stronger, then why was Dagomon able to take control of me like that?"

            Masa smiled slightly, "Hey, if you didn't notice, he took control of _me_ too, not to mention your friends and family. It wasn't just you, and it had nothing to do with weakness or anything like that."

            "But it's always me," she frowned, "I…I just can't seem to get passed it, I'm just a weakling…"

            Masa hesitated for a moment before speaking, "You're not weak, you're a lot stronger then me."

            She stared at him, a questioning expression in her eyes.

            "Strength's not only power, strength comes from within, from your heart, and you've got the biggest heart I know."

            She blushed slightly, "D…do you think we'll have a chance defeating Dagomon? I'm sure the others are fighting by now…"

            Masa stared straight ahead, "I don't know, but I'm sure as hell going to try."

* * *

            In India, the Ancients had moved from New Delhi to the more populated Mumbai. The two warriors easily tore through the buildings, decimating the people. Ancient Garurumon held his giant sword out to his side and shot past an apartment building. The blade slashed through the entire structure, causing a devastating collapse. Beside him, Ancient Greymon was using an equally painful means of death; he blasted waves of flame from his mouth and into the windows of the buildings, burning those inside to death.

            After obliterating a city block, they were about to move to another one, when they spotted a middle-aged woman and a Plotmon standing in the midst of the carnage. "It looks like you missed one," Ancient Greymon snickered.

            "Me?" Ancient Garurumon questioned, "Perhaps _you_ overlooked her."

            "I have just arrived," the woman spoke, "You may call me Miayag, and I am here to plead with you to cease this onslaught."

            "Truly?" Ancient Greymon chuckled.

            "Yes," she answered, "I know of you, you fight because you believe you are securing the legacy of the First Chosen, those that you call the Dragon Warriors, but we _are_ the descendents of the First Chosen. I believe you to be noble, but misguided warriors."

            The two Ancients glanced at one another. "These…_Chosen_, they are all descendants of the Dragon Warriors."

            "Spiritually, yes, but the leaders are all truly descendants."

            "Leaders?" Ancient Garurumon asked. He glanced at his partner again before continuing, "You are all joined under one banner?"

            "What?" Plotmon asked.

            "A flag," Miayag replied, "He is asking if we are all one nation. I suppose that is true."

            "Then who is your king?" Ancient Greymon demanded.

            "We have two, Taichi Yagami and Yamato Ishida, descended from Yushi and Juro!"

            "Truly?" Ancient Greymon asked, "That is most interesting, are they as powerful as their forbearers?"

            "Yes," she answered, "Power incarnate. If you wish to destroy our empire, why not attack the commanders?"

            "Why would you suggest this?"

            "I want this needless bloodshed to cease. If you do that, if you stop your genocide, then I promise you that Generals Yagami and Ishida will meet you in battle. They are the strongest among us by far, should you defeat them, none of us would be able to stop you."

            "How long must we wait," Ancient Greymon asked, "One of your Earth days, and no more."

            She nodded, "Very well."

            The two smiled at one another. Ancient Garurumon pointed his sword at her, "Representative, we accept your terms, in one Earth day, meet here again. If you do not, then we will attack your capital city."

            He mentioned to Ancient Greymon, "Let us go."

            The two Ancients vanished into the sky. Plotmon exhaled deeply, "Well, that went pretty good."

            "Yes, so far," Miayag sighed, "Best let Sora know of this."

* * *

            In Tokyo, Reika relayed the message.

            "_That_ was her plan?" Noriko gasped.

            "I guess that was the best she could think of," Sora sighed, "Better then either of us."

            She cast her a glance.

            "And," she continued, "It buys us some time."

            "And I think we need it," Reika interrupted, "With the Ancients and the Hunters exterminations, the Chosen population is d…down to one third…"

            "Heaven help us," Sora exclaimed, struggling to keep the tears from her eyes.

* * *

            Lord Sentry marched into the Hunter's Base, quickly maneuvering through the halls before arriving in a massive room. Strange machinery lined the circular walls, odd lights and colored energy crackled through the air. Wires ran in a maze along the floor, connecting machine to a strange globe of glass resting in the center. Within the globe was a strange substance which bubbled and churned. Araki was staring at the globe, and she jumped slightly when she heard her master enter.

            She bowed, "M'lord!" she gasped, "I…I did not know you had…"

            He stared at the globe of unholy matter, "Where is Masanori?"

            "I do not know…"

            "Well, it doesn't matter. Here." He held up the bullet. The Demon Priestess studied the projectile, her eyes focusing on the tip covered with digital flesh.

`           "The sixth memory sloth I presume?" she questioned.

            "Yes, from Dagomon."

            "D…Dagomon?" she gasped, "A…are you certain?"

            "Yes. Not only will his data greatly increase the power…" he mentioned to the globe, "But that same data should allow me access to Yddrisl." He sighed deeply, "If only we could locate it…"

            Araki smiled slightly, "That solution may present itself soon. Surveillance has indicated Masahiko is heading for Dagomon."

            "Truly?" Sentry smirked, "He has turned against the mission for which he was created, and yet he walks headlong to _fulfill_ that mission. He is the Key after all."

            "Y-yes," she nodded. She mentioned to the globe, then to the bullet, "Dagomon's data added to Yagami's, Ishida's, Cahiti's, GranDracmon's and Juro's is six, what of the other two?"

            He chuckled, "I have some in mind, two Ancients…."

            "What?" she exclaimed, "H…how do you mean to take them?"

            "I will deal with that. Add the data."

            She bowed, "Yes M'Lord

* * *

            Dagomon was becoming restless. "That man…that Sentry, he clearly had another plan in motion before he came here…." He pointed a tentacle at Omegamon X, "Go to Tokyo, now! Destroy the leaders of the Chosen before they can mount a counterattack."

            The Knight simply nodded and marched from the room.

            Dagomon began to rub his tentacles together. "Good….good…"

To be continued…….


	36. The Fall of the Chosen: Chapter 3

"Push!" the doctor yelled, "Push!"

Yuuko Yagami panted heavily as she strained with all of her might.

"The head's crowning!" the doctor exclaimed, "You're almost there, push!"

Yuuko's legs strained against the raised platforms as she felt her child pass through, then she collapsed, panting heavily. She held her breath, waiting, but all she heard was silence. Why wasn't her baby…?

A loud cry suddenly erupted through the room, she gave a sigh of relif and laughed slightly when the nurse appeared holding a child in her arms. "It's a boy," she announced.

Yuuko was grinning with happiness as she held her child in her arms for the first time. "My little boy," she grinned.

Susumu was laughing as well as he placed his hand on her shoulder, then looked down at his son. "Taichi, my son…."

They were moved to their room, and Yuuko lay back in her bed, exhausted. Susumu sat in a chair next to her bed, watching her sleep peacefully. He was feeling tired himself and was ready to doze off himself. He got up to close the door, but saw that an older man was standing in the doorway.

"Can I help you?" he asked quickly.

"Sorry," the man replied, "I was...looking for someone else, I apologize."

Susumu studied him curiously as he walked back into the hall. He shut the door, stared at it for a moment, then sat back down in his seat.

Outside, the man smiled to himself as he walked down the hall, "Good news for all the Digital World, born this day, a savior. Now to wait for the second…"

_---_

_My name is Hikari Yamaki, and DATS, and the Chosen at large, are close to collapsing. Dagomon has taken control of my family and friends and forcing them to attack cities around the world. While we were fighting the Royal Knights, trying to save innocent people in those cities, the two Ancients began to completely destroy other cities to kill as many Chosen as possible. At the last estimate, only 1/3 of the Chosen population is left, and since there were only a few thousand, we are the closest to being extinct in our history, when the Second Black Death hit us, we at least had the X-Chosen, now…now we have nothing._

_But maybe we still have hope: Masahiko, the son of my cousin, is about to confront Dagomon…_

-----------------

_The Fall of the Chosen:_

_Chapter 3_

_---------------_

When Masa's small group stopped in front of a collection of buildings encompassed by a well-trimmed lawn, Bolades gave him a strange expression, "This is Dagomon's base? It looks like a college."

"It is," he replied. The teenage girl had known him long enough to at least somewhat understand his moods; his way of speaking told her that the conversation was over.

Yet, Yasu pressed the question."Why's it here? This is really weird."

Eliane nodded in agreement, as did their partners. When Masa did not respond, Yasu narrowed her eyes, "Are you not telling us something?"

"He doesn't know," Asami interrupted, "None of us know…." She frowned, "W…when we were under Dagomon's control…w…we don't really…."

"We can't really remember too much," her Leormon clarified.

Yasu huffed and crossed her arms, "Why didn't you just say so?"

Masa glanced over his shoulder to the group. "Are you guys finished? Or do you want to keep talking so loudly that he knows we're here?"

Yasu began to blush,"I…I…."

Dorumon stared at his partner, "Masa…"

He took a deep breath, "Let's go."

Bolades smiled apologetically, "I think he has always been like that…at least as long as we have known him."

"It's only been, like, six months," her Bearmon spoke up.

"Yes…yes," the African woman chuckled.

"So why does he have to be so….cold like that?" the blond girl continued.

Asami walked over to her, "I think he is worried about the battle that's about to happen. If he can't win this, then our friends will be under his control forever, and the world's probably going to come to an end." She took a deep breath, "He has to win this, or the world is doomed."

--------------

The selected cities were still the battleground between the DATS agents and the Royal Knights. In New York City, Dynasmon X was still standing strong against Megaseadramon X and Lillymon X. Nothing these two did seem to stop the Royal Knight The serpent positioned himself in the air, his horn glowing brightly."King's Javelin!"

Dynasmon X batted aside the bolt of electricity, sending it crashing into a vacated apartment building. Lillymon X fluttered around the side and fired a Flower Cannon into the Royal Knight's side. If he was injured, he did not show it. He whipped his arm around, back-handing her into a building roof.

"Lillymon!" Mimi shouted. She glared at Dynasmon X, "Gabe! Stop this right now!"

He responded by stamping his foot so hard it created a small quake that sent the middle-aged woman tumbling onto her back. Michael quickly pulled her back onto her feet. She sighed deeply, "Oh, this is hopeless!"

Michael stared at his wife, "Mimi, how can you even say that?"

"Look at this!" she screamed, almost hysterical, "Our son is trying to kill us!"

He shook her forcefully, "Listen to me!" he screamed, "This is _not_ hopeless! We'll save our son, do you hear me, we'll save him!"

"How!?" she screamed back.

He was about to respond, but could not, he had no answer for her.

----------

In Moscow, Alforce V-dramon X swung her wrist-based blade as hard as she could, sending a wave of air cutting through Anomalocarimon X and Hippo Gryphomon's combined offensive. They both darted to the side, but the Royal Knight grabbed the Wind Guardian, throwing him into the Deep Saver. Both digimon tumbled along the ground before Hippo Gryphomon grabbed Anomalocarimon X and took to the air seconds before Alforce V-dramon X's blade would have slice them in two.

Hippo Gryphomon twisted in the air and dove straight at the Royal Knight. Anomalocarimon X cross his front pincers and fired a Tail Blade attack. Alforce V-dramon X blocked with her right hand, then slashed the air with the blade on her right. The Wind Guardian had to release his grip on the Deep Saver. "Heat Wave!" he shouted, exploding a blast of hot air. Alforce V-dramon X crossed her arms to protect her face, then whipped them open, sending the blast of heat back at Hippo Gryphomon. He spiraled into the ground, crashing loudly.

Jyou winced loudly at the sight of the two digimon lying on the ground, yet, just when he thought they could not possibly handle anymore they jumped back from the ground and attacked together, actually catching the Royal Knight off guard. Yet, it was not enough, as she easily batted them to the ground once again.

"They will not give up," Anna said.

"No they won't," Jyou said in agreement, "I just hope Kasumi and Yuki Agumon knock themselves out of it before they do something they're really going to regret.

----------

In Beijing, Duftmon X swung his rapier like a skilled marksman; it was all Waruseadramon and Gesomon X could to do keep from becoming skewered.

Gesomon X pulled his tentacles back and began a barrage of jabs into the Knight's armor. Waruseadramon blasted him with bolts of lightning, ripping across his body. She slashed quickly with his blade, throwing both of them backwards.

"Damn it!" Lynna growled, "Shiro, man, listen ta' us! Ya don't know what ya doin!"

She was answered when Duftmon X swung his saber at her; the Australian woman jumped back just in time, the Knight's blade cutting into the ground. Waruseadramon whipped around, smacking his tail into Duftmon X's chest, causing him to lurch backwards. The serpent pulled his head back and blasted a bolt of lightning from his horn, "Thunder Javelin!"

The Knight allowed his blade to absorb the energy, then used his other hand to punch the serpent hard in the face. Gesomon slid in to take his place, "You're not making this easy! I really don't wanna hafta hurt you…"

Duftmon X kicked him with a simple swipe of his foot, he flew backwards in the air before smashing into the ground. Dingo stared at his partner, "Yeah, ya really scared 'em that time…"

-----------

The battle continued in Brasilia, as Dukemon blasted an intense beam of light from his shield, decimating the city street. Blossomon's razor petals shot from her flowers, skidding across the knight's body. He batted her aside with his javelin, then quickly raised his shield to protect himself from Nefertimon X's Curse of Queen attack. The Virus Buster flew to another position and fired again. Dukemon blocked once more, but was too distracted to notice Blossomon wrapping her vines tightly around his left leg. She yanked as hard as she could, but only succeeded in slipping and falling onto her back, the Knight was just too large. Dukemon kicked his leg to the side, flinging the Vegetation digimon through a building wall.

"Damn it!" Lizzie exclaimed, stamping her foot into the ground, "Damn it, damn it, damn it! We're not getting anywhere!"

Dukemon swung his javelin at Nefertimon X, but she shot to safety before firing a barrage of Rosetta Stones at him. He blocked with his shield, then swung again with his javelin.

--------

In Cario, Sleipmon was trotting through the city streets, firing arrow after arrow at his opponent. Shaujinmon was spinning his staff in an eye-breaking speed, so fast that it acted as a shield. Once the Royal Knight had paused, the Deep Saver went on the offensive. He swung his staff, sending a wave of water ripping across the street. Sleipmon fired a blast of cold air from his shield which froze the water into a massive block of ice. He jumped atop the newly-created bridge and trotted forward at lightning speed, whipping his bow around only to have it blocked by Shaujinmon's staff. The two became engaged in a power struggle, but ultimately, Sleipmon won, throwing him back. He was about to trample him with his horse legs, but the Deep Saver unleashed a tornado of water into his underside, sending him twisting through the air before crashing through the ice bridge, shattering it into a million pieces.

"Ya got 'em now!" Joey shouted, "Go, go, go!"

Shaujinmon charged to the fallen Knight and began to slash and bash with his staff, cutting and slicing again and again. This continued until the Knight simply kicked the Deep Saver with his horse legs, sending him into the air. Sleipmon fired an arrow at Shaujinmon; he was able to use his staff to block, but the force threw him even higher into the air before he landed back on his feet.

"We are barely holding our own," Aleksey frowned,"It is only a matter of time before he gets the upper hand."

"Yeah," the Austrailan boy nodded, "I know."

----------------

In Mexico City, Craniummon and Rizegreymon were still battling. Unlike most of the other battles occurring, the DATS digimon was not holding back. He was firing bullets in quick succession, however, each projectile was blocked by the Knight's spear. Craniummon whipped his weapon across the Cyborg Digimon face. He twirled the weapon around his head before swinging it around for a finishing blow. Rizegreymon ducked, then opened all of his gun barrels at once, "Rising Destroyer!"

The barrage of bullets smashed into his armored chest, and as he hovered in the air, the Dragon Man spun around quickly, knocking his tail into the Knight's head. Craniummon fell to the ground and used his blade to knock Rizegreymon's feet out from under him. When the Dragon Man landed on the ground, the Knight readied his spear once again, but the Dragon Man fired his Trident Revolver into his chest. The Knight was forced to step backwards.

"I think we got him on the run now," Akira nodded.

Adan just nodded, "Yes…yes…"

The redheaded boy placed his hand on the Latino boy's shoulder, "No worries, got it? We'll save him."

"How can you have so much hope?" he asked.

Akira flashed him a grin, "Because, my sister was turned to a Demon, but she went back to normal."

"And now she's Dagomon's slave too," he added, sadly.

"Yeah, but we saved her before, and we'll do it again. And we'll do the same for your brother."

Despite the circumstance, Adan could not help but smile. He nodded. "Yeah!"

-------------

So far, Tokyo had been spared the assault of the other cities, including those that were decimated by the two Ancient Warriors. Now, however, the capital of DATS's empire was about to confront a Royal Knight stronger then all the others.

Sora and Noriko were in the DATS control room, monitoring the crisis. Miayag had succeeded in adverted the two Ancients, and now they were waiting for her to return. "Shouldn't she be back by now?" Piyomon asked.

"Yes," the redhead nodded, "And I'm getting worried, what if they went back on their word and attacked her? She'd be defenseless."

"She's not defenseless," Noriko spoke up, "we all know that."

"Yeah…but…"

Noriko looked to the large monitor on the wall; the display had been split into seven sections, six displaying the battles between the Knights and the DATS agents, the seventh was for the Ancient Warriors, but since accepting Miayag's deal, they had vanished. Still, that was not even good news, she had only prolonged the crisis. The middle-aged woman focused on the six battles, "It's not getting any better, is it?"

"No," Sora answered, "I just wish we knew what happened to Masa, Asami, Yasu, Eliane, Bolades and Ines. It looks like the girls won their battles and saved Masa and Asami, but they just…disappeared."

Noriko's Plotmon huffed, "Masa probably went to fight Dagomon himself."

"Yeah, he's got a real lone wolf streak."

"But he could probably do it," Piyomon said, "At least…I hope he can…"

"Taichi and Yamato could do it," Sora said.

"Um," Reika spoke up,"I don't know if this helps but, I finally got a lock on Asami and Yasu's digivice signal, they're in Pennsylvania…"

"In America?" Noriko gasped, "What the hell are they doing there?"

"I don't know, but there are four other signals with them, one I'm fairly certain is Eliane, and I would be very comfortable saying that another is Masa's…"

"Is Dagomon there?" Sora asked, "W…why else would they be there?"

Before anyone could respond, red lights began to blink. "Oh, what now?" Noriko shouted, "Don't we have enough fucking problems?"

"Is it the Ancients?" Sora asked.

Reika shook her head, as she studied her computer monitor, "No, i…it's a Royal Knight…"

"A Royal Knight?" the redhead asked, "Who's le…." She trailed off.

"Y…yes," Reika continued, "It's Omegamon."

-----------

Sora and Noriko, along with their partners, quickly made their way to Omegamon X's position. Reika tried to convince them to stay behind, but both women refused. They were the only ones left, besides, this was the fusion of their husbands, they _had_ to face the digimon, they had to save the ones they loved.

Omegamon X had arrived in city the same way that the other Knights had, by landing abruptly in the center of the city. Thankfully, the streets had long been deserted, as DATS realized they could very well be targeted, so they ordered an evacuation. The Royal Knight would have begun to decimate the buildings, but his orders had been clear, destroy DATS. He began his march towards the water front, flattening cars beneath his feet and smashing through buildings that were in his way. Sora and Noriko found him about halfway to the DATS building. Despite knowing it would do no good, they still could not help but call out.

"Yamato!" Noriko shouted.

"Taichi!" Sora screamed, "Taichi, please, Taichi…"

Omegamon X stared down at them, studying them carefully.

"Yamato," Noriko nodded, "Y…you recognize us…?"

The Royal Knight swung his arm quickly, sending a wave of air that would have toppled the two women if their partners had not quickly rushed to their sides.

"Piyomon evolve to Birdramon! Birdramon evolve to Garudamon!"

"Plotmon evolve to Black Tailmon! Black Tailmon evolve to Ladydevimon!"

The two digimon grabbed their partners and took them to safety. They deposited their partners on a sidewalk and all turned to stare at the Royal Knight. "We have no choice," Sora sighed.

Noriko nodded, "Yeah, we have to fight them."

"There's no other way?" Garudamon asked, "I don't want to fight Agumon…"

"You think I want to fight Gabumon?" Ladydevimon exclaimed, "But what else are we gonna do?"

"Just stall for now," Sora ordered, "And let's hope Masa can take care of Dagomon."

"But we don't even know if that's what he's doing," Noriko said.

"We've gotta hope," the redhead replied.

Garudamon and Ladydevimon nodded at one another, then hovered into the air. They stared at Omegamon X. "We don't want to do this," the Bird Man said.

"But you leave us no choice," Ladydevimon nodded.

There was a pause for a moment, then the battle began. Garudamon lead the attack, swinging her fist at Omegamon X's face, but he sent her tumbling back with a simple hard punch in her chest. Ladydevimon shot from beneath, ready to scratch his chin with her claws, but he spotted her at the last second. He swung his Wargreymon X arm around, catching her on the top horn and throwing her into Garudamon. He kicked into the base of a lamppost and caught it in his hands. He whipped it around at high speed, hitting both digimon, sending them crashing into a building.

----------

Dagomon growled. "I see you don't learn your lesson, do you? You've come back for more?"

"What are you talking about?" a voice questioned.

The strange digimon blinked, "You are not that one with the gun…" He turned slowly to see Masa's group standing in the doorway. "You!" He looked over to Asami, "And you! I had wondered where you had disappeared to; why have you returned here?"

Yasu pushed her way past Masa and looked around, "My Dad's not here!"

"Where's Omegamon?" Masa questioned.

"He is attacking Tokyo as we speak."

"T…tokyo?" Asami gasped.

Yasu snorted, "Yeah, while my Mom's there, and so's Mrs. Yagami!"

Eliane glanced at Masa, "And his _Mama_ as well."

Dagomon chuckled, "And what does that mean to me?"

"You don't have to worry about that," Masa replied, "What you need to worry about is me!"

"Wait!" Bolades called, stepping forward, "I…I want to know something…"

"I don't think this is the time!" Ines's Hagurumon shouted.

"I do not think anyone else can answer this question," she replied. She looked back to Dagomon, "How is it that the Digital World that exists now is the second Digital World, yet holds information that is far older then the original Digital World?"

"The face of the Digital World has changed many times since it was first created by the Gods, bit-by-bit, little-by-little, until the original configuration had been changed-it was still there, Yddrasil, the base configuration on which all else was built. When the Demon Lords destroyed the Digital World, it reconfigured itself to its original configuration; as paradoxically as it sounds, the Second Digital World is the original Digital World."

"Base configuration?" Bolades questioned, "How?"

"Through manipulation by your world, your…'innovations…"

"Innovations? Which altered Yddrasil, the creation of your Gods? Then Yddrasil is…"

"The master control of the entire Digital plane of existence."

"Everything?" Ines exclaimed, "It controls _everything?"_

"And if you can control the Digital World," Asami added, "Then you can control all of Earth's digital...digital communications!"

The group gasped loudly, and Bolades turned to Masa, "I…if that is what Lord Sentry has been after all this time…"

Masa clenched his fists and narrowed his eyes, staring at Dagomon. "He wanted you freed so you could show him Yddrasil."

"I would not."

"You spoke with him? He was here?"

"Briefly, but I would have nothing to do with him."

Ines shook her head, "But he won't give up, he's too smart, he's probably thought this through already! He's got a plan or something…which means you've got to go."

"You would destroy me because of something I haven't done?"

Dorumon snickered, "Considering that you're about to destroy Earth, that's an added bonus."

Masa looked to the others, "Let us handle this."

"Alone?" Leormon asked.

"You can't do it all by yourself," Eliane's Mushmon protested.

"Asami can't evolve because he can control Rhodo Knightmon, and your Fully Evolves would just get in my way...no offense," he quickly added.

"Just be careful," Asami nodded.

Yasu crossed her arms, "And if you get in trouble, we jumping in, got it?"

He did not answer as he and Dorumon stepped forward. "This is what my father created me…created _us_ for," he said to his partner, "He wanted me to open Dagomon's seal, free him, then _defeat_ him…the key to all of his plans…."

"So won't fighting him just be doing what he wants?"

"Yes, but we've got no other choice, unless we finish him off right now, the other Knights are probably going to kill those DATS agents fighting them, and then probably the whole planet. We'll worry about stopping the Hunters later."

"Right…gotcha."

"We can't use Alphamon, he'd just take control of us again. Dorughoramon's gonna half to do."

The digimon nodded, then took a deep breath, "Well, I'm ready."

Masa summoned the Staff of Fate, "Let's do it!"

"Dorumon warp evolve to Dorughoramon!"

The dragon exploded forward, swinging his fist at the squid digimon's head, but he ducked, the dragon swinging through air. Dagomon's tentacles squiggled through the air, wrapping tightly around Dorughoramon's body. He began to swing from side-to-side, smashing the dragon into the floor again and again. Dorughoramon flung open his wings and attempted to fly higher into the air to escape his grip.

"You won't leave that easily!" Dagomon laughed as tightened his grip and yanked Dorughoramon into the ground once again.

Dorughoramon shot into the air once again, blasting out an explosion of flames from his mouth. "Doru Djinn!" The flames erupted across Dagomon's face, and he was forced to release his grip, and the dragon flew to safety. He hovered in the air, watching as Dagomon's skin rippled under the intense flame. "Looks like you weren't so tough after all."

The flames died down and Dagomon rose to stare at the hovering dragon, his body boiled and blistering. He then began to laugh.

"Oh great!" Yasu exclaimed, "When they start to do that, you just know something bad's about to happen!"

Dagomon held open his arms, as his skin began to ripple once more. Yet, instead of his injuries growing worse, then began to move in _reverse!_ His blisters shrunk and disappeared beneath his gray, slithering skin.

"Healing powers?" Bolades questioned.

"I am the High Priest of the Gods!" he snapped, "I will not fail so easily!"

Dorughoramon gave a slight chuckle, "Yeah, well, neither will I! I was created to stop you!"

Dagomon was surprised. "Truly? Who knew of me enough to create you?"

"Nothing you need to worry about!" he shouted, swinging his fists at the creature.

Dagomon dodged each jab, using his tentacle arm to slap into Dorughoramon's body, "I ask only because I wonder if it is the same one that created you Chosen."

"Created us?" Eliane questioned.

"Who?" the dragon demanded, "Who are you talking about?"

"Defeat me, and perhaps I shall reveal that to you."

"Do not listen to him!" Bolades shouted, "He is only trying to confuse you, to keep your mind off of the battle!"

"That is not true, I am afraid," the squid chuckled, dodging a kick from the dragon, "True, I am attempting to distract his concentration, but I know who it is that created the Chosen…or rather, I have my suspicion…"

Dorughoramon glared at the squid. As he watched him laugh, his anger rose, until he swung with all of his might, actually managing to hit the side of his jaw. Dagomon's head twisted a full 90 degrees, but suddenly whipped back around, smacking into the dragon's chest.

"Damn it!" he swore, "It's like his whole body's a weapon!"

The creature smirked, "You have not yet seen a fraction of my power. Tentacle Flapping!" His tentacles suddenly came to life, whipping across the dragon's body. Dorughoramon tried to bat them aside, but he could only move so fast, and was only able to stop the first hundred or so before he was overpowered; the tentacles enveloping him. He dropped to the ground, and those on the sidelines exclaimed.

"No!" Asami cried.

Dagomon slithered over to the fallen digimon cautiously, but he remained motionless.

Leormon looked to his partner, "Is he…?"

Dorughoramon suddenly leapt back to life with a deadly uppercut to Dagomon's chin, then swung his tail around to smack him in the head. While Dagomon was still recovering, he jumped back slightly and fired a barrage of metal shards that ripped into the squid's body. "Blade Storm!"

Dagomon stumbled backwards, then flexed his muscles, sending the metal shards flying back out of his body; Dorugoramon narrowly avoided the rebound.

"You gotta be careful!" Ines's Hagurumon exclaimed.

"Yes, he is correct," Bolades nodded, "You cannot evolve to Alphamon, you are not as strong in that form as you were before."

"I'm fine!" he snapped back, "Stay there, you'll just get in my way!"

"You should not act so arrogant," Dagomon chuckled, "You will not last much longer against me."

He snorted a laugh, "I'm just getting started!"

--------

Across the globe, the battles were continuing in fierce intensity. Dynasmon X swung his claws at Megaseadramon X, while Lillymon X fired her Flower Cannon at his arm. Hippo Gryphomon maneuvered through Alforce V-dramon X's swinging arms to fired a beam of energy into her face, but she counted by whacking him with her other arm. Duftmon X bashed Gesomon X aside, but Waruseadramon blasted him in the back. Dukemon's lance hit Nefertimon X in the side, while Blossomon threw spinning flowers blades at his side. Sleipmon's arrows blocked out the sun and Shawujinmon struggled with all of his might using her water attack to deflect the projectiles into the ground. Craniummon's every footstep shook the ground so violently that Rizegreymon could not get a clear shot from his gun arm.

----------

Omegamon X swung his sword with a sharp whip, forcing Garudamon and Ladydevimon to duck for safety. He swung around his Metalgarurumon, pointing it directly at the two digimon. His arm tensed slightly and a blast of energy fired from the barrel.

"Look out!" Ladydevimon shouted.

Garudamon twisted, the energy blast skidding across her back before exploding in the sky. "Are you okay?" Sora screamed.

Her partner winced, panting, "Y..yes, I think so…"

Omegamon X suddenly appeared, punching the bird man's face with his Wargreymon fist, then twisted tightly, striking her stomach with his foot, then finishing his combo by slamming both of his fists into her back. He was about to continue his assault, but Ladydevimon flew to the rescue, "Darkness Wave!"

While the Royal Knight was busy swatting aside the screeching bats, Ladydevimon swooped in and grabbed her friend, hoisting her to safety. "I gotcha…"

"Look out!" Garudamon screamed.

Omegamon X had fired another blast from his Metalgarurumon arm. Garudamon threw Ladydevimon to the ground, then unleashed a Shadow Wing attack that struck the blast, exploding on contact. Both digimon were thrown backwards, but Omegamon X recover first and shot back into battle. He swung his sword at the bird man, but Ladydevimon came to her rescue once again, throwing the bird to safety as the blade slicing through her left wing. She yelled out in pain, and Garudamon embraced her tightly.

"Ladydevimon!" Noriko screamed, "No!"

"I…I'm fine," she answered, hovering in the air. Yet, it was clear that her left wing was injured, as she flew wobbling to the side.

"Are you sure?" Garudamon asked.

"Yes!" she snapped, narrowing her eyes at Omegamon X, "Gabumon…I can't believe you'd…"

"They don't know what they're doing," Garudamon answered, clenching her fist.

On the ground below, Sora sighed deeply, "Come on Masa, you're our only hope…"

Omegamon X fired another blast, which the two avoided quickly, however, he fired another blast in such quick succession, that they could not avoid in time. Both Garudamon and Ladydevimon were hit and they spiraled into the ground. The Royal Knight leapt into the air and landed beside the two fallen digimon, pointing his gun barrel arm directly at them.

"No!" Sora shouted. She ran towards the knight. Noriko ran after her.

"Sora, what are you doing?"

The redhead grabbed her best friend and held her tightly, staring up at Omegamon X. "Don't do this," she said, her voice breathing heavily, "Please, Taichi, Yamato…you've got to know who we are, don't…"

---------------

Dagomon's tentacles shot violently at Dorughoramon. The dragon twisted through the air, narrowly avoiding the appendages before exhaling a blast of flame, "Doru Djin!" The flames leapt across Dagomon's tentacles, and he winced in pain. The dragon was not about to lose his advantage, so he began to brutally punch and kick the squid with such ferocity that it seemed he had lost himself in rage. He punched and bashed again and again before firing a massive spiked ball from his mouth that tore through Dagomon's stomach, splitting the evil digimon in two, the upper half hanging from the side by a thread of sinew.

Yasu and Eliane cheered and Ines smirked. "Looks like it's the end."

Dagomon suddenly began to laugh as his body healed itself-reformed itself as if Dorughoramon's attacks had never happened. "No…" Asami sighed deeply.

"As you can see," Dagomon continued to chuckle, "There is simply nothing you can do, I am indestructible. My connection to Yddrisil is absolute, nothing can come between us!" He smirked, "Now, prepare yourself for the power of the Gods of the Digital World! Forbidden Trident!"

He held up his hand and a glowing trident appeared directly above it. He threw his arm forward and the trident shot through the air. Dorughoramon twisted out of the way, but Dagomon's continued to form tridents, which he flung forward in quick succession. Dorughoramon rolled and dodged through the air as best he could, but one trident clipped his ankle, throwing him off balance. Another trident tore through his leg, and another jabbed him in the back. He was soon overtaken, his sides sliced through by the three-pronged projectiles. The dragon simply could not stay afloat any longer and he crashed to the ground.

"Masa!" Asami screamed.

"That's it!" Yasu shouted, "We're jumping in now! Labramon…"

"No!" Dorughoramon shouted back as he rose to his feet, tridents hanging from his body "_Stay there!!"_

The girls blinked in surprise. "Are you fucking insane!" Yasu argued back, "You look like my grandmother's pin cushion!"

"Do not do this alone!" Bolades exclaimed.

Eliane and Ines nodded in agreement.

"No!" the dragon roared back.

Yasu grabbed her blond pigtails and started pulling, "Arg! Why are boys always so fucking pig-headed? Son of a bitch, it pisses me off so much!"

The others stared cautiously at her. Labramon's eyes were open wide, "Yasu…you sound like your mother…"

"It just pisses…"

"…you off, yeah, we got it," Ines sighed, crossing her arms.

Yasu glared at the older girl. "You know…"

"Don't," Eliane's Mushmon said, "We have enough to worry about right now without you two fighting."

The blond girl hesitated for a moment, and then turned back to the battle. Dorughoramon had jumped into the air and fired a barrage of shards of metal from his wings, which Dagomon managed to destroy with a barrage of tridents. As the two attacks met, they exploded, sending up a wave of light that Dorughoramon attempted to use as cover to launch an attack. He jumped forward to punch the squid in the face, but Dagomon hit him first, wrapping his tentacles around the dragon's fist. He whipped his arm around, sending Dorughoramon crashing into the left wall, then the right wall before he threw his arm to the ground, throwing the dragon into the floor.

Yet, Dorughoramon rose again, but, it was clear he could barely stand. His armor was cracking, his wings were in shards, he was panting heavily, and he could not lift his right arm. Dagomon chuckled amusingly, "Why not simply give up? You have lost."

The dragon struggled to stand, "S…shove it up your…your ass!"

He chuckled again. "Defiant to the very end. So be it. Thousand Whips!"

The tentacles from his left arm leapt forth, ripping across his body. Pain erupted through his entire being. A tentacle struck his left knee and he fell onto his right leg.

-

"_One more thing," Hinkon called. _

_Masa slowly turned back around and saw that the mysterious man was grinning wickedly at him. "Duck!"_

_Masa heard the shot and fell to his knees. It was only through the grace of divine intervention that he was able to avoid the projectile, which shattered into a street light hanging over them. Masa stared with horror at Hinkon, yet could not see any sort of firearm in his hands. Another shot fired, this one striking the ground, inches in front of the teenager. He jumped to his feet and began to run. A few more shots sounded, but he fought past his fear and kept running. About a mile later, his legs simply would not move any more and he ducked into an alley. He slid to his knees, his back against the outside of the building._

_He pressed his back against the fence and stared at the approaching man. "W…why are you doing this?"_

"_I've got my orders," he smirked, "I just hope you're better then the others." He raised his arm once more as another projectile shot at Masa, this one hitting landing between his legs. The teenager could now see the horrible truth, he could not see a firearm, because Hinkon was not holding one, the forefinger on his right hand was a firearm-a sliver gun barrel._

_Another shot blasted near Masa's feet, "Come on, kid, let's see that power of yours!"_

"_What power?" Masa shouted back. Hinkon responded with two more shots, these coming dangerously close to his shoulders._

"_And he said you were the one," he muttered, "What a waste! A sniveling little brat!"_

_Another shot fired only inches above Masa's head. "You're running out of chances," he said, "I'm not as good as that bitch with the crossbows, so I can't keep accidentally missing you. Sooner or later, I'm gonna hit you, and it's not gonna be pretty. I want to see that power!"_

"_I don't know what you're talking about!"_

_Something snapped within the teenager, and he screamed as loud as he could. Suddenly, a column of light erupted from the ground between him and Hinkon. The mysterious man smirked. "Finally."_

_Masa stared with awe as the light dimmed and a figure appeared before him. It was a creature that resembled a dragon/dinosaur amalgamation, with purple fur, a long, fox-like tail, and triangle-shaped jewel in its forehead. It stared at Masa before smiling. "Hello."_

"_Digimon, that's right," the creature bowed, "My name is Dorumon."_

"_D…dorumon?"_

"_That's right. Digital or Unknown Monster. DoRUmon."_

"_D…igital or unknown…W…where did you get a name like that?"_

_He shrugged. "I don't know, someone called me that once, but I don't remember who."_

_Dorumon looked him over and gently sniffed the air. "And you must be Masahiko, my partner."_

"_P…partner?" he gasped, "I'm…I'm your partner?" A smile spread over his lips, "I'm a Chosen? I've got a partner?!"_

"_That's right. Oh, I've got something for you…" _

_The small digimon handed him a rectangular device, with a small screen near the top, and a row of buttons beneath it. "That's your digivice, it connects me and you together."_

_Masa was staring in pleasant surprise. "How do you know this?"_

"_I don't know, just…somehow…"_

_The teenager suddenly remembered Hinkon. His head shot back forward and saw that the mysterious man was still standing before him. "Good job," he smirked, "But now it's time to go to level two!"_

_Masa gripped his digivice tightly. "You can attack, right?"_

_Dorumon grinned. "You betcha. Metal Cannon!"_

-

Another tentacle whipped across his left shoulder and he yelled out in pain.

-

_Hinkon laughed and raised his sword arm. "You weren't so tough after all!" He swung down, aiming for the Beast Dragon's head. Dorugoramon raised his un-injured arm…._

_Hinkon's blade stopped inches from Dorugoramon's head before his arm fell limply to his side. The mysterious human's face was shaking and his eyes rolled backwards into his head. The Beast Dragon stared in horror at his opponent's chest, where a long gold staff had been shoved through his chest and out his back, it was none other then the Staff of Yuushi._

_Dorugoramon gasped. "I….I called that? But, I…I never meant to…"_

_Hinkon's body fell over onto his back. The skin then began to vanish, as if maggots and other flesh-eating organisms were devouring the organic components at an impossible rate. When the flesh and bone were gone, portions of a metallic skeleton were left. These metallic items soon vanished as well, turning bright red before transmogrifying into smoke that dissipated into the air._

_Dorugoramon's body glowed brightly before returning to his previous forms of Masa and Dorumon. The Beast Digimon stared at his partner. "Humans don't normally do that when they die, do they?"_

_Before Masa could answer, the sound of clapping was heard echoing through the large room. The partners turned and saw a figure walking towards them, his hands clapping. It was the Man with the Half-Metal Face, the one whom Masa assumed was the leader._

"_Well done. I wasn't sure that you were the one, but killing Hinkon was no easy task." He stopped and crossed his arms, a smile crossing his lips. "Dorugoramon, truly an impressive sight, the perfect combination of Yagami and Ishida." _

_He chuckled. "Four consecutive evolutions in a matter of hours for a newly-born digimon….that it quite impossible, yet, you did it without and trouble. Although, I was expecting something…different for your final form. But I wonder if you have the power to stand up to Omegamon X?" He shrugged, "But I guess it doesn't matter, you're still the key."_

"_What are you talking about?" Masa demanded._

"_You'll learn all that, the more time you spend with us."_

_The teenager looked to his partner. "What if we don't want to spend any more time with you?"_

"_You don't have a choice, one false move, and your mother dies."_

"_You bastard," Masa growled._

_He shrugged. "Perhaps, perhaps not. Now, will you come with me willingly, or must we force your cooperation with a serious injury to your mother?"_

"_We don't have a choice," Dorumon said._

_Masa held his head low, sighing deeply. "I agree."_

_The Man with the Half-Metal Face grinned. "Excellent. Now, let the fun begin."_

-

Another tentacle across his back, ripping his wings from his body.

-

"_Dorugremon evolve to Dorugoramon!"_

_Kasumi and Orochimon both could not believe their eyes. "He bio-merged!" the Demoness gasped, "Just like Dad..."_

_Dorugoramon blinked, "Your father can do this?"_

_The Demoness waved her arms, and Orochimon's tail began to wag behind her, "Gathering Clouds of Heaven!" The rear appendage swung from around behind, the tip crackling with electrical energy. The Beast Dragon twisted around in the air to avoid the thrust, then grabbed the tail and pulled as hard as he could. Kasumi grabbed tightly to her partner as they were flung through the air, slamming into the ground, crashing through a sea of trees. Dorugoramon shot after her. Orochimon wiggled around before rightening herself. "Sake Breath!" she screamed._

_Dorugoramon whipped his metal wings around, shielding him from the attack. When he flung them open again, blades of glowing energy exploded forth, slicing through the seven heads. Kasumi watched in horror as her partner's multiple heads fell to the ground, all except for one, which the Beast Dragon grabbed and yanked as hard as he could. The Demon Dragon was flung backwards, once she was close enough, he punched her as hard as he could, which caused her to smash into the ground in an explosion of dirt that shook that shook the ground. The dragon rose into the air and spread open his wings. He stared down at the demons in the crater and placed his palms together, a ball of gray energy appearing within them. "Brave Metal!" He fired a barrage of metal balls at his opponent._

_Kasumi screamed from within the crater, "Get up Orochimon! Get up!" She stared at Dorugoramon, "You won't beat me! You can't! I am Kasumi Yagami!"_

"_Yagami?" Dorugoramon_ _gasped. He jerked his arm to the right, and the balls smashed harmlessly into the ground._

-

A tentacle across his head ripped the armor from his helmet, exposing his dragonic face.

-

_Kenji flipped open the lid, "It's from Eliane, but how'd she send us an e-mail? We tried to e-mail them, but never got a response…." His eyes shot open and he gasped._

"_What?" Lizzie gasped._

"_Yasu, Eliane and Asami are in trouble, we've got to move, right now!"_

"_How much trouble?" Masa asked._

"_Two Demons are attacking them, Mega level! And Shiro and Gabe are unconscious…"_

"_Unconscious…?" Lizzie asked, a fearful look in her eye._

_Masa nodded, "Well, I guess we'd better help them."_

_Kenji blinked, "You're coming with us?"_

_Mixcoatl gasped, "You're going with them?"_

_Masa mentioned to Dorumon, "Yeah, we are."_

"_Masa," his partner whispered, "What are you doing?"_

_Mixcoatl pointed at him, "We're here to destroy them, not help them! What the hell are you thinking?"_

_Masa shrugged. "I don't know…I just want to help them."_

"_If you go with them, you're a traitor, understand? And if you leave, you know what will happen to your mother!"_

"_Mother?" Lizzie asked._

_Mixcoatl continued speaking, "If you don't care what happens to yourself, at least care what will happen to her!"_

_Adan tugged at his older brother's arm, "Brother..please…"_

"_I'm not letting them…"_

"_Please…"_

"_Fine!" Mixcoatl spat, "But I am going to report this, and I'm going to say that you attacked us and knocked us out, so I'm not on Lord Sentry's bad side, understand?"_

"_Brother!" Adan shouted, "Masa has been our teammate, don't we owe him anything?"_

_Mixcoatl was silent for a long moment before pointing at the temple. "We are going back to examine that temple, I don't know how long we'll be, but when we get back out, I'm sending a message to Lord Sentry, you'd better do whatever you need to do before then, got it?"_

_The boy nodded, "Yeah…yeah…" He turned to Kenji, "We'd better go."_

-

One tentacle hit his injured knee, while another struck him in the stomach.

-

_Lizzie stared at the Demon Master, then over to Masa, "He…he does look…."_

"_Hmm?" Masanori questioned._

_Masa slowly raised his arm to his helmet, his hand was shaking as he loosened it and let it drop to the ground. The others gasped when they saw his face; they looked to him, then to Masanori, then back to Masa again. They were silent as the ex-Hunter stepped forward. _

_Masanori chuckled, "Oh, it's you, I didn't think you'd be here."_

"_Who are you?" Masa demanded, "Why do you look like me?"_

"_I do? Maybe you look like me." He chuckled, "Well, I guess it's neither…or both, depending on how you look at it."_

"_What?"_

"_You and I, we are merely two sides of the same coin, we are opposites, yet, we aren't. Confusing, isn't it…brother…"_

_Masa suddenly tensed, grabbing his head. Images shot through his mind, strange images, and feelings, surreal and unworldly. There were two…two that were somewhere, together, they shared more then any other could share, then they were separated…._

"_Twins!" Masa gasped, "We're…twins?"_

"_Yes…we share the same father….and mother…."_

"_Who? Who's my father?"_

"_You mean you haven't guessed yet? Your father…is Lord Sentry."_

_He felt the color drain from his face, while his spine turned to ice. "No…no…!"_

"_Masa," Dorumon said, turning to him, "Lord Sentry's your father…?"_

_Masa looked to the ground, fists clenched tightly, "Mom….Mom, you knew all along!"_

"_What's going on?" Akira's Falcomon asked._

"_I don't know," his partner replied._

_Asami stepped forward, focusing on Masanori, "Y…you're father…is that who you inherited your Chance powers from? Is he…is he related to my father?"_

"_Yes," he said with a smile, "Your power came from your father, my power came from my father…and they both got their power from their grandfather….Juro!"_

"_You're related to Juro?" Lizzie gasped, "Asami, what's going on?!"_

"_That Lord Sentry guy?" Akira asked, mentioning to Yasu, "The one that our Dads fought is your father? And he's…he's got Chance power? Why didn't I sense that when we fought him?"_

_Yasu nodded slowly, "Yeah, my Mom didn't feel anything either."_

_Masa could only stare at Masanori, his cool, mature composure was shattered. "Mom…why didn't you tell me?"_

-

Another tentacle gave him an uppercut to his chin, throwing his entire head backwards with enough force to break his neck, yet, he still had some strength left.

-

_Masa began to walk towards the door. "Where are you going?" Miayag asked._

_The teenage boy mentioned to the others, "I'm not part of their group, I'm not going to wait for their approval to do what I need to do. I'll stop my brother and my father myself."_

"_Really?" Gabe snapped, "From what I hear, you needed Mr. Yagami and Mr. Ishida's help to rescue your mother, now that she's here with the 'group-you-don't-need-to-wait-for-their-approval,' you're suddenly Mr. Attitude! Now what I think, you're a coward!"_

_He stopped at the door and slowly turned to face the other boy, "Coward?" He walked towards Gabe at a face pace, his face inches from Gabe's, "Why don't you say that now?"_

"_I'm not afraid of you," Gabe replied, staying calm, "You're a coward because you're too scare to admit that you're not the tough shit you think you are. You were probably the star of the football team, right? Straight A student? Girls wanted to be with you, guys wanted to be you. You're probably so used to being the 'star of the show," you can't stand it…stand it! when you need someone's help, huh?"_

_Masa grabbed his shit with his left hand and pulled back his right fist. The others ran to surround them, but Gabe shouted quickly, "I know what that's like! I'm the same as you!"_

_Masa's fist held in mid-air and he stared at Gabe. The other boy continued, "I was an arrogant piece of shit back home, go ahead, ask my parents or my sister, they'll tell you. I used to think I was the greatest in the world, hell, I was even the field leader of a group of DATS agents in America. But one day, we had a mission, it was going to be the first one where I lead the group completely by myself, without my parents there, and you know what happened? I was so focused on impressing a girl, that I let my arrogance get the better of me, and a team member betrayed us, killed the whole team. I was so cocky, I thought, I'm here, I can handle anything, well, I couldn't. You can't be so powerful that you don't need help! You know what? Better yet, talk to Kasumi, I'm sure she'll tell you the same thing, she's learned that lesson too, but she's lucky, she didn't have to lose people she cared about before she got it. You need to learn it the way she did, not the way I did."_

_Masa released his grip on Gabe's shirt. He turned and walked away, but stopped when he reached the door. He did not turn around, but did speak, "Come and get me when the team is ready to leave." He glanced over his shoulder at Gabe, "And just so you know, it's not arrogance, it's extreme loneliness."_

-

Two tentacles impacted him in the stomach while another whipped across his face, throwing him onto his back. Yet, he rose once again, however, Dagomon's attack was far from finished. And as he brutally attacked Dorughoramon, around the world, the DATS agents were losing their battles against their Royal Knight opponents.

As Dagomon's tentacle ripped through Dorughoramon's right leg, in New York, Dynasmon X's Breath of Wyvern swallowed Lillymon X and Megaseadramon X before exploding in the sky. Palmon X and Betamon X crashed to the ground, not even enough strength to open their eyes.

As Dagomon's tentacle tore through Dorughoramon's left leg, in Moscow, Alforce V-dramon X's Shining V-force struck Hippo Gryphomon, forcing him to regress to Penmon. When Anomalocarimon X came to his rescue, the Royal Knight grabbed him by the tail and hoisted him into the air. With a quick swipe, the Royal Knight impaled him with her sword; he fell to the ground as Gomamon X.

As Dagomon's tentacle ripped through Dorughoramon's right arm, in Beijing, Duftmon X's One Trillion attack easily destroyed Waruseadramon feeble defenses. Gesomon X spurted his Deadly Shade onto the knight's face, but his attack was already well underway, so there was no way to stop it from skewering him.

As Dagomon's tentacle tore through Dorughoramon's left arm, in Cario, Sleipmon's Bifrost sent a flaming arrow flying at Shawujinmon. The Deep Saver demonstrated excellent maneuverability in dodging the arrow, but when he attempted to execute his Crescent Moon attack, the Royal Knight caught his spinning staff and threw it into the ground, where his horse legs destroyed it. Sleipmon only smirked before firing another Bifrost, this one piercing the Deep Saver's side.

As Dagomon's tentacle struck Dorughoramon's stomach, in Brasilia, Dukemon's Final Elysion enveloped Nefertimon X, reducing her to Plotmon X instantly. Blossomon threw her Spiral Flowers at the Knight, but he blocked with the same shield. Then, with a simple strike of his lance, subdued the wild plant.

As Dagomon's tentacle struck Dorughoramon's chest, in Mexico City, Craniummon's End Waltz's sonic explosion sent a wave blasting directly at Rizegreymon. The dinosaur dragon shot into the air to avoid the deadly blast, but the Royal Knight jumped after him. Rizegreymon fired his Trident Revolver, but the Knight deflected each blast with his spear. Then, using the same spear, knocked across the dragon dinosaur's head before slashing the point of the spear across his chest.

As Dagomon's tentacle ripped across Dorughoramon's back, in Tokyo, Omegamon X stood posed over the fallen Piyomon and Plotmon, the energy in his Metalgarurumon arm-cannon ready to fire, but, as he stared at the two women below, he felt himself freeze in place.

As Dorughoramon fell to the ground, he had only enough strength to slightly lift his head to stare at his executioner. Dagomon's last tentacle was already flying towards its target, Dorughoramon's head. The dragon only smiled slightly as he closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable. "_Mom, Asami, I'm sorry…"_

On the sidelines, the girls and their partners were frozen in place. While Dagomon's Thousand Whips had happened in almost the blink of an eye, they had seen enough to know that the battle was over, they had lost. Yet, as Asami watched the last tentacle fly for its target, she felt a feeling rise up inside her, a mixture of sadness, desperation and rage, "Masa-Oniichan!" she screamed. Her body suddenly exploded with silver light, so intense that it filled the room.

Dorughoramon's eyes shot back open. Dagomon's tentacle, which was heading straight and true from the dragon's head, suddenly jerked away from its path, firing over the dragon's head with only inches to spare. The squid glared at Asami, "Juro's power! No! I will not be sealed again!"

The other girls were staring at their glowing comrade, "Asami…" Leormon said in awe.

She held out her hands, "Quick, give me your power, Masa needs it!"

They obeyed without question, Yasu and Eliane gripping her left hand, and Bolades and Ines gripping her right. She stared at Dorughoramon, "We are your friends, do not forget that."

"_Big brother…"_ Dorughoramon thought to himself, "_Big brother…"_

Dagomon stared at the girls, then back at Dorughoramon, "No, I can't allow Fate and Chance to seal me again!" He raised his arm, "Forbidden…"

Dorughoramon leapt back into the air, his fist knocking into Dagomon's chin. The squid stumbled backwards. "Well, it seems you still have some life left in you, but how much longer I won-?"

"Doru Dinn!" Dorughoramon screamed, exhaling a blast of fire that struck Dagomon in the chest and leapt across his body, turning his slimy skin in boiling leather. He stumbled backwards, panting heavily.

"F…foolish, you know that will do you no good, not while my connection to Yddrisil will simply heal me."

He waited for the familiar sensation of Yddrisil's holy power, but…felt nothing. In his mind's eye, he attempted to locate that connection, but when he did, an image of Asami, Yasu, Eliane, Bolades and Ines filled his mind.

"No!" he shouted, "T…they are blocking the…"

Dorughoramon's fist punch the squid in the side of the face, then another punch to the other side of his head, then another. Every time Dagomon tried to call to Yddrisil, the girl's blocked his connection. "No!"

Dorughoramon continued with another punch, then another. He twisted around, kicking the squid with his foot. Dagomon raised his arm to attack, but suddenly felt an overwhelming pain in his abdomen. Glancing down, he saw the Staff of Fate had materialized in Dorughoramon's hand, the tip of the staff had gone through Dagomon's chest and out his back. The two stood motionless for a moment before the dragon whipped his weapon from the squid's body.

Dagomon began to stumble blindly, clutching his wound. "Y..Yddrisil…" He raised his hand to the sky, "Yddrisil!" he screamed, but it was no use. Starting from the tip of his outstretched hand, his data began to dissolve, flying from his body until he was completely gone, Dagomon, the Digital God's High Priest, the Agent of Destruction, was gone.

Dorughoramon stood for a moment before he crashed into the ground, exploding in a white light as he regressed to Masa and Dorumon.

--

Around the world, with Dagomon gone, the Royal Knights felt their sanity return to them, but it was short lived. With their connection to Yddrisil gone, they could no longer maintain their Mega forms, they had been in that form for well over 24 hours, and they simply could not hold it any longer. They all regressed to their human and Child digimon forms, collapsing in front of the DATS agents. They were all alive, though, if Masa had not defeat Dagomon when he did….It was not something they wanted to think about just yet.

In Tokyo, Omegamon X had regressed like the rest, and the unconscious humans and digimon were being cared for by the females that loved them more then any other. Sora gently rocked Taichi in her arms, tears of joy pouring from her face. Noriko was embracing Yamato as they both lay in the street. Piyomon covering Agumon X's head with her wing, and Plotmon rubbing her head against Gabumon X's chest.

---

Lord Sentry turned as he heard the door open. "What is it?"

Artemis gave a proud smile, "Well, looks like Masa killed Dagomon.

"Is that all?" he asked, annoyed.

"No sirh," she replied, "Just as ya thought, when Dagomon died, he called out to Yddrisil."

"And…?"

"Orion's tracing the signal, it won't be long now."

Sentry smirked, "Finally, after all this time, Yddrisil…"

_Next: Twilight of the Heroes!_


	37. Twilight of the Heroes: Chapter 1

Natsuko Ishida sat in her chair, gently rocking her infant son back and forth in her arms. "My little Yamato…my beautiful baby boy…"

She kissed him on the top of his forehead, before squeezing him tightly again. He was staring up at her with his wide blue eyes, giggling slightly. He began to reach for the sky with his tiny hands. "I think someone's hungry," she giggled along with him.

She glanced around the hospital room quickly. This was her first child, and she was slightly embarrassed about exposing her breasts. She opened her robe and cradled her son close to her chest. She suddenly felt an odd sensation and twisted around, only to see the door closed behind her.

Hiroaki Ishida stepped out of the elevator and began to walk down the hall. He had just returned from his shift at the television studio, and he was exhausted. Between his 12-hour shifts and spending time at the hospital, he was almost dead on his feet. Yet, he was not about to miss any time from his wife and child.

As he sipped his coffee and approached his wife's hospital room, he noticed that a man was standing outside the closed door. "Hey!" he called.

The man spun back and smiled slightly. "Oh, hello."

"What do you want?" he asked, very defensive of his family.

"Sorry, a child was born here just a few months ago…the same room, in fact."

"And?"

He gave a slight bow, "I was just interested." He turned and walked towards the elevator at the opposite end of the hall. As he stepped inside and the doors closed, he said, "I was just interested…in seeing the second hero."

_My name is Lino Silvano, otherwise known as Mixcoatl, the Digital Hunter. My older half-sister was Maria Silvano, the Daughter of Earth, who fought with the X-Chosen against GranDracmon. I loved her more then anything, I looked up to her more than anything, and then, just like that, she was gone. One of the X-Chosen-I don't even remember who it was-came to my home and told my father what had happened to her. I couldn't believe it, she was gone. _

_Then, one day, I got my digimon partner, Patamon. I had no idea what to do, how to be a partner. My little brother, Adan, received a Gotsumon. But, unlike my sister, no one trained us, no one taught us, the Chosen had abandoned us, they took Maria from me, then just left me to fend for myself! But Lord Sentry came, he gave me a purpose. I met Bolades and Ines, both of them lost siblings in the war against GranDracmon. We were going to have our revenge against the X-Chosen._

_But, that didn't happen like I thought, too many times I had to join forces with DATS in order to save myself, or to make sure that they would be around to destroy one day. I fought with them against the Ancients, and then after Patamon and I evolved to Craniummon, we were taken over by Dagomon and Yddrisil, and forced to attack Mexico City. Masahiko, my own-time fellow Hunter, destroyed Dagomon and freed us._

-----

_Twilight of the Heroes:_

_Chapter I_

_-----------_

Dagomon had been defeated, but Masa and Dorumon had almost lost their lives to do so. Once they had returned to the DATS building, they were quickly examined by Kiku Kido. He sat patiently (as he could) in the examination chair while Kiku bandaged his shoulder and most of his ribcage, "You're very lucky that they got you here as fast as they did. You could have very well bled to death."

He looked over to Bolades and her Bearmon, who were seated in a chair against the wall. The African girl gave a slight smile, "I am happy to see that you have recovered."

"Yeah, thanks."

Miayag, who was standing right next to her son, doting over his injuries, gave him a stern expression, "Masahiko! This girl practically carried you back here within her arms, is that all you have to say to her?"

He flinched slightly and began to blush at the thought of being in her arms, "Um, y…yeah. T…thank you very much."

Bolades began to blush as well, "Well, it was the very least that I could do."

Dorumon lifted his head, "Masa's embarrassed, ha, ha-ouch!" He winced in pain as his laughter caused a sharp pain in his chest.

"Serves you right!" Masa snickered, only to his have a sharp headache erupt through his head. "Oh…" He began to rub his forehead. "How are the others?"

"I believe they are starting to wake up," his mother answered.

---

Sora and Piyomon were pacing the floor, occasionally glancing over at the beds which contained the unconscious forms of Taichi, Kasumi and their partners. "Why won't they just wake up?" Piyomon asked.

"I don't know," the redhead replied, "I don't…."

Her partner smiled slightly, "H…hey, I didn't mean….um…I mean they're okay now since Masa beat Dagomon, so….they'll be fine…"

"I just hope so," she said, "I haven't gotten so many gray hairs like I did in the past year."

Piyomon smiled slightly. Sora knelt down and hugged her partner tightly. "Oh, if it wasn't for you, I would have gone insane a long time ago from the way Taichi drives me crazy sometimes…"

A loud voice suddenly called out, "I heard that…."

Sora jumped back to his feet and saw that Taichi was slowly sitting up in his bed. She tackled him back to the bed, hugging him tightly. "Taichi! Oh Taichi…."

"S…sora," he said, "I…it's okay….I'm okay…."

"Mom? Dad?"

Sora felt tears in her eyes when she saw that Kasumi was awake as well. She dropped Taichi back onto the bed and squeezed her daughter tightly. "Mom…I can't breathe…."

"Kasumi, Kasumi…" she cried.

The girl managed to push her away, "M…mom! I'm fine! Really…." She glanced around the room, "Where's Akira?"

Sora dried her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt, "He's with Adan and Ines, watching over Mixcoatl."

Her ears perked, "He's here?"

Her mother nodded quickly, "Y…yes, but…"

She jumped out of bed and ran into the hall. "Kasumi!" Sora shouted.

Taichi chuckled, "That's our daughter..heh…."

Sora gave him a glance, then looked back at the door.

--------------

As Kasumi ran down the hall, she did peer into the other rooms: Yamato, Gabe, Shiro, Mitsuo, and Kenji had all awoken and were being embraced by their families. She smiled to herself before jumping into the last room where Mixcoatl and his Patamon were lying in the hospital bed; Ines, Adan and Akira were standing around him.

"Oneechan!" the redhead gasped, "You're awake!"

"Yeah, thanks for waiting with Mom and Dad!"

He blushed slightly, "I…um…"

The girl sighed and mentioned to the unconscious Hunter, "How's he doing?"

"He's still asleep," Adan answered, staring at his brother, "I hope he wakes up soon."

Ines placed a hand on his shoulder, "Hey, no worries, right? I mean, nothing's gonna stop your brother."

He smiled slightly, "Yeah."

As if on cue, Mixcoatl and Patamon began to stir. The Hunter slowly opened his eyes, but when he saw Akira and Kasumi he twisted his head from side to side before addressing Ines and Adan. "What happened?"

"Brother!" Adan cried, "You're awake!"

Ines smiled as well, "I'm glad to see that you're back with us, boss."

He looked back to Kasumi and Akira. Before the Yagami children could speak, the Hunter narrowed his eyes, "Are we your prisoners?"

"What?" Akira gasped, "We were just worried about you!"

"Well, we're fine, so we'll be leaving now…"

"Where?" Kasumi asked, "Back to the Hunters? Don't you know that they were the ones that woke up Dagomon? Not to mention that they created the Demons and didn't tell you about it! And worse of all, he's gonna bring GranDracmon back!"

He twirled quickly to stare at her, "What?"

"GranDracmon?" Patamon asked, "They're going to bring back GranDracmon?"

"You're lying!" Mixcoatl snapped.

"No, we're not!" the girl shouted back, "My Dad heard it from your boss himself!"

The Hunter snorted, "Right, like I'm going to trust him, he's the worst out of all of you! He sold out to the government, and the rest of you followed!"

Kasumi was beginning to lose her temper, "Say one more bad thing about my Dad, and I'll knock your lights out!"

Mixcoatl jumped out of bed and his Patamon fluttered beside him. "Lino?" his partner asked.

Mixcoatl ignored him and spoke to Ines, "Where is Bolades?"

"She's visiting Masa, he saved us, you know."

"I don't care what that traitor did, we're leaving, now!"

Adan hesitated, "But…"

"But what?" he snapped.

"Hey," Akira said, "Why don't you just let him talk?"

"Stay out of this, you piece of scum!"

"Hey!" Kasumi screamed, "Don't talk to my little brother like that!"

"You are nothing but DATS scum that I'm going to destroy!"

"We're trying to help you, you thick head!" Kasumi shouted back, "I've given you so many chances, we've all tried to convince you, why won't you listen? Why are you so stubborn?"

"I am a Hunter, not a DATS agent!" He turned and walked towards the window, "Now come on Adan! Ines, get Bolades and meet us…."

He stopped and glanced over his shoulder: Adan and Ines were standing in place. "What are you two doing?"

Adan hesitated for a moment before speaking, "W…we're not going…"

"What?" he exclaimed.

Adan took a deep breath, "We're not going. DATS isn't evil, they helped to save you…"

Mixcoatl simply could not believe his ears. He looked to Ines, but he saw by the expression in her eyes that she stood with Adan. "Traitors! You are all traitors!"

He summoned the Spear of Earth in a burst of brown light. Akira gasped loudly and Kasumi was about to summon her Claymore, but Mixcoatl swung his weapon into the window, shattering the glass. He leapt through the window, followed shortly by Patamon. They ran to the window, but he had already dropped down the fire escape and vanished.

"Damn it!" Kasumi exclaimed, "He's driving me insane!" She sighed deeply, "I was just trying to help him, why wouldn't he let me?"

Adan stood at the window and stared outside, "Brother…"

-------------

In the Hunter's base, Lord Sentry and Araki examined the large orb that contained an unholy concoction of a mysterious substance. It bubbled and swirled, churned and spun. Araki sat down at the machinery and examined the display. "Dagomon's data has been successfully uploaded and integrated."

"Good," Sentry replied, "But we still have two memory slots left."

"Any thoughts on whom?"

"No, but we have run out of time, Yddrisi has opened to us, we have to move forward now. Download the program into my circuits."

She gasped, "A…are you certain?"

"Yes, and do not question me again."

"R…right," she nodded quickly. Sentry sat down and opened his jacket, followed by his shirt. His chest was mostly human, but a large metal plat was covering most of his left side and shoulder. Araki attached an Ethernet cable to the machine, then to a port on Sentry's metal chest. She entered a few commands onto the machine, "Download commencing."

------------

As Mixcoatl and Patamon ran through the streets, the digimon could not help but ask, "Why did we have to leave like that?"

"We don't belong there!" he shouted, "We are Hunters, not DATS!"

"But…Adan and Ines and Bolades…"

"Traitors! All of them, traitors!"

Patamon could only stare at his partner; he had instantly condemned his brother and his two friends…what happened to the boy he met so long ago? This could not be the same person, could it?

What the digimon did not know was that the human's mind was flooded with conflicting emotions and questions. Why did Lord Sentry want Dagomon freed? Did he know that the squid-digimon would make a slave out of all Royal Knights? Was DATS right, was Sentry just using him? Could it be…that everything he had believed it, was just a lie?

Mixcoatl stopped in front of an electronics store, where a computer was on display in the store-front window. "I guess this is a good place." He grabbed his cell phone from his belt, "This is Mixcoatl, I need a gate."

A moment later, a glowing circle appeared in front of them. They both jumped inside to arrive in a dark room where Rudra was standing in front of some sort of computer terminal. "Well, look who comes crawling back."

He glared at his fellow Hunter, "Shut up, I'm not in the mood."

He walked to exit the room, but Rudra stepped in front of him, "And where do you think you're going?"

Mixcoatl glared at him, "To see Lord Sentry?"

Rudra crossed his arms and snickered, "I wouldn't be too worried about speaking to him right now."

"Oh really? And why's that?"

"First of all, he's in a secret meeting with Artemis and Orion, and second, he's pretty pissed at you for joining with DATS against that Ancient."

"Ancient Sphinxmon was too dangerous, I had to! Now get out of my way!"

The other Hunter was still chuckling as he stepped aside, allowing Mixcoatl to pass. "Um, Lino," Patamon said, flying beside him, "Are you sure this is a good idea? If Lord Sentry's mad at us…"

"I'm going to see him," he simply replied.

"Why? What's so important that….?"

"I was made a slave of Dagomon, why was he freed?"

Patamon tried to think of something to say, but could only just nod. He floated after his partner as they approached the closed door to Lord Sentry's office. Patamon was about to tell his partner to wait, but Mixcoatl kicked the door open and marched inside. Lord Sentry was indeed speaking to Artemis and Orion. All three Hunters turned to him. "Mixcoatl," Sentry smiled, "You're back-I see that you did not bring the traitors with you."

"Traitors?" he asked.

"Yes, your brother and the two girls, we know they were working with DATS while you were under Dagomon's influence."

"Well, sir, that's why I'm here. Why was Dagomon freed to begin with? I know that it was the Demon Master, but why didn't you tell us that the Demons were our allies? And why did Dagomon have to be freed?"

"Ya little punk!" Artemis shouted.

Orion glared at him. "How dare you come in here and…"

"That's all right," Sentry said, "I suppose he should know." He mentioned to the other Hunters, "We were just discussing that. Dagomon was freed, because he will lead us to Yddrisil, the host computer of the Digital World, and with the host computer of the Digital World in our hands, we will have control over all electronic and digital equipment in this world."

Mixcoatl blinked, "W…world domination? I…I thought our goal was the extermination of DATS….t….the ones that lead to my sister's death….b…because they sold out to the governments of Earth…."

"That was our goal, yes, but world domination is so much more…rewarding."

" But what about the Chosen of the world?" he questioned, "They're not just going to let us…"

"That is why we must revive our master."

"Your master?" Patamon exclaimed.

"Yes, with Yddrisil in our control, we can access the underworld of the Digital World, the place where all deleted files have collected, so we can bring back GranDracmon, the Demon Lords, and my grandfather, Juro!"

Mixcoatl felt his heart come to a strop. "G…grandracmon? Grandracmon?! You're bringing back that…that monster! He killed my sister!"

Sentry smirked as he rubbed his chin, "Yes, I suppose he did…"

The Hunter could not believe what he was hearing, "We were supposed to destroy DATS because they were forcing Chosen to…to…to…, b….but GranDracmon will destroy everything!" He summoned the Spear of Earth, "I won't let you do this! Patamon, evolve!"

"Right!" his partner grinned. "Patamon evolve to…"

Lord Sentry smirked as he simply waved his hand, sending out a pulse of energy that canceled out Patamon's evolution. "Very bad," he chuckled, "You forgot about my ability to cancel out all evolution except by digimon possessing the X-Antibody, and you do not posses it."

Mixcoatl looked to his partner, then back at Sentry. He held his weapon tightly, "I still possess a weapon of the First Chosen, something _you_ don't!" He swung the spear at the Hunter's leader, but Sentry easily grabbed it, squeezing it tightly in his hand.

"I think you forgot who you are speaking to, and since you have failed to destroy the DATS children-instead joining with them, your usefulness is over." He easily threw the former Hunter back into the ground, spear and all. Mixcoatl jumped back to his feet and charged again. Sentry smirked and pointed his fingers forward, "3D Laser!"

A massive blast of energy exploded forth, enveloping the human. He screamed; it was more pain then he had every experienced before-he felt like his skin was peeling from his bones, his cybernetic implants melting, his entire body shaking with energy. He fell to the ground, too weak to even move his arms. Sentry stepped closer to the fallen Hunter.

"Leave him alone!" his Patamon shouted, "Air Shot!"

Lord Sentry easily batted aside the attack, then with a simple flick of his finger, sent the digimon crashing into the ground. "Let us be clear of one thing," he said, leaning closer to the fallen partners, "You were only important because you had the Spear of Earth, it was a perfect psychological weapon against DATS, it was like fighting their dead friends. But, for what its worth, you _were_ a good servant, but now you're nothing but a failure."

Mixcoatl whipped his arm around, slashing at Sentry's face with his spear. The Hunters leader threw his head back, yelling out in pain. As he stumbled backwards, he fell into Artemis and Orion. By the time they untangled themselves, Mixcoatl and Patamon were gone.

"Damn him!" Sentry exclaimed.

Artemis snorted, "He's a walkin' corpse."

"The point is, he's still walking."

"Oh please, allow me to go after him," a cloaked figure asked, stepping out of the shadows, "I have been ever so bored since coming here."

Lord Sentry smiled, "Yes, go ahead, Sakumi, have fun."

The Demoness grinned a wicked smile.

--------

Mixcoatl and Patamon had managed to escape the Hunter's base and were now wandering through a vacant metallic city in NeoDigital. Once they were a safe distance away, they collapsed in an alley.

Patamon attempted to fly, but his ear was too damaged to act as a wing. He instead trotted along the ground to peer around the corner; the city streets were completely deserted. "I think we're okay…for now, at least." He turned to his partner, who had his back against the wall of the decaying building, starting blankly at the ground. Patamon trotted over to him. "Lino, h…how are you….?"

He did not answer. He could not find the words, how could he explain how he was feeling, what he was experiencing? He had believed that Lord Sentry was his future, his 'master.' He gave him a purpose when he had none, but that purpose was nothing but a lie.

Or was it? He missed Maria more than anything, but he felt that DATS had betrayed the things that Maria died for, and Sentry used that grief, made him hate DATS, in time, he wanted revenge, he wanted DATS to pay, to feel the same way that he did. The Hunters wanted to destroy DATS, and…and that was what he wanted to. Part of him knew that the Hunters had a goal beyond simply destroying DATS, but he did not care. He wanted DATS to go away, he could not blame Lord Sentry or the Hunters, this was his own doing.

Part of him knew that what he was doing was not right, is that why he continued to join with DATS time and again? Did that part of him force him to return to the Hunters this time, so he could finally see, finally realize what exactly the Hunters were. They were not freedom-inspired vigilantes striving to take down the 'evil' DATS, they were the evil ones.

"I'm sorry," he finally said.

"What?" Patamon asked, turning to face him.

"I'm sorry, this is my fault…I'm sorry for getting you involved in my personal problems."

"Personal problems?" he gasped, "What are you talking about?"

"All of this, it's my fault…" he sighed deeply, "And now because of me, we're completely fucked, we don't even have anyone to turn to….the Hunters will find us…and then its over….Adan I just wish I could see you again…tell you I'm sorry for making you join me on my…stupid revenge…" He chuckled, "Adan…I just hope you're happy…"

-------

"He left?" Shiro gasped, jumping out of the bed, "I don't believe it!"

"Easy, Oniichan," Yasu said, "You're still hurt."

"I can't believe it!" he exclaimed, "Doesn't he realize what the Hunters are doing?"

"Maybe he just can't," Psychemon suggested, "Maybe he needs to see it for himself."

"He did see it for himself," the boy sighed, "When he was taken over by Dagomon."

Yasu munched on a brownie from her plate of treats, "Well, why are you worrying about it anyway? Good riddance!"

Labramon looked to her, "Yeah, but what about Adan? I thought you liked him."

She flinched, "Um..uh….y…yeah, he's cool…"

"So why don't you like his brother?"

"Shut up, all right?" she snapped.

"Yasu!" Shiro scolded her.

In addition to Shiro, Yasu and their partners, the hospital room also contained Bolades, Eliane and their partners. "Where iz Ines?" the French girl asked.

"I do not know," Bolades said, "But she enjoys spending time by herself."

"Oh." She fidgeted in her seat.

"Is something bothering you?" she asked the younger girl.

"W…well, I…I was just wondering, why did you become a Hunter?"

The African woman sighed, a serious expression on her face. "Oh, I…I apologize if it iz zomet'ing zat you do not want to tell…"

"No…no, it is okay," she said, "I suppose you have a right to know." She took a deep breath, "When I received Bearmon, I had no one to explain to me how to be a Chosen, I was alone." She took another breath, "Unfortunately, my homeland can be very…dangerous for females. While walking home one night, I was abducted by men who were…" She struggled to speak, "…who were s-sex-traffickers. Bearmon tried to protected me, but he was not strong enough to withstand their weapons. They opened fire on him, he would have died, if the Hunters had not come to our rescue."

"So, zat is why you joined zem?"

"Yes," she hung her head low, "I am ashamed to say, but yes. It was then that I met Mixcoatl and Adan. We were soon joined by Ines, who was escaping from a…an abusive family. We were trained by the Hunters, but it was Mixcoatl who embraced it. He was escaping from the pain he felt from his older sister's death, and Lord Sentry made us believe that DATS was betraying the ideals of the Digital World, by joining with the governments of _this_ world. It was not long before Adan, Ines and I realized that we did not truly believe the same as Lord Sentry, yet we could not forsake the Hunters, who saved us, nor could we simply leave Mixcoatl, we decided that it would be all of us, or none."

She frowned, staring at the floor, "And yet, it seems we have broken that promise, as Mixcoatl has returned to the Hunters."

Eliane smiled slightly, "I do not think that any explanation would convince him."

"Yes, maybe, but…" She sighed, "I only hope he realizes it himself before it is too late."

------------

In another room of the hospital, Taichi, Yamato and Mitsuo were seated with Miayag. "I hope that you three are feeling well," she said with a smile.

"Yeah," Taichi grumbled, rubbing his shoulder, "I hope we feel better soon."

"A little sore?" Yamato said with a chuckle.

Taichi glared at him, "And what about your leg? You're limping."

"Getting back on topic…." Mitsuo said in a loud voice.

"Yes," Miayag nodded, "We need to discuss the two remaining Ancients."

Taichi frowned, "Ancient Greymon and Ancient Garurumon."

"Correct. They were on a rampage across Europe, there is a good possibility that they could have killed every Chosen across the planet if they were not stopped."

Yamato nodded, "Yeah, I noticed that there weren't any news reports about them, what happened."

She hesitated, "I…I am sorry, b…but I did only what I could think of…"

"What?" Taichi gasped, expecting the worse.

"I…I promised that you and Yamato would personally battle them….within one day."

Taichi and Yamato stared at one another. "And when was this promise made?" Yamato questioned.

"Yesterday," she frowned, "Fifteen hours ago, to be precise."

Taichi sighed, "So, in ten hours…?"

"Nine," Agumon X clarified.

"Fine, in _nine_ hours…?"

His cousin nodded, "Yes, I am sorry…It was all I could do, the Chosen population is at one fourth of what it was only days ago."

Taichi looked to Yamato again. The blond man shrugged slightly, "Let's just hope we're back to normal enough to stand a chance."

------------

Hikari and Asami were in the hospital's cafeteria, feasting on miso soup. The middle-aged woman was grinning, "You're really happy," her daughter stated.

"Yes," she said, "Everyone is okay, they all came back, we didn't lose anyone."

"Yes," Asami said with a grin, "Because of Masa."

Hikari nodded, "Yes, Megumi's son is certainly powerful."

Her daughter nodded quickly, "Yeah, b…but Mom, I helped him!"

"What?"

"He was going to lose, Dagomon was about to k…kill him, but….but I used my Chance power, and….and I'm not even really sure _what_ I did, but Mom, I blocked Dagomon from contacting Yddrisil! He couldn't heal himself and Masa won!"

Hikari stared at her daughter, "And…you're sure it was Chance? Your power, is Chance?"

Asami blinked, "I…I am pretty sure, Dagomon said it was Chance." She stared at her mother, "So, that means that Juro is really my great-grandfather, right?"

Hikari smiled, "Yes, and your other great-grandfather is Yuushi. Asami, you are the perfect fusion of Fate and Chance, and it was made with the love from your father and I. When Lord Sentry tried to create life like that, he failed, Masa and Masanori are twins, but with different powers, but the greatest power came from love."

Asami began to blush, "M…Mom!"

Hikari walked over and hugged her tightly, "I just want you to know, I love you."

-------

Adan was seated in the hospital room of Kasumi Yagami, along with Akira and their digimon partners. The teenage girl was seated cross-legged in the bed, playing on her Playstation PSP3, engaging in a desperate struggle for supremacy against Yuki Agumon, who was playing on her own PSP3.

"I got you now!" Kasumi grinned, rapidly pushing the button.

"Don't even bet on it!" her partner shouted back, smashing the button on her own device so hard it threatened to crack.

Akira was lazily watching television, flipping through the channel every so often. Falcomon and Gotsumon were playing cards.

The bird studied the cards in his hand carefully. He glanced at Gotsumon, then back at his cards. "I raise you…one cookie." He threw the treat into a pile of other candies and pastries.

Gotsumon narrowed his eyes at his opponent. "I'll raise you a sticky bun."

They both threw down their cards. "Damn it!" Falcomon grumbled, watching as Gotsumon shoveled the pot onto his side.

Adan was staring out the window, watching the sun in the sky. "Brother…." Suddenly a strange feeling washed over him. He gasped loudly. "Something wrong?" Akira asked.

"My brother…

"Huh?" Kasumi asked, turning to him.

"My brother's calling me!" he gasped, jumping up from his chair.

"Your brother's calling you?" Gotsumon asked him.

He nodded quickly, "Yes! He needs me, he's in trouble!"

"How you do know?" Yuki Agumon questioned.

"I…I don't know, maybe it's because he has the Spear of Earth, b…but I can't talk, he needs me!"

He ran towards the door, when Kasumi called out to him. "Wait!"

Adan twirled to face her, "I have to go, please don't try to stop me."

The girl smiled, "Stop you? Heh, we're gonna go with you."

--------

Sakumi, the Demon Princess, walked through the abandoned city that encircled the Hunter's base. Her cloak was billowing behind her, as she scanned the buildings and alleys. She knew that he was here; he was too injured to escape very far. She would find him, he would not escape.

A small explosion of light caught her eye; it was in the distance, but clearly visible in the blue sky-a Digital Gate had opened! Sakumi smiled slyly, it seemed that Mixcoalt had managed to call for help, but it did not matter, her Orochimon was hungry.

---------

Akira cautiously looked around the metal city. "This is where the Hunter's base is?"

"One of them, yes," Adan answered and he hurried through the streets, "My brother is here somewhere."

Kasumi examined the collapsing buildings and decaying streets, "Let's just hurry up and find him so we can get out of here. This place gives me the creeps."

"We're too out in the open," Akira added, "I don't like it either.

Adan did not appear to be listening, as he was running through the streets, peering in each alley as he past. "Brother!" he called, "Brother!"

Akira charged him and planted his palm around his mouth, "Are you trying to get us caught?"

He pushed out of his grip and continued running through the streets. "Adan!" Akira shouted, running after him.

"You don't understand," the other boy said, "You have a mother and father, I don't have anyone except for my brother!"

"Yeah, I understand, but what good's it going to him, or us, if we get caught too!"

"Would you guys shut up?" Kasumi hissed, "The way they'll find us is because you two don't whisper!"

She looked around again, "How are we going to find him?"

Falcomon hovered into the air, "I'll look from above."

"No!" Kasumi said, grabbing his leg, "They'll see you, we need to stay on the ground."

"How are we going to find them?" the bird asked.

The girl looked to her partner, "Do you have anything?"

Yuki Agumon sniffed the air, "I wish Psychemon was here, even Agumon, I'm not really good at this."

"Better then us," Falcomon said.

The white dinosaur smiled slightly, then began to sniff the air. The others followed her as she walked through the streets. After a few minutes, she began to slow, but she continued to sniff the air.

"Do you smell something?" Kasumi asked.

"M…maybe," she answered, "Y….yeah…something…" She began to run through the streets with the others following her. She rounded a turn and stopped, lying before her was Mixcoatl and Patamon. The others arrived a moment later, and Adan pushed past them.

"Brother!" he cried, dropping on top of him, hugging him tightly, "Brother…"

Akira stood over them, "Let's at least help him up, okay?"

The other boy nodded quickly and they helped Mixcoatl to his feet. He was still too injured and would have smashed into the ground if the two boys did not catch him. They shifted their weight so they could support him on their backs.

"What happened?" Kasumi demanded.

He gave a short laugh, "Had a little…argument with Lord Sentry."

"You tried to fight Lord Sentry?" Adan gasped, "You're lucky you're still alive!"

"Idiot!" Kasumi growled.

"Kasumi!" Akira snapped.

"Well, why are we even here saying him if he's just going to go back to the Hunters anyway?"

"I'm not going back to the Hunters," he replied.

"What?"

"Lord Sentry, he's going to revive GranDracmon…."

Kasumi crossed her arms and glared at him with narrowed eyes, "Yeah, we _told_ you that!"

He looked away from her gaze, "I guess…I needed to see that for myself…"

Kasumi stared at him for another moment before sighing and smiling slightly, "All right, let's get out of here."

A shrill, female voice echoed through the empty streets, "I'm sorry, but you're not going anywhere!"

"Oh no!" Akira gasped, "It's…it's her!"

"Her?" Yuki Agumon asked, "Who?"

"Me!" the same voice shouted, as a figure leapt down from the roof, a figure draped in a dark cloak.

Kasumi stared at her, "Y….you're….you're….m….me…."

"In a sense, yes," she answered, removing her hood to reveal her face, the face of Kasumi Yagami, "You were not awake the last time, so let me introduce myself, I am Sakumi, and yes, I am the embodiment of the darkness within you." She looked over her double's shoulder to Mixcoatl, "I didn't think we would be hanging around with someone like him."

Kasumi glared.

"What do you want?" Akira snapped.

"Well, little brother," she chuckled, "I've got my orders, to kill the traitor, Mixcoatl."

Adan gasped, but Kasumi shouted out, "Well, you're not getting him!"

Sakumi raised an eyebrow, "Really? How cute." She grinned, "Well, then let's get this started, okay?" She swung open her arm and suddenly rose into the air as Orochimon appeared beneath her.

"Yuki!" Kasumi shouted, grabbing her digivice. The white dinosaur quickly evolved to Aero V-dramon.

"Falcomon!" cried Akira. The bird evolved to Diatrymon.

"You too, Gotsumon!" Adan ordered. The stone digimon evolved to Monocromon. The land digimon and the air digimon then evolved together to reach their Jogressed form of Rizegreymon.

The armored digimon loaded his shot-gun arm and pointed it at Orochimon, while Aero V-dramon cracked her knuckles. "Leave right now," Akira said, "And you won't get hurt."

Sakumi roared with laughter, "_We_ won't get hurt, heh…I think you've got this mixed up!" Orochimon's heads suddenly shot forward, knocking into the two digimon. Aero V-dramon grabbed the snake's head with her massive fists, but two more appeared and bashed into her sides. Rizegreymon was going to fire from his shot gun arm, but another head knocked the gun upwards, and the bullet exploded harmlessly in the air.

"I've got to help them," Patamon declared. He attempted to hover into the air, but his wing was too damaged and he fell back into the ground.

"Let them…handle this," Mixcoatl said, numbly. His partner reluctantly nodded.

Orochimon's tail whipped around from behind, "Gathering Clouds of Heaven!"

"Watch out!" Kasumi shouted.

Aero V-dramon jumped backwards, but the tail continued forward. It would have struck her, if Rizegreymon had not grabbed it. The Wind Guardian jumped into the air and blasted a V-breath Arrow, but Orochimon's multiple heads batted it aside as they shot into Aero V-dramon. She batted them aside, but there were too many, and they tore through her legs.

"Hang on!" Rizegreymon shouted, "Rising Destroyer!" All his gun turrets fired at once, showering the snake demon with pellets of light. Her heads darted back, then exhaled a blast of pungent air.

"Sake Breath!"

The humans all had to cover their mouths as the stench overwhelmed them, even Rizegreymon and Aero V-dramon had tears blurring their vision. "My eyes are on fire!" the Cyborg shouted.

Through blurred vision, the Wind Guardian was able to make out Orochimon's form. She gathered energy into her wings, "V-Wing Blade!" Two v-shaped blasts of energy exploded from the appendages, blasting into the heads. Sakumi had to grip her partner tightly to avoid being thrown off.

"Damn you!" she shouted, "Orochimon, I'm getting tired of this, finish them off now!"

The snake demon roared from all of her heads. Her tail once again whipped around, "Gathering Clouds of Heaven!"

"Oh, not again!" Aero V-dramon shouted, shooting higher into the air, "Try something original."

"Don't taunt her, Aero," Kasumi shouted, "Remember, she kinda _is_ you!"

"Yeah yeah," the dragon muttered, flexing her muscles. Orochimon smirked and fired her heads once again. The Wind Guardian rolled through the air, avoiding the snarling heads, but she simply was not fast enough. One of the heads knocked into her stomach, then another slashed across her side. Another head grabbed her tightly around the leg and threw her into the ground.

"Aero!" Kasumi shouted, "Come on, get up!"

Orochimon was on top of the dragon in an instant. All eight heads readied themselves for the kill. Sakumi was laughing manically, but her laughter quickly ceased when she heard the sound of a large gun being cocked. She turned and saw Rizegreymon's gun barrel arm pointed directly at Orochimon's body, "Try dodging this, bitch!" the cyborg dinosaur cried, "Trident Revolver!"

The first bullet threw the dragon demon back, the second bullet threw her back further and faster, and the last augmented upon the first two and sent her crashing through building after building before coming to a halt beneath a steel wall.

"All right!" Akira cheered, "Nice job."

Adan nodded quickly, "Let's just get out of here before she wakes up."

----------

Once the group had made it back to the hospital, Mixcoatl was quickly deposited into another bed. Yamato was present as the Hunter was placed within his new hospital room. "We should charge you for that window."

"Dad!" Shiro snapped. He turned to Jyou, and asked in a whisper, "Can't you remove his cybernetics?"

Jyou shook his head, "No, I can't," he responded in a whisper, "The Hunters knew what they were doing, I can't remove them without causing serious problems to his nervous system."

"He's not going to be any more trouble," Adan said, turning to his brother, "Right?"

The blond man sighed, "Well, I'm putting guards outside the room, just in case you try leaving again."

Mixcoatl said nothing as he stared at the ceiling. Yamato sighed and walked out of the room, followed by Jyou, Shiro and Akira. Adan and Kasumi remained. "Brother," the boy said, looking at him hopefully, "You're not going to leave again, right?"

He still said nothing. Kasumi sighed, "Adan, why don't you let me and him talk, all right?"

The boy looked at his brother, then at the girl, then back. He slowly backed away from his brother, then ran from the room. Kasumi shut the door and glared at him. "What the hell is wrong with you, huh? You help us fight Ancient Sphinxmon, then get controlled by Dagomon, but you still run off, and then what, huh? You fight Lord Sentry yourself, and _we_ have to rescue you again! What is your problem?"

To her surprise, he answered, "Sentry…h…he made me believe that…."

He trailed off. "What?" Kasumi asked.

He turned to her, "…that revenge was the way to make my pain go away. I missed Maria so much, I was only 4 years old, but I remember everything about her. I wanted to destroy you because….because I missed my sister. She died to protect the freedom of the Digital World against GranDracmon, but…wasn't DATS the same thing as GranDracmon?"

"No!" Kasumi shouted, "We're not trying to rule the Digimon or anything like that!"

"But you're such a powerful presence to them, its like, you're either part of DATS, or you're not, there's nothing else. They shouldn't have to live like that…"

"That's not true either!" she protested.

He smiled slightly and turned away from her, but after a moment he turned back, "J…just answer me something."

"What?" she snapped, annoyed.

"Why did you come for me? You could have just let me died there."

The girl sighed deeply, "You just don't get it at all, Mixcoatl, you always had a place with us."

He was silent for a moment, then smiled slightly, "Well…I'm not joining you or anything like that, I still think your organization is going to turn into nothing but an overbearing government…but for right now, we've got to stop the Hunters, I don't want any more kids to have to lose their older sisters…."

Kasumi could not help but smile. She turned to leave, when he called out to her, "By the way…my name is Lino."

The girl's smile grew even more and she nodded.

to be continued......


	38. Twilight of the Heroes: Chapter 2

_My name is Adan Silvano, and I am a Chosen, and I used to be a Hunter. After me and my brother got our digimon partners, we had no idea what to do, by the Hunters came for us, and without anywhere else to turn, we joined them. We were with them for almost three years before Lord Sentry started his plans, and we were forced to attack DATS. Bolades and Ines and me didn't really want to, but my brother hated them because of what happened to my half-sister…I never even knew her, but he missed her so much._

_But the Hunters had a plan to free Dagomon so they could find Yddrisil. While DATS was recovering from their battle with Dagomon, my brother went back to the Hunters. He found out that Lord Sentry was planning to use Yddrisil's power to bring GranDracmon back to life. He tried to find Sentry, but he was no match for him. Me, Akira and Kasumi rescued him, and now he's finally ready to help DATS._

-----

_Twilight of the Heroes:_

_Chapter 2_

_-----------_

The Hunters had assembled on the Island of Fortuna in Neodigital, this island was at the center of the newest version of the Digital World, it was this place that d'Arcmon once prophesized, it was this place that contained a gateway to an ocean where Dagomon was once imprisoned, a place that Dagomon called to with his dying breath. Now, the Hunters were once again standing before the strange tree at the island's center that stretched to the heavens. They were all straining their necks to see to the top.

"To think," Lord Sentry grinned, "It was here the entire time, it seemed so simple."

"Man," Nanook whined, "We hafta climb all the way up there?"

"No," Lord Sentry chuckled, "There is no need." He walked towards the tree and removed a black glove, revealing his mechanical hand. "With Dagomon's data, it should be a simple matter to…." He placed his hand on the trunk of the tree and grunted slightly. A wave of energy erupted from his hand and flowed through the massive circumference of the tree. A moment later, a large, square section simply vanished, creating a perfect doorway into the darkness of the center of the tree.

He mentioned to the others and laugh, "Come! It is time to let the world know of our ascendency!"

-----

The three leaders of DATS were in the hospital's conference room, in a tele-conference with the Prime Minister, along with the members of his cabinet. "I had just spoken to the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdoms, and a special session of the United Nations is going to be assembled in a few hours. Because we are the leading experts in…shall we say, 'digital' phenomenon and digital threats, they are waiting for any information we came give them."

Taichi nodded at the Prime Minister, "Okay, but what's going on?"

The Minister of Defense coughed before speaking, "We received a transmission earlier today…from the Hunters."

"Great," Yamato muttered, "What do they want now?"

"It's not good, not good at all," Minister Watanabe continued, "They sent a message to the leaders of the world…_all_ the leaders of every nation on Earth, demanding that unless we surrender our armies to them, they're going to take this world by force."

"I wouldn't worry too much," Mitsuo said, "They don't have the resources for something like that."

"Schmidt's not stupid, you know," Taichi said, "And despite everything, he's not really a boaster, he wouldn't have said something like that unless he really had the capability to do something like that." He lightly rubbed his chin, then gasped.

"What?" Yamato asked.

Taichi stared at Japan's leaders, "You said that Schmidt sent a message to every nation?"

"Yes," Watanabe nodded.

Mitsuo stared at his brother-in-law, "What are you getting at?"

"Don't you get it?" he asked, "Even with the state of technology, there's really no way he could do that. How many nations are there on Earth? No, he couldn't do that unless…"

"He had Yddrisil?" Yamato asked.

"Yes, he's got to have found Yddrisil."

"Yddrisil?" the Prime Minister asked.

"We believe it to be the main computer of the Digital World," Mitsuo explained, "If Schmidt has control of the Digital World, then he could very well have control over all of the computers on Earth." He clenched his fist, "Damn it! If he has control over all of Earth's technology…"

"We're not out yet," Taichi interrupted, "The very fact that nuclear bombs aren't falling down on us right now means that probably they don't have full control over Yddrisil…which gives us time to act."

"A strike force?" Yamato asked, "But, we don't know where they…"

"No, but we have an idea, don't we?" he eyed the other two men.

Yamato and Mitsuo stared at one another with a questioning expression in their eyes. "What?"

"Fortuna!" Taichi exclaimed.

"In Neodigital?" Mitsuo question, "That was where Dagomon was imprisoned!"

"Yeah, exactly."

"B…but why would the First Chosen put him right where his power was?"

"Best guess, they were trying to imprison Yddrisil too, and for whatever reason, they didn't have enough power to seal both separately. It doesn't matter why, okay?"

Mitsuo still did not look convinced, "All right, fine, go and research it, but we don't have much time, okay?"

The Prime Minister spoke, "Shall I assume then that you will handle this?"

Taichi nodded, "Yes sir."

He nodded, "Then that is what I will tell the rest of the United Nations assembly today. Good luck."

------

"Mo-om!" Gabe sighed, pushing his mother's hands out of his face, "I'm fine, okay! I can feed myself!"

Mimi pulled the soup away from her son, who was still seated in the hospital bed. "Okay, okay." She put the bowl down on the tray, "Here."

Gabe sighed and began to eat the miso soup. "Where's Lizzie?"

"She's with Asami," Mimi answered.

The teenage boy dropped the bowl back on the tray, "Asami's out already?" He pushed the tray aside and was about to get up, but Mimi pushed him back.

"Asami was not injured," his mother said, "And _you_ need to worry about yourself. Eat, okay?"

He grumbled as he pulled the tray back and continued to eat. He noticed that she was still staring at him, "I don't need to be supervised."

"Well I'm sorry!" she exclaimed, "I haven't seen you in months, and when I do see you, I had to fight you!"

Gabe sighed and rubbed his forehead, "Mom, I really can take care of myself you know…"

She sighed, "You want me to leave, is that it?"

"Just give me some space, okay?"

She grinned, "I can't do that, I'm your mother." She reached over and hugged him so tight that he couldn't move.

"Mom you're embarrassing me!"

She only chuckled.

-------

Kasumi was staring through the glass window into Mixcoatl's room-no, into _Lino's_ room, she had to remind herself. He was sleeping in the bed, with Adan asleep in a small cot, and Ines in one of the chairs. She did not know if the Brazilian girl was asleep or not, but she was actually quiet, so she suspected as much.

"How are they?"

She turned to see her mother standing beside her in the hall. "Okay I guess, they're sleeping right now."

"Making sure they don't escape?" her mother said with a smile.

"Y…yeah, something like that. I'm just glad he's here."

"You are?"

"Yeah, I made a promise to save him, and I'm happy that he's finally here, rather then with the Hunters again." She sighed, "He…he….he was just lost, ya know? He didn't have anywhere to go, and the Hunters came for him, he was practically alone, what else was he gonna do? He had to worry about his brother…" She stared at the floor, "I probably would have done the same…" She raised her head with a smile, "But he's here….he's here with us…"

Sora stared at her daughter, then started to chuckle. "What?" Kasumi asked.

"Nothing, nothing," she replied quickly. She placed her hand on the girl's shoulder, "I'm very proud of you, and so's your father."

The girl began to blush, "M…mom!"

The redhead smiled, and mother and daughter hugged one another.

------

Shiro was doing sit-ups in his room when Yasu and Noriko entered. "Oniichan!" the blond girl cried, tackling him, "What are you doing? Shouldn't you be resting?"

"I'm fine," he laughed, "I'm fine." He rose to his feet and looked at his mother, "How's Dad?"

"He's good," Noriko answered with a nod, "He and Mr. Yagami are talking to Mr. Yamaki."

"Really?" her son asked, raising an eyebrow, "What's going on?"

Yasu cringed her nose, "They're _always_ having a meeting."

Shiro chuckled, "Yeah, I guess they do."

A voice came over the speakers in the PA system, "All DATS personal report to the briefing room on the fifth floor, All DATS personal report to the briefing room on the fifth floor."

Noriko sighed, "Well, whatever they were talking about, looks like we're going to find out."

-----

A few minutes later, all of the DATS agents, along with their partners, were seated within an auditorium room, with a simple stage in the back and chairs lining up the floor. Taichi, Yamato and Mitsuo were standing on the stage, with Taichi resting against the podium. He saw that Hikari and Asami had brought Miayag and Masa with them, as the mother and son were seated between mother and daughter, Akira had brought Adan, and it seemed that Eliane had brought Ines and Bolades. He was not really surprised that they would have brought the former Hunters, he knew his sister, he knew his niece, and it seemed that Akira and Adan were becoming close friends. He looked to his daughter, only to see her sitting with Sora and Yuki Agumon-was Lino not coming, or was he still too injured to move?...And why did he think that Lino would be sitting with Kasumi…?

He cleared his throat, "All right, we'd better get started. A few hours ago, every nation on Earth received a video message from the Hunters, stating that if they didn't surrender, then the Hunters were going to take this planet by force. The fact that every nation received this message all at the same time, says that the Hunters probably have control of Yddrisil."

Gabe snorted, "They can destroy us without a sweat now, and they're bragging about it, jeeze…"

"Actually," Taichi continued, "_Because_ we're all still here probably means they don't have full control over Yddrisil yet." He mentioned to Mitsuo.

The blond man nodded, "Yes, we reviewed our sensor readings over the past few days, and discovered that a transmission was sent to the Island of Fortuna at the exact moment Dagomon was killed. Based on the information we have from that fight…" He eyed Masa and Asami, "..we think he was trying to contact Yddrisil with his dying breath. Most likely, the Hunters knew he would do this, and that's what they were waiting for."

"Then what are we sitting around here for?" Kasumi asked, "We're going to stop them, right?"

"Yes," Taichi said with a slight smile, happy that his daughter was not acting like the moody and depressed girl she had been over the past few weeks. "But, only the Royal Knights."

"What?" Jyou asked, "Are you sure? That really doesn't seem like a good idea."

Miayag raised her hand as she stood, "But, what about the Ancients? They wish to fight you and Yamato in six hours."

"Yes," he frowned, "I know, but the Hunters have the entire world in their hands, we have to stop them, right now, they're the bigger threat. That is why the majority of you have to stay here, you will need to stall the Ancients-reason with them-and if you need to, fight them. Either get them to leave the Earth once and for all, or destroy them, and right now, I really don't care which." He sighed, "We can worry about them later."

Miayag frowned, "I did promise them…"

"You're not breaking that promise," Yamato added, "We'll fight them, just…something more important came up."

She nodded as she sat back down, "I only hope they will listen."

Taichi nodded, "Okay, time's running out, so we gotta move. Kasumi, Shiro, Gabe, Kenji, Asami, Masa, be ready to leave in one hour."

"Wait!" his daughter shouted, "You want the Royal Knights to go, right? So what about…"

Taichi answered her, "If you can get him to come, then fine."

The girl grinned, "Oh, I think he'll wanna come."

-------

Lino raised an eyebrow as Kasumi came charging into the room, "Don't worry," he said, "I'm still here."

Kasumi stared at the boy lying in the bed, "Well, you're not going to be for much longer."

He stared at her, "What?"

"We're gonna go fight the Hunters, you wanna come?"

"The Hunters? What's going on?"

"I'll explain to you on the way." She ran over to the closet and threw some clothing onto the bed. "There, hurry up and get dressed."

He eyed her suspiciously as he threw off his sheet and rose to his feet. She was staring right at him. "How about a little privacy?"

She rolled her eyes and turned around so she was facing the door, "I _do_ have a brother you know."

He dropped the gown to the floor and pulled on the pants, "Yeah, well my sister's dead, so _you_ might be comfortable watching a guy change, but I'm not, alright?"

Kasumi sighed, letting her head drop, "Why do you always do that?"

"Do what?"

"The first thing you always think of is your sister, isn't it? She's your entire reason for…for everything, isn't she?"

He was buckling the pants, "Yeah, well, if you suddenly died, what do you think Akira would do?"

She chuckled, "Probably steal my video games."

"Well, let me rephrase that, what if your parents were never there, what if you did everything for Akira that your parents were supposed to do? Huh, what if Akira's was who he was because you practically raised him, what then?"

Kasumi slowly turned to face him, "I…I had no idea that…."

He sighed and slightly waved his hand, "M…my father worked two jobs, and my mother had a part-time job. They had to work all the time to support us, it wasn't that they didn't _want_ to be there, they just _couldn't_ be there." He looked to the ground, "Maria's mother wasn't my mother, her mother had moved back to Mexico, and she was still living with our father when he remarried. My mother-Maria's step-mother, loved her just like she was her own daughter, and she worked just as hard to support her, even though she didn't need to."

He turned and walked towards the window to stare at the city, "Maria practically raised me until I was around 4 years old, then…then she got sick…"

"BD-2," Kasumi said slowly.

"Yes, that's right. She wanted to stay with me, she really did, but…but that damn…damn plague was killing her. She thought-just like a lot of other infected Chosen did, that if she was in the Digital World, it's energy could help her. I guess it did, the infection wasn't spreading as fast, but…but then she got caught up in your father's war against GranDracmon!"

"It wasn't just my father's way!" Kasumi protested, "He, and all the other X-Chosen, was doing it to save the Digital World!"

"I know that!" he shouted back, still staring out the window, "But it didn't make it hurt any less when your mother came to tell me that she was dead. My sister was a part of my life, _everyday_ until I was four, I remember her _everyday_. I thought I had gotten over it, but then I got my Patamon, my…those feelings just came rushing back, I couldn't handle all that pain. I knew that DATS was out there, they could help them, why didn't they try to find me? Why didn't they try to help me? My sister was gone, I had a digimon partner that I couldn't train, I was alone, abandoned, forgotten. Then, Adan got one too. How could I teach him about Gotsumon, when I didn't know anything about Patamon." He sighed, "I think….I think there were just too many emotions, too many problems, that I just started hating your parents, hating your organization, hating them, for reason that weren't even clear to me. I even helped Lord Sentry to bring back the same fucking bastard that killed my sister…" He took a deep breath, "And now…."

Kasumi ran over and placed a hand on his shoulder. He turned slightly to face her, "It's not too late," she said, "One thing I've learned, it's never too late." She gripped his hand with hers, "I know what you're going through, I've been there. When all those bad emotions and thoughts, when you can't control it…" She coughed slightly as tears formed in her eyes, "I…I even tried to kill myself…I had to go through hell-literally, to save myself." She suddenly embraced him, wrapping her arms around his body, burying her face in his chest, "I know that dark place you're in right now, please, let me show you the way out."

Lino was unsure of what to do with the weeping girl hugging him. He slowly raised his arms, then wrapped them around her back. He was surprised to find that tears were in his eyes too. He squeezed her tightly.

She pulled away to stare at him in the eyes. They were motionless for a moment, before their heads moved together, and their lips embraced. They pulled back, staring at one another as they did. Suddenly, they both began to blush and they jumped apart.

"I…I'm going to finish getting dressed," he said, grabbing the shirt.

"R…right," the girl nodded quickly, "I'll, um…I'll meet you outside the…um, _in,_ in the, um…the basement parking lot." She quickly ran from the room.

----

"Are you okay?" Yuki Agumon asked when she saw her partner run through the elevator doors and onto the hard concrete of the parking lot.

"Y.., I'm fine, I'm fine," she breathed out through her lips, "Yup, I'm fine."

The dinosaur stared at her strangely.

Taichi walked over, "Did you talk to him?"

"Talk!" she exclaimed, "Y..yes, I..I _talked_ to him, yup, we talked, yes…yes we did…"

Her father was staring at her, "…and?"

"And?! Right, and…and…and..and…"

The doors to the elevator opened and Lino exited slowly.

"And he's right there!" Kasumi said with a slight chuckle.

The former Hunter walked slowly towards the group of DATS agents. Adan, Gotsumon and Patamon charged over. "Lino!" Patamon called, fluttering over, "Lino, are you feeling okay?"

"Yes," he replied simply, "Yes, I am."

"You're going to help them, right brother?" Adan asked excitingly.

He nodded as he ruffled the top of his brother's hair, "Yes, I am."

He continued walking until he was facing the group. "I….would like to…apologize, for my actions. Everything I did…I did…willingly, but....it was…"

Taichi walked over and placed his hand on Lino's shoulder, "It's all right, we know. And thank you, for your help."

Lino looked over to Kasumi, who blushed slightly and looked away.

Gabe sighed and crossed his arms, "I don't know about this, can we really trust him?"

Shiro gave him a glance, "You trusted Masa, didn't you?"

The American boy mentioned to Kenji, Asami and Akira, "_They_ trusted him, I…I just kinda got roped into it."

"Kasumi trusts him," Asami mentioned.

"Yeah," Gabe replied, "What's up with that?"

"What do you mean?" Shiro asked.

"She couldn't stand him a couple weeks ago, and now she's got his back?"

The two looked at him questioningly. "She's vouching for him," he clarified.

"Maybe they've got something in common," Shiro suggested.

Gabe crossed his arms, "I thought _we_ had something in common."

"Well, don't worry," the blond boy said, "I'm sure you'll meet someone else you can't stand and then make up again."

He glared at him, "A joke from you? Well, will wonders never cease?"

Lino walked through the group until he approached Masa. The two former Hunters simply nodded at one another. "Looks like we'll be fighting on the same side again," Masa said.

"Yeah, for now anyway."

------

Once they group had made it to the DATS building, they immediately marched down to the room that housed the Digital Gates. Reika had already activated the gateway, which was a swirl of colors and odd shapes. "We are primed and ready for the dive."

Miayag hugged her son, "Be careful, do you understand me?"

"Yes, Mom," he said.

Michael and Mimi each took a turn hugging their son, "Be strong, and be cautious," his mother said.

"Just come back," Mimi said, "Okay?"

Lizzie punched her brother in the arm, "Owe!" he snapped, "Stop doing that!"

"You'd better come back, understand? I don't want to be an only child!"

Jyou was trying to speak to his son, but Kikku was hugging him too tightly. When he was finally able to pry her off, he placed a hand on Kenji's shoulder, "Be careful, and remember to watch out for your teammates."

"Yes, Dad."

Hikari was hugging her daughter and husband, "You're my family, my little girl, my love, just don't leave me alone, okay?"

Norko was practically shaking her husband, "If you don't come back, I'll hunt you down and drag you back, understand?"

Yasu was clinging to Shiro, "I don't wanna lose you, Oniichan!"

He smiled as he bent over to stare in her eyes, "You're not going to lose me, understand? No matter what happens, I'll always be watching over you, understand?"

The girl began to cry as she hugged him.

Sora kissed her daughter on the forehead, "You kick some butt.." She embraced her husband, "And you do your usual thing, understand."

"Usual thing?"

"You know," she smiled, "Save the world, beat the bad guy, that kind of thing."

Taichi chuckled, "Sure, I'll do that for you."

Adan was hugging Lino, while the older boy was address the two teenage girls. "Ines, Bolades, th…thank you fo…for standing by me…a…and…."

Ines chuckled, "No problem boss."

Lino stared down at his brother, "And you, do your best if those Ancients show up, understand?"

The boy nodded quickly, "Yeah, I will."

The group began to part, and they walked towards the gate. As they did, Bolades grabbed Masa's hand, "I just wanted to wish you luck, a…and I hope to see you when you return."

The boy gave a quick nod, "Yeah, I'll be back." He ran to join the others as they stood in front of the gate.

Taichi took a deep breath, "Alright, everyone ready?"

They all nodded.

The brown-haired man smiled, "Then let's go!" He jumped through the swirling colors, followed by Agumon X, then Yamato and Gabumon X, then the rest of the group dove through the gate.

"Digital dive complete," Reika said from her consol.

"And may heaven watch over them," Miayag nodded.

--------

Lord Sentry smirked and he began to chuckle. "What is it?" Orion asked.

"DATS has arrived," he snickered, turning to face Orion and Artemis, "When they arrive, keep them busy, I need to concentrate on the revival of GranDracmon and the Demon Lords."

Both Hunters nodded, "Yes sir!"

-------

When the Knights arrived in Neodigital, the skies were surprisingly dark, the green grass was a dull brown, the leaves were dull. "Is this Fortuna?" Asami questioned.

"Those were the coordinates," Mitsuo answered.

"She's right, though," V-mon added, "This place looks like a typhoon hit it."

Shiro examined his surroundings before speaking, "Actually, if they have control of Yddrisil, I suppose their very personalities could affect the reality of the Digital World."

Kenji gaped at his friend, "S…so, you mean that they could destroy the Digital World just by thinking of it?"

"…Yes, I suppose…"

"Oh crap," Gabe's Kotemon mumbled, "That's just great."

"Keep it together," Agumon X ordered.

The group continued to walk in silence up the mountain trail. Gabe and Asami were standing next to one another, but did not speak to one another, neither could bear to speak, not knowing if they would survive the upcoming battle. Kasumi and Lino were standing as far from each other as they could, keeping their attention focused firmly forward. However, they kept glancing at the other when the other was not looking. They both turned their heads at the same time, their eyes meeting. They quickly twisted their head, their cheeks blushing.

They arrived at the massive tree that was stretching into the heavens, far higher then any could see. Their eyes drifted to the large opening in the trunk of the tree that was gapping at them. They all nodded at one another, still silent. They each took a deep breath and stepped inside.

They instantly found themselves walking through a dark tunnel, with darkness so thick they could barely see one another. Kenji's Otamamon, who was in the rear, glanced over his shoulder. Instead of the opening leading to the Island of Fortuna, there was nothing but a long black emptiness. "Uh, I think we've got a problem!"

The others turned as well. "That's just great!" Kasumi grumbled, "This gets better and better."

Gabumon X frowned, "I guess there's nothing left to do but keep walking forward."

Shiro's Psychemon glanced around the blackness, "How do we even know we're moving at all? We could have been walking for hours, but not moved anywhere, everything looks the same."

"And where are the Hunters?" Asami questioned.

"Yeah," Lino said, "You would think they would be here waiting for us."

"You think they're afraid of us or something," Gabe said, crossing his arms.

"Don't taunt them," Yamato cautioned.

"Why not?" the boy questioned, "I'd rather face whatever they have to throw at me then stand here in the dark!"

Shiro, meanwhile, had been examining the blackness surrounding them. While it seemed to them they were walking in the midst of a void, his hand brushed up against a solid surface-a wall. They were not in total nothingness, they were walking through a tunnel. He used the LCD screen of his digivice as a flashlight to examine the wall. It was not brick-it was tree bark! He ignored the arguing of his teammates scanned the wall. There were symbols etched into the surface, symbols he theorized to be some kind of programming language, but language he did not understand, but he came upon five characters he knew to be letters of the English language. "E-N-I-"

A loud voice suddenly erupted, "So, you would rather face us, would you?"

"Schmidt," Taichi and Yamato said in unison.

Kasumi smacked the back of Gabe's head, "Nice job!"

Before he could argue, the voice continued, "If you are so ready to meet your deaths, then so be it!"

The darkness was instantly overcome by a bright flash of light, and when it faded, the DATS Agents were no longer inside a black void, but standing on a tree branch, stretching at least a mile in all directions. Behind them was the massive trunk of the tree, with a path etched into the side, winding up to the sky. The Agents had also been cut in half-only Taichi, Kasumi, Asami, Lino, Gabe and their partners were standing there.

"What happened to the others?" Asami gasped, "Gabe, Daddy, Masa!"

"Calm down!" Taichi ordered, "Just stay calm."

A cocky voice spoke, "If ya worried about yer family and friends, don't worry, they're bein' entertained somewhere else."

Kasumi growled, "Artemis…"

The voice did indeed belong to the archer, and she was floating down from the sky to land on the branch a few feet in front of the Agents. With her was: Araki, Rudra and Hoakah, and each Hunter snickered and laughed at the Agents.

"Where's Sentry?" Lino demanded.

Rudra mentioned to the top of the tree, which stretched far above the clouds, "Up there. We are supposed to entertain you while he gathers the necessary energy to revive GranDracmon."

Asami stared at Araki, "Where is your partner?"

The other girl held out her left hand and summoned a glowing scythe, while she lightly tapped her stomach with her right hand. "Metal Phantomon is now in here, his power is now mine."

Kasumi glanced at the Hunters, then at the Agents. She turned to her father, "Dad, you'd better go."

"What?"

"Lord Sentry, you've gotta stop him!" She turned to glare at the Hunters, "We'll take care of them."

"We can't!" Agumon X protested.

"You have to," Lino argued, "As much as I'd love to finish him off myself, you're the only one that stands a chance." He clenched his fists, "Just be sure to give him one of each of us."

Asami nodded quickly, "Yes, and good luck."

Taichi hesitated, staring at each of the teenagers. "Damn it!" he swore, then jumped onto the path and began to run up the winding trail, heading for the top of the tree. Agumon X hesitated for another moment, then followed his partner.

Artemis gave a shrill laugh. "Just wait until what you see what we can do now."

The four Hunters tensed their muscles, and then began to grow! They expanded, growing higher and bigger until they towered over the Agents.

"Is that supposed to scare us?" Asami's Leormon shouted.

"Get your weapons, now!" Kasumi ordered.

"All right," Gabe grinned, "Let's get this started." He called for the Gauntlets of Water that appeared around his arms. The others called for their weapons as well: Kasumi the Claymore of Wind, Lino the Spear of Earth, and Asami the Flail of Chance.

Kasumi swung her blade in front of her, "All right, attack!"

The Agents all ran forward, evolving together with their partners.

Kasumi and Yuki Agumon evolved to Alforce V-dramon X and tackled Artemis, they both went flying down the length of the branch, attacking one another as they did. Their mysterious growth had now given the Hunters the same size as the Knights.

Lino and Patamon evolved to Craniummon and swung his spear at Rudra, who quickly darted through the air, drawing the Royal Knight off to the right. Gabe and Kotemon jumped into the air, evolving quickly to Dynasmon X. The Royal Knight cracked his fist across Hoakah's face, throwing them both down to a lower branch. Asami and Leormon evolved to Rhodo Knightmon and stood in place as she stared at Araki. "I really don't want to do this," the Royal Knight declared, "But you've hurt my family and friends, I can't forgive you for that."

She smirked, "I am not here to ask for your forgiveness."

Rhodo Knightmon fired her ribbon at her opponent, who blocked the weapon with a scythe that appeared in her hands.

-

On another massive branch on the Great Tree, Yamato, Shiro, Kenji, Masa, Mitsuo, and their partners were facing: Orion, Nanook, Dexmon and Flidais. Orion pointed his finger at the Agents, "This will be our last encounter."

Yamato cracked his knuckles, "That's fine with me."

"No!" Shiro shouted, turning to his father, "You need to leave."

"Leave?"

"You have to go and stop Lord Sentry."

"Save yourself the trouble," Dexmon roared with laughter, "My father is unstoppable!"

Masa glared at his double, but said nothing.

Mitsuo nodded, "We can handle things here, Sentry is the bigger issue, go!"

The blond man nodded and turned to leave. He and Gabumon X began the climb the twisting path around the tree trunk as well.

"You shouldn't have done that," Nanook said, "He probably could have saved you."

"We can take care of ourselves!" Kenji shouted.

"One moment," Orion said, "There is something we must do first."

Nanook and Flidais nodded. Then those two, along with Orion, began to grow large and bigger, taller and taller, until they were the same size as Dexmon.

"Big deal!" Masa shouted, "You just got bigger so you'd stand a chance against our Royal Knight forms! Otherwise, you're just too small, aren't you?"

Flidais growled, as she stared down at the boy, "Shut your mouth! This is Yddrisil's gift to us! Die now!"

Kenji and Otamamon evolved to Sleipmon and galloped towards Nanook. The Hunter's boil-induced hands were glowing with evil purple energy, which the Royal Knight was sure to avoid. Flidais's tongue shot at Mitsuo and V-mon, but the partners evolved to Dukemon and blocked the biological whip with his shield. He fired a blast of energy from his shield, which threw the Hunter tumbling down the branch. The Knight charged after her. Shiro and Psychemon evolved to Duftmon X and slashed his saber, which Orion caught in his hand. He threw both he and the Royal Knight off to the right. Masa and Dorumon evolved to Alphamon but just stared at Dexmon.

"I don't know want to fight you, you're my brother!" he protested.

Dexmon growled with insane rage, "And I don't care! If you don't fight, then you die!" He swung his clawed arms, which Alphamon batted aside with his sword.

---

Back on Earth, the DATS Agents were pacing the floor in front of the Digital Gate, waiting for any word from their family and friends. Their attention was completely focused on their teammates, that is, until the alarms began to blare.

"Oh, now what?" Noriko exclaimed.

"The Ancients?" Miayag asked, her face pale.

Reika was examining her computer terminal, "No, it's Sakumi and Orochimon."

Noriko nodded. "Well, with so many of us, she doesn't stand a chance."

"I don't think you guys should come," the redheaded boy said, simply.

"What?" Sora asked, "Akira, what are you…?"

He turned to her, "Mom, she's strong, really strong. If we want to have a decent chance, then only the Fully Evolved digimon should come."

His mother glanced at Piyomon, "Well, I have a Fully Evolved partner, so…"

"Yeah, but Mom, it takes a lot of your energy for that." He mentioned to Adan, We have BD-2 too, but it doesn't drain our energy to have our partners as Fully Evolveds."

Bolades spoke, "I believe it is because our partner Jogress, rather then evolve."

"Yeah yeah, okay," Akira waved his hand, "But the point is…um…y…you'll just get in the way!"

He quickly braced himself, sure his mother was about to slap him for that comment. However, after a moment without any retaliation, he cautiously glanced back at his mother; she was smiling. "You're acting more like your father every day."

Piyomon glanced at her, "You mean Taichi when he was 10, or Taichi after he grew up?"

"Both," Sora said with a smile. She nodded at her son, "Okay, you're in charge right now, who do you want to go?"

Akira mentioned to the other Children of the First, "Them, Aunt Hikari, and Mr. and Mrs. Barton, because they have X-digimon. Dr. Kido should stay because he's the 'healer,' and everyone else can be the back-up team."

Hikari smiled, "Yes, now that sounds like Taichi."

Lynna sighed, "Well, I was really ready for some action, but I'll be here waiting for when ya need me."

Her husband nodded, "Ditto."

Noriko looked to Sora, "Are you sure you want to…?"

She nodded, "I think he's right, we'd probably just get in the way."

"Hey!" Noriko's Plotmon snapped, "We stood up to Omegamon X, remember?"

"That's true," she replied, "But, I think they'll be way too many of us on the battlefield, we'd just be stepping on each other's toes."

Hikari, Michael, Mimi, Ines, Bolades, Joey, Aleksey, Yasu, Eliane, Adan and their partners stood beside Akira. "All right boss," Joey grinned, "We're ready."

Akira smirked, "Perfect! Time for round two!"

--------

Outside the DATS building, the Demon Princess was standing atop her Orochimon as the Demon Dragon used her right-most and left-most heads as legs to crawl along the ground. Sakumi had her arms crossed, a smirk on her face as they approached the building. "Well, I'm surprised we made it this far, this might be easier then I thought. Orochimon, time to bring this place to the g…."

She stopped abruptly when most of the DATS Agents came charging out of the door. "Well," she smirked, "Looks like I spoke too soon. Let's see who we've got…" Her eyes focused directly on Akira, "Well, little brother, leading the assault, huh?"

The redheaded boy glared at her, "You are _not_ my sister!"

Hikari, Michael and Mimi all suppressed a shiver. "It's the Demon Lords all over again," Mimi gasped.

Hikari nodded slowly, staring at the Demoness, "I….it's Kasumi all right." She shook her head quickly, "No, it's not. Hikari, you've dealt with this before, that's not your niece."

Sakumi smirked as she flexed her arms, "Yes, that's right, I am a Demon Lord, the Demon Princess to be precise, and while I don't see the shattered mirror of my mother here, I'll kill her once I'm through with you! Once I wipe you all from the face of the Earth, _my_ family will be the real ones!" She glared at Akira, "And my Demon brother needs to be freed!"

One of Orochimon's heads sped towards the redheaded boy. His Falcomon instantly leapt into action, quickly evolving to Diatrymon and batting the head aside. However, it quickly recovered and shot back at him.

"Hold on!" Adan cried as his Gotsumon evolved to Monocromon. The digimon galloped to stand beside Diatrymon, and their bodies began to glow in unison.

"Diatrymon…."

"Monocromon…."

"…Jogress evolve to…Rizegreymon!"

The towering dinosaur digimon pointed his gun barrel-arm at the in-coming head and fired. The snake's head twisted to avoid the blast of energy, and would have struck the cyborg digimon, except Lillymon X blasted it with her Flower Cannon attack.

"Nice job!" Mimi cheered.

Lillymon X was about to give her a girlish wave, when another head shot up from beneath. "Watch out!" Megaseadramon X cried, firing a bolt of lighting from his horn, striking the snake's head. "What are you doing, trying to get killed?"

Before she could answer, another head hit them from behind, but Nefertimon X blasted it with her Rosetta Stone. Another head wrapped itself around her hind legs and threw her aside, but once it released its grip, Rizegreymon appeared, smacking it with his gun barrel.

While Rizegreymon, and the three X-digimon dealt with Orochimon's four left heads, Yasu and Eliane's Machgaogamon, Bolades and Ines's Deramon and Joey and Aleksey's Shawujinmon each jumped in to deal with Orochimon's four right-most heads. The wolf-man was attempting to execute one of his physical attacks, but could not make contact because the heads would appear before him, then dart away before he could attack. Deramon was having more luck standing firmly in place and unleashing nuts from his mouth, but his Royal Smasher was only so effective. Shawujinmon could only take a defensive stance, whacking aside the heads with his staff when they came too close.

While the DATS digimon were busy attacking the heads, they failed to notice the tail, which shot into the air before striking the ground between Orochimon and the attacking digimon. "Gathering Clouds of Heaven!" The tail sent a wave of energy exploding in all directions, sending the DATS digimon smashing into one another.

Sakumi smirked, "Is that the best you've got? Wait, it probably is, you can't beat me, after all, I am the greatest!"

Joey snorted, "Sounds just like the real Kasumi, if ya ask me."

"No one did!" Yasu shouted.

Aleksey shook his head, "Remember what we were told, that is just a representation of Kasumi's dark side."

The Australian boy frowned, "Yeah, yeah…jeeze, just trying ta make a joke…"

"You should enjoy a laugh before you all die!" Sakumi shouted, as Orochimon's heads wiggled in the air.

Rizegreymon rose to his feet, "I'll laugh when I rip you apart!" He pointed his gun arm at the Demon Dragon, "Trident Revolver!" Three quick blasts of energy exploded from his weapon, and one of the Orochimon's head batted it back. The dragon dropped to the ground, allowing the deflected energy to fly over his head, exploding into the ground.

The eight heads flew to attack once again. Shawujinmon leapt in front of the others and began to spin his staff quickly. "Whirlpool Formation!" A tornado of water erupted from his spinning staff, catching the heads within its swirling water. The heads all began to twist and moved in odd patterns, each one completely dizzy. Machgaogamon dove through the heads, his fist ready for a direct assault to Sakumi. Before he could land a successful attack, Orochimon's heads recovered and based him repeatedly, forcing him to jump back.

"Damn it," Yasu swore, "You almost got her."

The three X-digimon shot forward in a three-manned attack. The snake's heads blasted out a stream of foul-smelling air, "Sake Breath!"

The three digimon were enveloped by the toxic breath and began coughing, their eyes watering. One head each in their torsos was enough to subdue Lillymon X and Nefertimon X. Another head grabbed Megaseadramon X by his snout, swung him around and another head grabbed his tail. Orochimon lifted him above her head, then threw him into the in-coming Rizegreymon and Shawujinmon.

Sakumi roared with laughter, "This is just too easy! You're no threat at all!"

Eliane shook her head, "I am getting tired of her mouth!"

Yasu chuckled, "She's so bad, she's even making Eliane angry."

"You think I really care?" the Demoness snapped.

"We have to take her out, now!" Michael shouted, "We've got to work together."

"If you've got a plan, let's hear it!" Mimi shouted back.

"Keep the heads busy, then when someone spots an opening, go for it."

"That's your plan?" his wife gasped.

"It's the best we've got," Akira called, "Do it!"

Joey sighed, "Isn't that what we were doin' before?"

Aleksey gave his friend a sympathetic glance, "They are in charge."

"Yeah, yeah…Shawujinmon, go for it!"

The three X-digimon charged at the four right heads, while Shawujinmon, Deramon and Machgaogamon attacked the three left heads, Rizegreymon stood in the middle, waiting for a perfect opportunity to decimate the middle head, on which was standing the Demon Princess.

Nefertimon X fired her Curse of Queen into one of Orochimon's head, but another wacked into her underside. Lillymon X dove dangerously close to the inside of Orochimon's reach in order to blast the lower neck of the same head that attacked Nefertimon X. That head instantly stiffened and Nefertimon X twisted around and fired a massive Rosetta Stone that at such close range surely fractured the skull in that particular head.

Another head moved to attack, but Lillymon X appeared directly in front and fired a Flower Cannon into its mouth. It screamed in pain and fell to the ground, smoke billowing from the jaw.

Megaseadramon X dropped to the ground to avoid one of the heads, but another head anticipated his move and rammed into his body. He curled his serpentine form to help cushion the blow, then whipped his head around, using his horn to tear through the head's skin. When the other head came to attack, he flicked his head quickly, and both heads became twisted and tangled. The serpent flung his head forward, sending out a bolt of energy that coursed through both heads, causing them to shake and spasm before falling to the ground.

The other three heads were engaged in battling the three Jogressed digimon. Machgaogamon ducked to avoid two of the heads, but managed to grab the third in a headlock, smashing it into the ground. It leapt back to life, knocking him over. He rolled along the ground before jumping back to his feet. The head was still flying straight towards him. He pulled his fist back, then threw it forward with all of his might, "Winning Knuckle!" The powerful jab impacted deep into Orochimon's head, sending a shockwave down the neck before he fell to the ground.

He turned his attention to the other heads, but saw that Deramon and Shawujinmon were already engaging them. With only one head to concern him, the Deep Saver was easily leaping and twisting through the air, avoiding the strikes and jabs of the demonic head. He allowed the head to come in close before whacking the top with his staff. He landed on the ground, and watched the head squirm above him in the air.

He turned quickly when he heard Deramon cry out. The Wind Guardian had been firing super-dense nuts from his mouth at the head that was attacking him, but his strength was at its end. He had stopped to catch his breath, but that's when the head attack, jabbing into his stomach with the same force as a speeding train. That head was now about to finish his attack, but Shawujinmon dropped in front of the fallen Wind Guardian and batted the head aside with his staff.

However, by that time, the other head had recovered and now both were flying in to attack. The Wizard Digimon held his staff above his head, "Waterfall Formation!" He jabbed his weapon into the ground, and two might geysers of water erupted from the ground with enough force to tear through the chins of the attacking heads and out the top of their skull cap.

Sakumi gasped in horror upon seeing her digimon's heads lying sprawled out about her-only the middle head on which she was standing was not har-

She instantly remembered Rizegreymon. She stared straight ahead to see the dragon digimon pointing his gun arm directly at her, "Trident Revolver!"

Three quick powerful blasts shot into Orochimon, sending her tumbling over backwards before resting in a pile of garbled heads, Sakumi was trapped beneath her immobile digimon. Rizegreymon shot into the air and the ten missile chambers on his wings and the two on his chest, raining down flaming projectiles into the Demons; he finished his combo with another Trident Revolver. When he landed once again, Orochimon and Sakumi were covered in a thick cloud of billowing smoke.

"All right!" Akira grinned at his partner. He glanced over at Adan, "Hey man, we just won, why aren't you celebrating?"

The Latino boy shivered slightly, "Because, I don't think we did win."

They all twisted back around and stared into the billowing smoke. As the smog began to dissipate into the air, they were now able to see what Adan had seen-Sakumi and Orochimon were still very much alive!

The Demoness was screaming in rage. "No, no, no, no!" She was throwing her arms in frustration, "I am the greatest, I am a Demon Lord! I am the child of Cahiti and Asro, the King and Queen of the Demon Chosen! You can't beat me, you _won't _beat me!"

Her body began to glow in a strange, intense light that filled the battlefield. "Oh shit!" Machgaogamon screamed, "She's evolving!"

"Evolving?" Rizegreymon questioned, "But…if she evolves to Mega without a weapon, won't she go nuts like all the others?"

"She's a Demon Lord," Hikari answered, "They're…different…"

Orochimon's heads all began to curl into her body, enveloping Sakumi in black energy. Orochimon's curled body began to grow, four legs emerged from the ball, a snarling head jutted from the front, while a massive cannon appeared on the back, and black fur grew all along her new body.

"Imperial Dramon!" the DATS Agents all shouted.

"No," Nefertimon X said, her eyes narrowing, "_Black_ Imperial Dramon."

Sakumi was seated atop the cannon, her eyes red with rage, "Imperial Dramon, kill…them…all!"

The viral Mega screamed aloud with enough force that the ground shook. "This just gets worse and worse!" Michael exclaimed.

Black Imperial Dramon fired a ball of red energy from her mouth that shot across the battlefield and once it was close enough to the DATS digimon, it exploded with such force that the agents were scattered about, becoming tangled with one another. The evil mega shot to the air, pointed her back-based cannon down and fired. A blast of black energy exploded into the ground, causing a slight earthquake and throwing up a mushroom cloud of smoke and dust. When it finally settled, a massive crater now comprised the ground in front of the DATS building.

Black Imperial Dramon hovered above the crater, examining the destruction. The digimon and humans were scattered around the crater walls. They were all slowly rising to their feet, the humans were clearly injured, while the digimon had all regressed to their Child-forms.

"I…is everyone okay?" Bolades asked.

"I've been better," Mimi said with a slight chuckle.

"Taking two consecutive hits from a Mega," Plotmon X said, "We're lucky we're not dead."

Ines moaned loudly, as she struggled to stand, "Yeah, well, with how I feel, I think I'd be better off dead…"

Black Imperial Dramon hovered over them, Sakumi stared down at them, "Well, I think we can help you with that…"

"Trident Revolver!"

Sakumi jerked her head back up in time to see Rizegreymon, hovering in front of them, fire his attack, which once again, struck Black Imperial Dramon three times in the head. The Mega recovered quickly, and the Demoness glared at the Dragon Man, and the two boys that were standing on his shoulder. She smirked, "So, you saved yourself by sacrificing her friends? How much of a leader is that, huh, Little Brother?"

"Stop calling me that!" Akira screamed, "You are not my sister!"

Adan narrowed his eyes, "Rizegreymon, it's time to destroy that imposter."

"I am not an imposter!" Sakumi screamed, "I am the real Kasumi Yagami! The other, she's the imposter! She's the one that turned her back on her true self!"

"A…akira," Rizegreymon's voice quivered, "W…what if she's telling the truth?"

The redheaded boy spun his head, "What?!"

"Well, I know your sister, and…ya know…she acts a lot more like Kasumi then…then…"

Akira was quaking with rage, but managed to control it, "She changed, she's different, but Kasumi is still Kasumi! Don't you think I know my own sister, damn it! Rizegreymon, just destroy them!"

Black Imperial Dramon chuckled, while Sakumi crossed her arms, "Come and get us."

"Rising Destroyer!" the dragon man shouted, unleashing all of his gun turrets at once, showering the Mega digimon with a barrage of firepower.

"That won't stop us!" the Demoness shouted, "I have a Mega!"

Rizegreymon shot over her head, pointing his gun barrel arm directly at Black Imperial Dramon's back, "You're a Mega pain in the ass!" he shouted, "Trident Revolver!"

His attack struck the Mega's back, and she moaned in pain. The Dragon Man was intending to fire another Trident Revolver at her backside, but as he moved into position, Black Imperial Dramon's tail smacked his head with such force that it sounded like a thunderclap.

"Are you okay?" Adan gasped.

"My head is ringing," he replied, shaking off the pain.

Black Imperial Dramon twisted around, then head butted his stomach before slashing his legs with her claws. Rizegreymon cracked his gun barrel arm across Black Imperial Dramon's head, then punched her with his normal hand. He flipped in the air quickly, his feet hitting her chin before his tail did the same. However, Black Imperial Dramon twisted her wing, slashing into his back. Both digimon jumped apart, glaring at one another, both were panting heavily.

Sakumi laughed, "I don't think you can keep this up for much longer."

Adan glared at her, "Your partner looks like he's injured too."

"Just give it up already," she sighed, shaking her head, "You can't beat me, I am the greatest! I am Sakumi, the Demon Princess!"

Akira clenched his fist, "I am going to enjoy shutting your fucking mouth!"

She smirked, "I'd like to see you try. Imperial Dramon, I'm getting tired of them, wipe them from the face of the Earth!"

Black energy began to gather within Black Imperial Dramon's cannon. Down below, the other agents all braced for the impact of another Positron Cannon. Above, Akira and Adan held tightly to their Jogressed partner. "It's been an honor to fight alongside you!" Adan shouted.

The redheaded boy nodded, "Y…yeah, likewise!"

Rizegreymon snorted, "We're not done yet!" He suddenly shot forward, flying head-first towards the glowing cannon. He pointed his gun barrel arm in front of him and actually shoved it deep within the glowing cannon. He ignored the pain that was ripping through his body as he struggled to stay conscious.

"What the hell are you doing?" Sakumi laughed, "If you wanted to die that quickly, you should have just said so. Imperial Dramon!"

The demonic dragon growled, "Positron…"

Rizegreymon suddenly screamed, "Trident Revolver!"

His trio of energy blasts proved incompatible with the dark energy that was already gathered in Black Imperial Dramon's cannon, causing a massive explosion. Rizegreymon and his two passengers were thrown into the ground, but Black Imperial Dramon had no where to go, and her body was torn apart by the explosion. Sakumi was thrown from her partner's back, but at such close range, she took the full brunt of the force wave. She screamed as her body was ripped to shreds before disappearing in a blast of dark light.

Once Rizegreymon had hit the ground, he regressed to Falcomon and Gotsumon. Akira and Adan lay in the dirt, unmoving. The DATS Agents ran to them, and while Bolades and Ines tended to Adan, Hikari rushed to the side of her nephew, but before she could, Yasu pushed past her and collapsed atop the redheaded boy.

"Akira!" she screamed, "Akira!"

He slowly opened his eyes, staring at her face, "Y…yasu…did…did we…"

She nodded quickly, "Y…yeah, she's gone…for real this time…"

He smiled, "Oneechan…that was…for you…."

His head rolled to the side, his eyes closed. "Akira!" Yasu screamed, shaking him as hard as she could.

Hikari pulled her back, "Yasu, you're just making it worse!" She quickly looked him over, "I think he'll be okay, but let's get Jyou and Kikku out here."

The blond girl nodded quickly, using her sleeve to wipe the tears away from her eyes. She sniffled as she stared down at the red-haired boy, "Akira…."

To be continued…….


	39. Knightfall: Chapter 1

_My name is Asami Yamaki, and I am a Chosen of DATS. The force we have been fighting for the past few months, the Hunters, have found Yddrisil, the host computer of the Digital World. They took control and sent messages to the leaders of Earth, demanding that they surrender. Uncle Taichi and Mr. Ishida lead those of us that could evolve to Royal Knights into Yddrisil to fight them. We were separated, and while we starting fighting the Hunters, Uncle Taichi and Mr. Ishida found Lord Sentry and started to fight him._

_On Earth, Akira led a group against Sakumi, the Demon Princess. She evolved to Black Imperial Dramon, and Akira and Adan were able to defeat her, but they were barely able to survive. Oh, I hope we can do this._

-----

_Knightfall_

_Chapter I_

_-----------_

The Royal Knights and the Hunters were scattered about the massive tree branches of Yddrisil. Both sides were fighting fiercely, each side knew that this was the end, that they would not meet in battle again, whoever won this battle, would win the war.

Craniummon twirled his spear around over his head before he jumped into the sky, slashing his weapon at Rudra, but the Hunter whacked him aside with his army of locusts. The Hunter only smirked as his flying creatures swarmed around him. He crossed his arms, "Well, ready to give up yet?"

The Royal Knight gripped his spear tightly, "What do you think?" He slashed the air with his weapon, sending a crescent of energy twirling into the air. Rudra's locusts formed a thick shield to deflect the blast, but when they parted, the Hunter saw that his opponent was gone?

"What?" He twisted around, scanning the ground, but before he could find his opponent, a blast of energy struck him from behind. His locusts began to fly around him in a frenzy. The Hunter glared at the ground, only to see the Knight smirking back at him.

"You always were too arrogant for your own good!" Craniummon called.

Rudra clenched his fists, ""And you always were a little sneak, you fucking traitor!"

Craniummon clenched his spear, his eyes glancing to the ground, "Traitor…did I really betray them? Lord Sentry was so convincing when I first met him…"

-

_Lino stood in the cemetery, staring down at the headstone. "Maria….Adan's got a digimon partner now too. My Patamon said his name was Gotsumon. Adan and Gostumon don't know about being partners. I want to help them, but I don't know anything either. Why didn't your friends come and teach us? I don't have any idea about anything! You died, and it's like they don't care at all! They just…just left us!"_

_Another voice answered him, "You are right, they don't care."_

_He spun around and saw a man standing behind him, dressed in a long trench jacket and a brimmed hat that threw shadows on his face. Lino stepped backwards, staring at the man. He chuckled, "Don't be afraid, I'm not here to hurt you. No, you're very important to me."_

"_Important?" he asked._

_The man nodded, "That's right. I know who you are, you're a Chosen, you have a digimon partner."_

"_I…I don't know what you're talking about…"_

"_You don't need to lie to me, I told you, I'm here to help you. I can teach you and your bother about your digimon partner, about your powers. The Chosen that knew your sister have abandoned you, but I won't. Those Chosen, DATS, they've betrayed the ideals of the original Chosen, the same ideals that your sister died for. Come with me, and I'll give you the skills, the training, the purpose that a Chosen needs, what do you say?"_

_Lino stared at him, "Who are you?"_

"_You can call me Lord Sentry."_

-

Craniummon dropped to the ground as Rudra's locusts shot over his head. He jumped back onto his feet and swung his weapon to try and strike the buzzing creatures, but only slashed at empty air. The locusts formed into a long whip that struck the knight across his back with the same sting as if he was hit with a wet towel. The knight spun around just as the locusts were about to whip around again. He attempted to grab the whip, but the insects dissipated into a swarm at the last moment and hovered around Rudra.

-

_Lino and Adan nervously entered the hall. The younger boy was avoiding the gaze of the Hunters, while Lino forced himself to stare in return, if he was going to prove he belonged there, than he could not be afraid._

"_Brother," Adan cried, hugging his older brother's legs._

_Artemis chuckled, "Looks like the little brat's scared ta be away from his Momma."_

_The little boy buried his face in Lino's legs, while the older boy glared at Artemis. He would need to be strong, show that he was not afraid. "And what happened to you 'Momma," huh? Did she die of embarrassment after seeing what an ugly baby she had?"_

_Artemis glared at him, while Orion roared with laughter, "He found out your secret, huh?"_

_She whipped out her crossbow and pointed it at her fellow Hunter's head, "One more word, and I swear I'll…"_

"_Shut up the both of you!" Lord Sentry ordered as he marched into the room. He smiled slightly, "You're setting a bad example for our guests."_

_Artemis grumbled as she put her crossbows back into their holsters. Sentry walked over to Lino, "I have something for you."_

"_What?"_

_Sentry handed him an object, a long, large, spear. "What's this?"_

"_That, is Montenagro's Spear of Earth."_

_He slowly shook his head, "I have no idea what you're talking about."_

"_Yes, I suppose you wouldn't, because DATS did not come for you." He smiled as he put his hands behind his back, "You are the grandchild of Montenagro of Earth, of the First Chosen, your sister had the power to control his element of earth, and it doesn't appear that you do, but perhaps your brother does."_

_Lino looked to Adan, who was hiding behind his legs, "Adan's got…power?"_

"_Maybe, we will need to see."_

-

"Come on!" the Hunter called, "Let's see what you've got!"

"Why don't you come down here and fight like a man!" the Knight shouted.

"Why should I fight on your terms? I've got this power, why not use it!" He threw a punch through the air, and a stream of locusts followed suit, smashing into Craniummon's face. The Knight slashed at the swarm once again with his spear, but, once again, cut through open air. Craniummon stared up at the Hunter hovering in the air before jumping backwards.

"Leaving already?" Rudra snickered.

Craniummon ran forward, then using his spear as a javelin, propelled himself into the sky, his weapon ready to slice through the Hunter's body. Rudra threw his arms open, and the locusts all attacked at once; it felt like a thousand rockets impacting into his body. Craniummon fell to the ground, but Rudra's locusts caught him and threw him back into the air. More locusts pounded his chest, then another group split into two fractions on either side of the knight and smashed his sides at once. The Knights fell to the ground with a mighty crash, his armor began to chip and crack. Rudra raised his arms over his head, then threw them down, sending his army of locusts diving down. Craniummon shifted his weight onto his shoulders and upper back, then propelled himself through the air, flying through the swarm of locusts and smashing his feet into Rudra's face. Both combatants fell to the ground once again.

They were both on their feet in moments, Rudra's locusts swarming about him. "That the best you've got?" the Hunter snickered, "Come on, I thought we taught you better than that!"

Craniummon swung his spear in front of him before charging forward, "You problem was always your fucking mouth!"

-

"_Come on," Orion said, "You can do better than this. You have the powers that our cybernetics gave to you, use them!"_

_Mixcoatl panted heavily as he gripped his weapon, staring at his sparring partner. Watching them from the sidelines was Ines, Bolades, Adan, their partners, and Rudra. "Why bother trying to teach him?" the Hunter asked, crossing his arms, "He's not going to get it, he's just a Chosen, he can't fight without his partner."_

_Patamon and Mixcoatl both glared at him before the human turned back to Orion. He tried to command his cybernetics to respond, but they would not. Orion seemed to sense his struggle, "You cannot force it to happen, use it naturally, it's a part of your own body now. You don't command your arm to move, it just moves when you need it to."_

"_R…right."_

"_Give it up already," Rudra sighed, "He'll never get it."_

_Mixcoatl was silent for a moment, then dug his spear into the ground. He mentally pulled rocks from the cracked dirt, and they hovered in the air for a moment, turning into flames of brimstone. He then sent them flying towards Rudra. The Hunter quickly summoned his locusts to create a wall to shield him from the burning rocks._

"_You'll pay for that!" he shouted._

"_Bring it on!" Mixcoatl shouted back, gripping his weapon. _

"_Enough you two!" Orion ordered, "Rudra, you got what you deserved, Mixcoatl, your opponent is me, understand?"_

"_Yes sir," they both said in unison. They both glared menacingly at one another before Mixcoatl returned to Orion._

"I hate you!" the Hunter screamed, "I always hated you! You were nothing but a pawn! Sentry wanted to use you to kill DATS because he knew they wouldn't be so eager to hurt you!"

Craniummon clenched his spear, "You'd better shut up right now! End Waltz!"

He spun his spear tightly in his hand, sending out a whirlwind of air that scattered the locusts, leaving Rudra wide open. The Knight charged forward, his spear point glistening. Rudra attempted to call back his insects, but the Knight's attack had scattered them too far. "Take this, you fucking piece of shit!" He swung his spear, intending to shove his weapon deep in to the Hunter's chest, but he shifted at the lost moment, and the spear impacted into his shoulder.

The Hunter roared in pain, but was still very much alive. His locusts had returned to him, and he formed them into a massive fist, which he sent crashing into Craniummon's face, throwing the Knight backwards, spear and all. He struggled back to his feet, "I…am going to kill you…" he panted.

"Why?" Rudra smirked, "Because DATS told you to? You're not a part of DATS, you're a Hunter, and you always will be…"

Craniummon glared at him, "I am not a Hunter anymore!"

"That's right, because you betrayed us!"

The Knight felt a pang of regret in his heart, but forced himself to ignore it, "I didn't betray you, Sentry betrayed _me!"_

"Sentry was using you, but regardless of that, you were nothing until he found you, remember that? You had nothing at all, he gave you everything you are now!"

"He made me betray everything I was before!"

"You betrayed the Chosen and DATS, and now you betrayed the Hunters! You sold out on the Chosen, what makes you think they'll accept you? Why are you fighting with them, you're a traitor to the Hunters, a traitor to the Chosen!"

He gasped loudly, staring at the ground. Rudra smirked, "Yeah, that's right, you've got no loyalties, how long until you even betray your brother?"

"Am….am I really nothing but a traitor? Do I…do I care for anyone besides myself?"

Rudra began to walk closer, "You are nothing but a traitor, you turned your back on everything your sister believed in to join the Hunters, your turned your back on your oath _to_ the Hunters, how much longer until you turn your back on DATS and join something else because they provide you with an easy way to deal with your feelings."

"Y…yeah…d…did I really agree to fight with the Chosen…just so I could get back at Sentry for wanting to summon GranDracmon?" He dropped to his knees, "I…I'm not that shallow….am I?"

Rudra stood directly over him,"It's only a matter of time before you even turn your back on Adan too. "

"No! I would never…."

"You already did, remember? You left him in DATS after he wouldn't come back with you to the Hunters."

"No….no! It….it's true….I'm…I'm nothing…."

"That's right," Rudra grinned, "It's best for me to send you to oblivion…" His locusts turned into a long blade, which rested gently on the back of the Knight's neck. It rose into the air…

"It's better this way," Craniummon mumbled, "Better to just…

-

_Mixcoatl gripped his Spear of Earth tightly as he once again charged at Kasumi. The DATS agent had her own weapon, the Claymore of Air, which she used to block the deadly accuracy of the Hunter. "I'm impressed," he chuckled, thrusting with his spear, "You've only had the weapon for a few days, but you act like you've used it all your life." He smiled, "I guess maybe there really is a thing called destiny."_

"_You wanna talk about destiny?" Kasumi huffed, trying her best to keep up with her opponent, "Well, I hardly think your destiny is this!"_

"_Your parents made this destiny for me when they left me…left us.." he mentioned to Adan, Ines and Bolades, "Our family members were killed, but they never came to comfort or heal, they left us to hate!"_

"_You're just fooling yourself!" Kasumi screamed, "Come on, wake up!"_

_Despite the battle, Mixcoatl was able to make an observation, "Something's…different about you…you're not talking like you usually do…"_

_Kasumi did not answer._

-

"_What about your brother?!" _

_He flinched, turning to where Adan was standing with Akira. "Come on," Kasumi said again, softer this time, "You just want to protect your little brother, I want to do the same with mine. I know little brothers can be a pain, but…how lonely would you be without them?" She smiled slightly, "Please, from one big sibling to the next, help me protect my brother."_

_-_

_Kasumi ran over and placed a hand on his shoulder. He turned slightly to face her, "It's not too late," she said, "One thing I've learned, it's never too late." She gripped his hand with hers, "I know what you're going through, I've been there. When all those bad emotions and thoughts, when you can't control it…" She coughed slightly as tears formed in her eyes, "I…I even tried to kill myself…I had to go through hell-literally, to save myself." She suddenly embraced him, wrapping her arms around his body, burying her face in his chest, "I know that dark place you're in right now, please, let me show you the way out."_

-

"No!" he shouted, jumping backwards just as the blade crashed into the ground.

"What are you doing?" Rudra demanded, "You're a traitor to everything, remember?!"

He glared at his opponent, "Yeah..I'm a traitor to both sides, but…"

_An image of a teenage girl with her hair tightly pulled into a ponytail entered his mind._

"…_she_ believed in me, and I won't let her down!" he screamed.

"Then you die!" Rudra transformed his locusts into a large hammer that he bashed into Craniummon's side. The Knight stumbled for only a moment but continued forward, using his spear to slice across Rudra's chest. The Hunter pulled his locusts back, and began to assail the knight with slashes and bashes from his mechanized insects, tearing and cracking his armor.

Craniummon jumped backwards, digging his spear into the ground to stop his backwards momentum. Rudra threw his arms open and the locusts prepared to attack once more. The Knight twisted his weapon around tightly, sending another whirlwind through the air, "End Waltz!"

This time, Rudra was aware of his opponent's attack, and was mentally commanding his mechanical insects to stay in place. Craniummon's attack did send them scattering through the air as before, but thanks to the Hunter's command, they quickly regrouped. However, this was enough time for the Knight to get only a few feet from his opponent. The locusts swarmed about the Knight, devouring his armor and even reaching his flesh hidden beneath. He ignored the pain, the excruciating pain, and continued forward.

"No!" Rudra screamed, "Stay back, stay back!"

"Not this time!" the Knight screamed in return, "You've lived too long, prepare for death!"

He shoved his spear deep into Rudra's chest, so deep that the point extended out the back. The Hunter fell to his knees, gave his opponent one last glare before he fell to the ground, lifeless. The locusts instantly fell from the Knight's body, crashing into the ground. Craniummon was panting heavily, his armor falling from his body, his flesh covered with welts and open sores. The Knight grabbed his spear and limped forward. "H…have to keep m…moving…o…others nee…need…"

He collapsed in front of a branch jutting from the main branch on which he had been fighting. He climbed into a seated position, his back resting against the branch. His body shimmered for a moment, before exploding in light, revealing Lino resting against the tree with Patamon in his lap. Both were heavily injured, blood trickling from open wounds, their bodies covered with bumps and welts.

"I…I just need to rest for a minute," Lino panted.

"Yeah," Patamon replied, "I think my wings are broken." He attempted to flap his bat ears, but winced in pain.

"Patamon," Lino said, almost in a whisper, "T…thank you, for standing by my side through everything…"

The digimon smiled slightly, "Don't apologize, everything I did, I made my own decisions about. I could have stopped you, maybe even left you, but I didn't, I…I agreed with everything you ever did, don't think you forced me to do anything."

Lino smiled slightly, then sighed. "I wonder if…if Adan…and Ines and Bolades…I wonder if they'll be happy…with DATS."

Patamon closed his eyes, "I'm sure they…will….."

Lino slowly closed his eyes as well, "Kasumi...you saved me….I just wish I could have thanked you…and seen you…one…last…time…."

His arms dropped from his lap, and his head dropped. He lay perfectly still, with Patamon still curled in his lap….

---

Alforce V-Dramon X stood in place, cautiously listening to the sounds around her. She dropped to the ground just as a barrage of arrows flew over her head from the right. She then jumped back into the air as another barrage of arrows flew from the left. She twisted her head around, scanning the thick leaves around her. "Why don't you stop hiding and come out here and fight me face to face?"

Artemis's voice chuckled all around her, "I'm an assassin, I don't fight face to face."

"You're just a coward, that's what you are!" she shouted back, "You just stand in the shadows and fire arrows, don't you have any honor?"

"Honor?" Artemis's voice boomed, "I do whatever it takes ta win, not too long ago, you wouldda done the same!"

"I am nothing like you!" she snapped, "And once I beat you, you'll know that!"

Artemis laughed again, "Let's see ya try!" She fired a stream of arrows from her hiding place, but Alforce V-Dramon X saw the projectiles from the corner of her eye. The arrows were already too close for her to jump to safety. She swung her glowing saber, slashing the arrows into nothingness with only inches to spare. "Not bad," she laughed from her hiding spot, "But let's see how ya deal with this!"

She fired another barrage of arrows, then used her powers to vanish into the shadow of a branch and reappear on the other side of the battlefield instantaneously. She fired another barrage from her new spot, then moved to another area. She fired her arrows from all directions, and each time, she vanished into the shadows.

Alforce V-dramon X ducked to avoid the first assault, then jumped into the air as high as she could to miss the next. When she saw the next three barrages flying towards her, she took a deep breath and screamed, "Shining V-Force!" A giant V-shaped beam exploded from her chest, annihilating the projectiles on contact. The Royal Knight dropped back to the ground, her eyes glancing around at the leaf-covered branch-tops.

"Hmm," Artemis chuckled, kneeling on one of the branches, "I didn't learn that much from our last fight, so now I see yer main attack."

The Royal Knight snickered, "Just 'cause you know it, doesn't mean you can stop it!"

"Ha!" the Hunter laughed, "We'll see about that!" She put her two crossbows together and fired a massive arrow, the recoil forced her to step backwards in order to keep from falling over. This projectile was large enough to pierce the wind with a loud howling. Alforce V-dramon X spun around and slashed the arrow in twain with her sword. She jumped quickly into the air and fired her Shining V-Force in the same direction from which the arrow came. The Hunter saw the blast of energy zooming towards her, and rather than disappearing into a shadow, she instinctively leapt into the air. This left her wide open.

Alforce V-dramon X laughed, "Gotcha!" She flew into the air and caught the Hunter as she floated over head. The Royal Knight swung her wrist-based sword at her opponent, but Artemis managed to block with one of her arrows. The two struggled for the upper hand, until the Hunter twisted her arrow quickly, forcing the Royal Knight's sword off to the side. She then pointed her crossbow at Alforce V-dramon X's head and fired. The Royal Knight twisted the side, and the arrow penetrated deep into her left shoulder. She yelped out in pain. Artemis executed a back flip, her heel smashing the top of the Knight's head, throwing her into the ground. Artemis then landed in the midst of a thick leaf-covered branch.

Alforce V-dramon X climbed to her feet, clutching her shoulder, which was oozing blood. She was panting with rage, glancing around. "Where is she? _Where is she?!"_ the Knight screamed. A burst of pain from her shoulder only intensified her rage, "Damn it!" She began to fire Shining V-Forces from her chest, blasting in all directions at random.

She took a few deep breaths, "_Calm down, calm down. You're getting so angry you can't think, this is the old you…"_

-

_Artemis had been jumping along the rooftops since escaping from the hospital. She dropped to the street level and glanced around. The area was a neighborhood area, the streets were deserted. She grinned and wrapped her cloak around her frame._

"_Dino Burst!"_

_She easily leapt to the side as Allomon's attack exploded into the ground. She chuckled as the dinosaur stomped down the street. "Ya should 'ave just stayed behind. Ya got a death wish or sometin?"_

_Kasumi gritted her teeth while she rode on her partner's back. "Yeah, I wish to see you dead! Allomon, attack again!"_

_Her partner pulled her head back before whipping it forward, "Dino Burst!"_

_Artemis spied a shadow to her right, being cast by one of the houses. She dove headfirst, vanishing into the shadow. "What the hell?" the pony-tailed girl gasped._

"_Meteor Wing!"_

_Kasumi ducked as Birdramon's attack flew over her head. She twisted around and yelled at her mother as she rode her partner in the sky. "Mom! What the hell?"_

"_You almost got attacked by her arrows!" Sora shouted._

_Kasumi blinked. "Huh?" She glanced around behind her, but there was nothing but houses stretching towards the horizon. "Where?"_

"_I don't know, they just came out of no where."_

_Kenji and Otamamon had been riding with Sora on Birdramon's back, and the Kido son saw the next assault of arrows. "Duck!"_

_Both digimon dropped taking their partners with them. The arrows sailed over their heads. "What the hell?" Kasumi shouted. She looked spun her head around, but did not see the Hunter anywhere. "Where the hell is she?"_

_Sora twisted her head around as well, trying not to panic. How could they defeat someone they could not even see?_

_Another shot of arrows, this time coming up from the ground. Birdramon was able to fly to safety, but Allomon was struck across her body. "Allomon!" Kasumi shouted, "Are you okay?"_

_The dinosaur roared as loud as she could and began to thrash about, her tail smashing into street lights. "Kasumi, Allomon!" Sora snapped, "Calm down!"_

_Another wave of arrows, this time striking Birdramon in the wing, sending her into a tail spin. Sora, Kenji and Otamamon held on as tight as they could, and the giant bird was able to regain control. "Damn it," Sora growled._

"_I saw it!" Kenji exclaimed._

"_What?"_

"_The shadows! She's using the shadows!"_

_Artemis's laugh began to echo through the small neighborhood. "So, ya managed ta spot me, but it doesn't matter."_

"_Where is she?" Kasumi exclaimed._

"_There!" Birdramon replied, mentioning with her wing. One of the houses had a pointed chimney, which was casting a long, large shadow on the house adjacent to it. From that shadow, Artemis slowly appeared; like stepping through the surface of a lake, her head and torso quickly appeared. Her waist was still submerged in the shadow, and she was defying gravity as she was standing perfectly perpendicular to the side of the building. She pointed her crossbows at Kasumi._

"_I won't miss this time!"_

"_I don't think so," Kenji whispered to himself. "Otamamon!"_

_His partner leapt from Birdramon's back and evolved to his Adult form, Shellmon. The aquatic digimon fired his tendrils at the Hunter. She began to sink back into the shadow, but she was not fast enough. Shellmon grabbed her by the arm and flung her into the air. Birdramon began to flap her wings and fired a Meteor Wing attack into the Hunter. Artemis flipped around in the air and began her descent to the ground, but she was too focused on Shellmon and Birdramon, and did not see Allomon rushing up behind her. The giant dinosaur clamped her jaw around the Hunter; only her torso was visible._

"_Nice catch!" Shellmon grinned._

"_Crush her!" Kasumi ordered. "They'll never think I'm weak again. Who needs a fucking weapon? I'm strong enough as it is!"_

_Artemis managed to free her arm and began to pound into Allomon's jaw. The dinosaur was able to hold out for four punches, but the fifth was too much, and she was forced to release her grip. Artemis fell to the ground, but as she did, her other arm twisted behind her back. The dinosaur chomped down on the limb, and the Hunter screamed in pain. Allomon opened her jaw again and Artemis fell to the ground. Her arm was hanging limply at her side blood and a black substance were dripping to the ground_, and bone was jutting through the skin, along with…

-

She took a deep breath, calming herself, "_That_ was the old you. Think!"

-

_Outside, the battle against the Evilmons was not going well. Maria's team had started out strong, but the sheer number of digimon were overpowering-coupled with Lilithmon dominating the battlefield. Maria's Insekimon was trying his best, but she was proving to be too powerful._

"_This is wonderful!" Asro laughed, "Lord GranDracmon's going to be so pleased when we tell him we captured you!"_

_Maria stared at her, "We are not going to give up, we have been sent by a higher power!"_

_Before anymore words could be spoken, a bright light erupted from the dark cavern. All fighting ceased, all eyes stared as two snake heads suddenly erupted from within, wrapping tightly around the cave's mouth and pulled the rest of Orochimon's body into the open._

"_Orochimon?" Maria gasped._

_Keeya could not believe her eyes. "She…failed?"_

_Suddenly, all of Orochimon's head dropped to the ground, lifeless. A slit appeared on the giant snake's back, and, like a snake shedding its skin, a massive figure emerged, stretching to the sky. It flexed his large wings, its eyes glowing brightly._

"_What is this?" Asro shrieked._

_The figure roared, stretching its wings to the sky._

"_What the hell is that?" Shinji exclaimed._

"_That's my partner!" a familiar voice called out. Kasumi appeared from behind the large digimon. The teenage girl was grinning._

"_Your hair!" Tsuragi gasped, "It's…its brown! You're back to normal!"_

_Kasumi nodded. "Yeah, I am." She mentioned to the digimon, "And this is Aero V-dramon, Yuki's true Fully Evolved form."_

_Maria grinned, "That is truly the digimon partner of a daughter of Taichi Yagami."_

_Kasumi was still grinning. "All right Aero, ready to show 'em what you can do?"_

"_Hell yeah!" Aero V-dramon grinned, flexing her muscles._

_Kasumi yelled her excitement; an energy flowing from her that Maria and the others felt._

_Asro stared at the Evilmon, "What are you doing? Attack!"_

_Aero V-dramon shot into the air and pointed her wings forward. "V-wing blade!" A mighty blast of fire exploded from each wing, smashing into the Evilmon. A good number smashed into the ground, and before the rest could manage a regroup, Maria's forces attacked. With the element of surprise on their side, they were able to turn the tides. The Evilmon began to flee in terror._

"_Where the hell are you going?" Shinji shouted, throwing her arms up in frustration, "Get the fuck back here!"_

"_Worry about yourself!" Tsuragi shouted._

_Shinji spun back around in time as Tsuragi slammed his fist in her face. His red dinosaur digimon partner had already dispatched of Shinji's fox partner._

_Asro snarled, her eyes darting back and forth nervously. "Lilithmon, I think its time for a hasty retreat."_

"_At once!" the Demoness exclaimed. She grabbed Asro in one arm, then with a quick spin in the air, grabbed Shinji and her partner and took to the air._

"_You're not getting away!" Tsuragi shouted._

"_Let them go!" Kasumi shouted in response._

_He blinked, then twisted to stare at her. "Really? Just let them go?"_

_The brown-haired girl shrugged slightly. "Yeah, well, what are we going to do? We can't really kill them, right? The only thing we can do is trap them, and to do that, we need to free the ruler of this place, right?" She glanced to the others._

"_Y…yes," Keeya nodded._

_Tsuragi smirked, "Well, I see you did some growing in that cave. What happened in there?"_

_She shrugged again, "Oh…nothing really."_

-

A barrage of arrows fired at her from above. The Wind Guardian leapt to the side and the arrows exploded into the ground, leaving a large crater in the ground. She jumped back to her feet, glancing from side to side, trying to locate her opponent. "_All right, just stay calm, think this through...You know she's here, just try to…"_

She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. She strained her ears, listening to the slightest sound. There was no wind in this world, Yddrisil appeared to exist in a realm within itself, unaffected by the real Digital World, so then the rustling of the leaves must be….

"Ulforce Saber!" she shouted, swinging her blade at the bottom of a tall branch jutting into the air. The bottom of the appendage exploded and it crashed to the ground. She listening again, then jumped to the side, slashing another tree, which crashed to the ground.

Artemis's voice once again sounded through the area, "Blastin' things left and right, huh? Doesn't look like ya changed all that much…"

The dragon warrior clenched her fist, "Taunt me all you want, that's not gonna work!"

She looked around the area, which was still surrounded by branches and leaves. "Oh man, this is taking too long." She jumped backwards, the V on her chest glowing brightly. "Shining V-Force!" she screamed, firing the blast of energy through the bottom of the large branches, destroying them in an explosion of wooden shards. Artemis had leapt into the air to avoid the carnage, and landed in front of the dragon warrior.

Alforce V-dramon X snickered, and spoke in an imitation of Artemis's accent, "Well, well, look at what the cat dragged in…"

She narrowed her eyes at her, "How do you know that sayin'?"

She snorted, "You Hunters are supposed to know everything about us-I've been to America more than once, my Dad and Uncle go there a lot."

Artemis returned the snort, "Typical political brat." She imitated Kasumi's voice, "My Daddy knows everyone in the world, and I go everywhere with him."

Alforce V-dramon X narrowed her eyes, "I hate you."

"The feelin's more then mutual."

"Why?" she asked, "What did I ever do to you?"

"It's not you, it's your parents!"

"Funny, they never mentioned you."

Artemis crossed her arms, "I was the star of the American Chosen…"

"Mr and Mrs. Barton never mentioned you either."

"_They_ were part of the New York Team, I was part of the Atlanta Team. After the Chosen Council was formed, I joined it as the first recruit. After Victor became the Security General, I became his Secretary, his…Chief of Staff, if ya like."

"Victor, you mean Lord Sentry? The same guy that my Mom and Dad and their friends beat up? And now that I think about it, didn't Mrs. Barton beat _you_ up?"

Artemis clenched her fists and glared at her opponent. Alforce V-dramon X stared back, and silence filled the air. The Hunter grabbed her crossbows and fired. The dragon quickly blocked with her saber then leapt back, slashing away the continuingly firing arrows. Once she landed on her feet, she charged forward, dodging the arrows until she was close enough that Artemis was forced to jump back. As she did, she put both of her crossbows together, gathering a massive amount of energy around them. Alforce V-dramon X could sense what was about to happen, and so prepared herself for her ultimate technique.

Artemis fired a massive blast of energy in the shape of an arrow, while Alforce V-dramon X fired her Shining V-Force. Both attacks headed towards one another, each combatant knowing…hoping that her attack would be triumphant. Both attacks reach one another…but the energy arrow cut through the v-shaped beam before exploding on contact with Alforce V-dramon's body. However, the v-shaped beam had only been cut in half, and continued on it's path. Artemis shifted to the side, but it was not enough, the beam easily sliced off her right arm.

The Royal Knight's armor began to fall from her body, and her shoulder wound now began to gush blood faster then before. Artemis had lost an arm, but it was her cybernetic arm, the stub crackled with energy. Both of the fighters panted heavily as they glared at one another. Alforce V-dramon X was on her knees, pain erupting through her body. Artemis was visible injured, but she forced it off.

She chuckled as she panted, "L…looks like I…like I won…Yar still the same spoiled, arrogant brat ya always was if ya thought ya could beat me…"

Alforce V-dramon X glared at her, "You're the one with the arrogance problem!" She took a deep breath and rose to her feet, "A…and I…I'm not going to lost to you, not because what you did to me…"

"…_."And so, I'd like to introduce the Vice-Minister of Digital Affairs, Taichi Yagami."_

"_Finally," Kasumi sighed, "Its 'bout time."_

_Taichi rose from his seat near the rear of the stage and walked over to the podium. The two politicians greeted one another briefly before Taichi approached the microphone and began to speak. "Thank you, I'd like to begin…."_

_Kasumi held her head high as her father began to speak. She watched happily, grinning proudly. Her father was important, and she felt important as well. She could not wait to prove that to that bastard Gabe._

_She would never know if she was the first to hear the mysterious sound, but when she did notice it, time appeared to slow to a stop. She could see a small shadow fly past her in the sky, and she also saw that same object strike her father directly in the chest. Whatever that object was, it was moving so fast that the force of striking Taichi was enough to throw him backwards into Yamato and Yamaki, who were seated directly behind the podium. The crowd fell silent, unmoving, all except one of the trench-coated figures on the stage, whom Kasumi deduced was Agumon X, running to Taichi's side. Unfortunately, he, too, was soon struck by a barrage of the mysterious objects, dropping him to the ground._

_Kasumi was just staring, her mouth hanging open, and her eyes staring forward. That is, until she felt someone shaking her shoulder. "Kasumi!"_

_She blinked, and the world came crashing back onto her senses. People were screaming, the crowd was running in all directions Shiro was shaking her, "Kasumi!"_

"_What?!" she screamed._

"_Your father!"_

_She turned back to the stage, her uncle and the Prime Minister were tending to her father, but Yamato and Gabumon X were no where in sight. She twisted around, staring at the building roofs. She saw three figure upon the building behind them-Yamato and Garurumon X were there, as was a figure draped in a black cloak of some sort. She clenched her fists in rage and plowed through the people, Yuki Agumon instantly following._

-

"….But because of what you did to him!" She stood firmly on her feet, and had to shake her head to put her vision back into focus. "Only one of us is walking away this time!"

Artemis laughed, "I'm glad we finally agree on something!"

"Shining V-force!" Alforce V-dramon X shouted, firing her ultimate technique. Artemis leapt to the side to avoid the attack, and the Royal Knight ran forward. Artemis fired her arrows from the crossbow with her remaining arm, and the dragon warrior pushed past the pain to dodge each projectile.

"Stay back!" Artemis shouted, "Stay back!"

She fired another of her energy arrows that ripped across Alforce V-dramon X's body, tearing away what was left of her armor. Artemis was about to fire another arrow, but it was too late, Alforce V-dramon X rammed her sword deep into the Hunter's chest. Artemis began to cough up blood and a strange liquid, possibly coolant for her cybernetics. She stumbled backwards, then fall over, her lifeless eyes staring into the sky.

Alforce V-dramon X panted heavily, her vision beginning to blur. She exploded in light, regressing to Kasumi and Yuki Agumon. Both were heavily injured, the white dinosaur could not even stand, and she fell over. Kasumi was still standing, her shoulder bleeding, She was still standing as she turned to her partner, who was lying on the ground. "Y…Yuki?"

"Y…yeah…" she responded, weakly.

The teenage girl swallowed, "I…I think I'm ready this time…no coming back this time…b…but, I'm ready….

She dropped to her knees, then fell forward, her face hitting the ground, her hair band unraveling and her hair falling over her body.

------------

Dynasmon X was screaming in rage as he slashed and bashed Hoakah. He was not even trying to talk or speak to his opponent, the Royal Knight was determined to utterly destroy the Hunter. Hoakah, however, had the ability to call upon abilities of animals, and in this case was using hard light projections of turtle shells on his forearms, which he was using as shields to block each of the Royal Knight's jabs. The Royal Knight seemed to have a limitless supply of energy, but his energy was in fact supplied by his rage, and soon ran out. This gave Hoakah the opportunity to summon the strength of a buffalo and kick his stomach as hard as he could. Dynasmon X yelped out in pain, and Hoakah grabbed his arm and flung him crashing through a series of jutting branches. The Royal Knight twisted through the air, placing both of his feet on a branch and used the recoil to send him shooting back through the air where he slammed his fist into Hoakah's nose with all of his momentum.

The Hunter rubbed his face, "Did I catch you on a particularly bad day?"

Dynasmon X gripped his fists in rage, "You…killed…Angela…you killed all of my friends! You betrayed me! _Why the fuck do you think I'm pissed?"_

-

_Gabe began to speak, "Ok, so everyone got it? Tomorrow's mission is top-priority, we can't screw it up."_

"_Yeah, yeah, we got it," another boy said._

"_Easy, Ralph," a girl named Dorothy said, "This is Gabe's first mission as leader, give him a break for being nervous, he's doing the best he can."_

"_Yeah," Angela said, "We don't have any Japanese Chosen here."_

_Gabe winced at the comment, but kept it hidden. "Let's just get our sleep."_

_The group of teenagers begin to leave, all save Angela and Gabe. The redheaded girl approached him. "I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings."_

_He blinked. "What?" _

_She turned away slightly, not meeting his gaze. "Your sister told me that you don't like it when you're compared to the Japanese Chosen."_

_He made a face, "Lizzie's got a big mouth, I wish she'd keep it shut."_

"_Don't be mad at her, she really loves you."_

"_Yeah, I know."_

_Angela frowned. "I wish I had a brother or sister."_

"_Don't wish, they're a pain."_

_She giggled. "Well, you don't need to be nervous."_

"_Who said I'm nervous?"_

"_Well, you must have put your hand in your pocket and taken it out again at least ten times since we've been talking."_

"_It's got nothing to do with the mission," he muttered._

"_What?" she asked._

_He began to blush, "Um, uh, uh…I…um…"_

"_What?" she asked, "I thought I was your best friend."_

"_You are, I just…um…" He sighed, "I'll see you tomorrow." _

_She simply nodded and exited the room. Gabe fell down on the coach, running his hand through his hair._

_The bodies of the New York Team littered the ground; only three yet lived, Gabe, Angela, and Ralph. However, Angela and her Snimon partner were standing off to the side, while Gabe and Gladimon knelt on the ground, both clearly injured. Ralph and his Yukidarumon were standing before them, completely unharmed._

_Gabe was glaring at him, clutching his side, "You….you fucking bastard!"_

_Angela had tears running down her face, nearly hyperventilating. "How…h….how could you d….do this!"_

_Ralph smirked. "Oh, stop it."_

"_Stop it?!" Gabe screamed, "You killed them all! You fucking traitor!"_

"_Shut up!" he screamed, "You don't know anything! You and your bitch of a sister are the only X-chosen, the rest of us aren't! We can still be infected with the BD-2!"_

_Gabe was shaking his head. "I…I don't understand. You killed everyone just because of that?"_

"_Yes!" he spat, "Hawes promised me so much power if I just got rid of you."_

"_You bastard!" Gabe screamed, "You fucking little…"_

_Ralph sighed, shaking his head. "You lost, you just don't realize it yet. Yukidarumon, kill them."_

_Gladimon tried to move to defend Gabe, but his legs were heavy, and he collapsed to the ground. "No…"_

_The snowman pulled his fist back, "Absolute Zero Punch!"_

_Gabe closed his eyes, waiting to feel the blistering cold blast that would freeze him to death. However, it did not come. He watched in absolute horror as Angela and Snimon jumped in front of him. Snimon was frozen instantly, his body shattering. Angela fell over backwards, landing in Gabe's arms. She had been hit in the side of her stomach, a sheet of ice covering her body._

"_Angela…" the boy gasped, "W…why?!"_

"_You can beat him," she said weakly, "I was too weak. I know you can get him for the others." She started to stiffen, "Just…tell my parents I love them….and…I…love…." The sheet of ice covered her face, transforming her to a solid sheet of ice._

_Ralph snickered. "Well, she was gonna be next…"_

_Gabe's body was twitching with rage. "And what are you gonna do about it?" Ralph laughed, "You're not an Yagami or Ishida, you're nothing!"_

_Gabe's body began to shake as he slowly rose to his feet. He whipped his head up, blood rage in his eyes. Gladimon began to glow a dark light, like a aura of pure darkness. His armor turned dark, and black flames surrounded him. "Galdimon Ruin Mode!"_

_Ralph blinked. "What the fuck?"_

_Gladimon charged forward, his two sword glistening a blackish light. Yukidarumon readied to attack with another Absolute Zero Punch, but before he could, Gladimon slammed both of his swords into the digimon's chest. Yukidarumon stumbled for a moment, before his body shattered, his data dissolving into the air._

"_No!" Ralph shouted. He turned to run, but Gladimon's swords slashed him across the stomach. He fell to the ground, trying to hold his organs into his body._

_The warrior digimon remained motionless as Gabe stared down at the dying human. He kicked him in the face as hard as he could, then turned and walked away. Gladimon followed, leaving the traitor to die alone._

-

The Hunter shrugged, "Yeah, well, they were just weak, and now they're dead…"

"And you are too! Dragon's Gust!" the Royal Knight shouted, charging forward. He came very close to Hoakah before shooting back into the air, catching the Hunter in a sonic boom. Hoakah recovered quickly, then glared at the Royal Knight, who was hovering in the air.

The Hunter knelt down, then declared, "Kangaroo!" He jumped into the air, far higher then was humanly possible. Dynasmon X was in shock, so he did not move as the Hunter sailed towards him. Hoakah pulled his fist back, "Gorilla." His fist crashed across the Royal Knight's face.

Dynasmon X rubbed his chin, then kicked Hoakah's stomach. The Hunter grabbed his leg and twisted him around in the air, and when his head came close enough, he punched him again, and again, and again. The Royal Knight tried to break free, but Hoakah was moving too fast for him to free himself. After a full beating, Hoakah let him fall to the ground.

The Hunter crossed his arms and smirked, "I always was better then you…"

Dynasmon X glared at him…

-

_Gabe clenched his digivice so tightly in his hand that it threatened to crush his bones. "Come on!" he shouted, "Gladimon, you can do it!"_

_Ralph stood in place, his arms crossed, "Please, you really think you can beat me? Yukidarumon's never lost, and he's certainly not gonna lose in a damn sparing match."_

_Gladimon held his swords tightly as he charged at the snowman digimon. The Warrior digimon leapt into the air, his sword ready to strike, but Yukidarumon swung his fist into the warrior while in mid-air, throwing him into the ground. The match had been a long one, and Gladimon was defeated._

_Ralph smirked, "Guess I won, huh?"_

_Gabe glared at him, but Angela walked over to him. "Don't take it so hard," she said with a grin, "You're still the best in my book."_

_Gabe blushed, "Um, y..yeah…thanks…"_

-

"Well, I've got a lot stronger since then!" he shouted, blasting back into the air. His claws shimmering in the air, he pulled his fist back, ready to strike.

Hoakah screamed, "Buffalo." Dynasmon X's fist slammed into Hoakah's open palm, then the Hunter squeezed tightly, and the Knight could feel his bones crunch beneath the pressure. Dynasmon X swung his leg around, kicking the side of the Hoakah's head. The Hunter released his grip and the Knight shot back, clutching his limb.

"You fucking bastard."

Hoakah only snickered, "Like I said, I was always better then you."

"Oh yeah?" he screamed, "Take this! Breath of Wyvern!"

An aura in the shape of a dragon erupted from his body, then exploded, showering the area with the force of a bomb, annihilating all the branches surrounding the battlefield. Dynasmon X landed on the ground, panting heavily. He glanced around, looking for his opponent. He found him slowly descending to the ground, his face was puffed and his clothes were torn.

"Not bad," he breathed heavily, "But kinda overkill, isn't it?"

Dynasmon X glared at him, "I'm not just going to kill you, I'm going to completely _destroy_ you. _You killed Angela! I hate you!"_

The Hunter clenched his fists, "Well, you wanna know something, the reason why I killed Angela…? Because I hate you!"

-

_Ralph entered the dark warehouse, nervously glancing around. The building appeared to be completely empty, the only illumination from the full moon shining through the window. "Hello?"_

"_Who are you?" a voice demanded from, "Why did you come here?"_

_He tried not to show it, but he was fearful. "I…I got an e-mail telling me to come here…"_

_The lights suddenly came on, there were three figures standing at the far end of the warehouse, one a man with a metal mask on her face, another was a female in a dark cloak, and the third was another man standing in the center, metal on half of his face. "Welcome Ralph Azala," the center man said, "My name is Lord Sentry, and we have been watching you."_

"_Watching me?" he asked, "What's going on here?"_

"_As I said, we have been watching you, and we know about your rivalry with Gabe Barton."_

_Ralph frowned, "Yeah," he spat, "What about it?"_

"_He has humiliated you, hasn't he? You're stronger than him, yet he is still more liked then you, he has the respect of the others. They take you for granted, don't they? They need you so badly, yet they treat you as if they don't."_

_The teenage boy shifted on his feet, nervously looking to the side. "I speak the truth, don't I?" the man asked._

"_Yeah, so what?"_

_He grinned. "What if we told you we can give you the power to defeat him?"_

_Ralph stared at him, "Really? What's the catch?"_

"_You have to serve me."_

_He snorted, "Yeah, I think I'll pass, thanks."_

_The female and the male in the rear glanced at one another. The man in the middle raised an eyebrow, "Truly? Are you certain about that?"_

"_Yeah, I got my own plans about how to deal with them," he sneered. He gave a slight wave, "Later." He turned and marched out of the warehouse._

_-_

"_No!" Ralph shouted. He turned to run, but Gladimon's swords slashed him across the stomach. He fell to the ground, trying to hold his organs into his body._

_The warrior digimon remained motionless as Gabe stared down at the dying human. He kicked him in the face as hard as he could, then turned and walked away. Gladimon followed, leaving the traitor to die alone._

_Ralph coughed up blood and bile, innards spilling onto the ground. He was shaking, his body going into shock. His eyes slowly closed and he waited for the end to come…_

"…_so, this is how your 'plans,' ended?"_

_His eyes shot open and saw Lord Sentry standing over him. He crossed his arms, "Well, he finally defeated you, he beat you, your life is over…." He smiled slightly, "…or, my offer still stands. I'll give you the power you need to finally kill your rival, just served me. What do you say?"_

_Ralph opened his mouth to speak, but he only coughed loudly, spewing blood onto the ground. Sentry chuckled, "I'll take that as a yes."_

Dynasmon X glared at his opponent, "What, so you were so fucking full of yourself that you sold your soul just to show me up? That supposed to make me feel sorry for you? You're nothing but a spoiled piece of shit!"

"Oh really? Funny, doesn't my story kinda remind you of you and Kasumi?"

Dynasmon X flinched. "Yeah, well, neither of us tried to kill each other, _you_ fucking sold your soul just for power!"

"Don't look down your high-and mighty nose at me! I'm gonna tear you apart!"

"Bring it on!"

The two combatants exploded forward, their two fists crashing into one another in an explosion of energy. They began a flurry of punches and jabs, each one blocking as many punches as they connected. They tore into each other, their animalist rage overtaking them. Hoakah raised his fists, when Dynasmon X jammed his knee into the Hunter's stomach, then punched his fist into Hoakah's head. Now with the upper hand, he completely overwhelmed him. He grabbed him by the shirt collar and began to repeatedly punch his face again and again. He finally dropped the Hunter and stared down at him, his enemy's face was badly swollen and was bleeding from his mouth.

The Royal Knight panted heavily, "G..guess I won, huh?" He turned to leave, but Hoakah leapt back onto his feet.

""Snake!" he shouted, leaping at Dynasmon X's back, digging his teeth deep into the Royal Knight's neck. Instantly, the Knight began to feel woozy as the poison spread through his body. He stumbled, trying to get his footing, but his vision was blurry and his head was pounding.

Hoakah laughed, "L…looks like I won…"

Dynasmon X slurred his voice, "I…I'm…n…nottttt"

The Hunter cracked his knuckles, "You can barely stand, what are you gonna do?"

The Knight took a step forward, but he slipped and crashed into the group. Hoakah limped forward, grabbing Dynasmon X by the underside of the chin and lifting him up so he could stare into his eyes. "You lost, just admit it. And once I'm done with you, I'm going to find that new bitch you've managed brainwash. Shame you won't be able to touch her, I mean, you never got that chance with Angela, right? But don't worry, I'll make sure she's thinking of you after _I_ take her!" He grinned wickedly, "And I'm gonna enjoy it, violating her from inside…."

Dynasmon X was seething with rage, his blood boiling, which only made the poison spread faster. His heart was beating, his head pounding, his vision blurring. He pushed past the pain and wrapped his arms tightly around Hoakah's back, then did the same with his legs.

"Wha-what are you doing?" he gasped.

Dynasmon X swallowed, "I….I…might die…b….but you….you'll never touch Asami! Breath of Wyvern!"

His body exploded with such force that even the ground caved in beneath them. The remainder of the trees blew apart, the bark of the ground shredding apart. When the smoke cleared, both Royal Knight and Hunter were lying at the base of the crater. Eons seemed to pass before Dynasmon X slowly rose to his feet. He stared at Hoakah-the Hunter was lying unmoving, a large hole in the back of his head, the force of the explosion blew out the cybernetics in his head. The Knight grinned, "L…looks like I won…." All of his energy gone, he began to fall forward. His body exploded in light, returning to Gabe and Kotemon, both of whom smashed into the ground, sliding down to the bottom of the crater.

"_Asami,"_ Gabe thought as his eyes closed, "_Be safe…and be happy…"_

-

Rhodo Knightmon jumped backwards to avoid Araki's scythe. She executed a perfect hand stand before shifting her weight again and crashing both of her feet into the Hunter's jaw. She placed her right leg behind her to keep from falling over, then blocked Rhodo Knightmon's punch with her weapon. She pushed her face closer to the Knight's, then declared, "Grave Scream." She unleashed a blood-curdling scream that threw the Knight backwards. She swung down her scythe, aiming for Rhodo Knightmon's chest, but the Knight blocked with her shield and landed perfectly on the ground.

"You did not know I could do that, did you?" Araki asked, "You underestimated me. But, then, perhaps I underestimated you. As the daughter of Hikari Yamaki, I thought you would not be so interested in fighting with me, it seems I was wrong."

Rhodo Knightmon narrowed her eyes, "As I said before, you hurt my family and friends, I will not allow you to continue to do that.I am going to stop you here and now."

"Really?" she snickered, "You're nothing but a weakling, a coward. You always just let everyone else fight for you."

-

"_What?" Kasumi gasped, "We're not leaving!"_

"_Mom," Asami panicked, her voice quivering, "We can't…"_

"_I apologize for interrupting," Yuuji called, "But if anyone tries to leave, Skull Barukimon will stop you."_

_Her partner chuckled, "And trust me, you won't escape."_

_Yuuji nodded, "So, just sit back and enjoy the show."_

_Gabe stared at Hikari, then to Kasumi and Asami. "We're going to have to save her."_

_The pony-tailed girl stared at her. "Duh, but how?" She crossed her arms, "Any plans?"_

_He glared at her, "Yes, we just need to free Nefertimon X," he whispered, "so one of us has to distract him, while the other two attack. If we catch him off guard…"_

_Asami glanced over to her partner, "We can distract him."_

"_You sure?" Gladimon asked._

_The brown-haired girl nodded. "Yes, we're not as strong as you, so…"_

"_I'm sure you are," Gabe protested._

"_She's right," Kasami stated, "She can't even beat my brother."_

_The teenage boy glared at her, "Those two said the same thing about you."_

"_I'm still stronger then her!" she snapped._

_Gabe stared at Asami, "And this is your cousin?"_

"_She's right," Asami sighed, looking to the ground, "We're not strong, so we'll distract him, and you can save my mother's partner."_

_-_

_Asami panted heavily as she struggled to keep up with the others. She cursed herself; the two boys were wearing sneakers, certainly better for walking over grassy, bumpy terrain then her knee-high platform boots. She did not want to slow the others down, so she kept silent, yet she was becoming tired, and was falling behind. It was not long before Gabe realized that the female member of their team was struggling to keep up with them._

_Gabe ran to her. "Are you okay? We can rest if you want…"_

_She shook her head, "No, we've…we've got to keep moving…"_

_-_

"_We've got to move!" Tsuragi shouted, " Katsuharu's gonna meet us a few meters from here!"_

_Ami nodded and followed him closely. They continued through the grassy field until a large clearing could be seen only a few feet in front of them. She grinned, "Kick ass!"_

_She was about to charge past Tsuragi, when Astamon suddenly leapt behind her and used his arm to bat away a bolt of blue energy. The Demons instantly jumped to attention and watched as the DATS team came charging across the plain. "Damn it!" Gladimon frowned, "That was a perfect shot!"_

_Gururumon frowned, "Yeah, I know, if he didn't jump in the way like that…"_

"_Hittin' us from behind?" Tsuragi shouted, "What the hell kinda dirty, underhanded…"_

_Gabe snorted, "Yeah, like you wouldn't do the same thing to us…"_

_Ami clenched her fists, "You piece of shit! Astamon's gonna tear you apart!"_

_Her demonic partner stood loyally by her side. He was about to execute a Hellfire attack, but his injuries shot pain through his body and he winced. Neodevimon saw this. "You better let me take care of this."_

_Each of the DATS agents summoned their weapons, but once again, as the Claymore of Wind appeared in Asami's hands, it proved too heavy for her, and she teetered forward. Gabe stared at her, then smiled supportively. "Hey, I'm sure Svetlana couldn't use it the first time either." He shrugged, "You'd just better leave it to me and Shiro anyway…"_

_Asami blinked, then glanced down to where Leormon was standing at her feet. Out of the three, her partner was the only one that was not even in his Adult form, as he had been injured in their previous encounter with the two Demons. "I'm sorry," she bowed her head, "We're such a burden to you…"_

"_No!" he protested, "No, you're…you're…" He smiled, "You're just waiting for the right time to…"_

-

Rhodo Knightmon grabbed her ribbons and began to swing them over her head before unleashing them to encircle her opponent, "Spiral Masquerade!"

Araki began to slash at the incoming ribbons, turning them to shreds in moments. "You will have to do better than that!" she laughed, rushing forward. She swung her scythe as hard as she could, "Soul Predator!" A crest beam of energy flew towards the Knight. She raised her shield, ready to defend, but the beam suddenly split into a barrage of energy waves that flew past the shield and shredded the armor on her shoulders. She winced, but remained standing. She moved her shield so she could resume the attack, but Araki was right in front of her, swinging her scythe once more. The Knight was able to defend herself with her shield just in time, then pushed her back. She executed a roundhouse, kicking the Hunter backwards through the air. Araki twisted, than gracefully landed on her feet.

"You are not as weak as I thought, but you're still not strong enough to defeat me."

Rhodo Knightmon shook her head, "No…I am not going to give up…I won't give up!"

Araki smirked, "I am happy to hear that, but I do not believe it. You do not have the…the…" she searched for the right word, "…the guts to do so."

"What?" she gasped, defending herself, "Y…yes I do!"

"No, you don't," she smiled, "You haven't even killed, have you? Your parents, your uncle, your boyfriend, your cousins, _they_ always save you."

-

_When Asami felt a pair of hands gripping her arms, which were bound tightly above her head, she nearly felt her heart stop. The Demons had returned. She clenched her eyes tightly, hoping the end would come quickly…_

"_Asami!"_

_Her heart began to beat once more, but an odd sensation still flowed through her stomach. She stretched her neck and her heart nearly exploded from her chest. "Gabe!"_

_The teenage boy ripped the rope from around her wrists, then did the same for her ankles. He helped her to her feet, "Are you okay?"_

_She began to quiver before jumping into his arms, "Gabe!"_

_He hesitated for a moment, the wrapped his arms tightly around her as well. He did not know how long he held her, and he wished that time would stop completely, but he knew it had to end. He slowly pushed her back, and stared in her face, "Asami, we need to…"_

_Even as they were speaking, their heads moved closer, and their lips locked. Asami's mind was racing. "This is my first kiss! This is my first kiss!!"_

_For Gabe, he saw in his mind, and image of Angela, the girl who had sacrificed herself to save him. She was smiling._

_They two remained in their embrace until they heard a slight cough. They pulled apart and twisted to the doorway, their partners were standing there, along with the rest of the DATS team. With the expressions of admiriation and jelousy on Eliane and Yasu's face, they concluded that it must have been Shiro who coughed._

"_S-sorry," he smiled sheepishly, "But I think we'd better go, there's no telling when the Demon Master will arrive."_

_-_

_Lotusmon narrowed her eyes at Aero V-dramon, still hovering in the air. She shot through the air, heading straight for the blue dragon. Kasumi's partner pointed her wings at Lotusmon and fired two V-shaped beams from each tip. "V-Wing Blade!"_

_The two beams impacted Lotusmon in the chest, easily ripping through her body and exploding from the back. The Demoness hovered for a moment before her data exploded, leaving nothing in its place._

_Neo screamed out in shock, while the DATS agents could not believe their eyes. "She…she beat her!" Grappleomon gasped._

_Machgaogamon nodded. "So easily…"_

_Aero V-dramon chuckled as she landed in front of them. "Not really, she was pretty beaten up, you guys musta really worn her down…" She shrugged, "I just kinda finished the job, that's all."_

-

Rhodo Knightmon rose back to her feet, stuttering as she did, "Y…yeah, m…ma…maybe, b…but that doesn't mean that…."

Araki shot forward, swinging her scythe around, striking the Knight in the side of her head with the blunt side of the weapon. She twirled around on her feet, smashing the Knight's head once again. She repeated this assault again, and again. Rhodo Knightmon could not gain regain herself with the quick successions of Araki's attacks. The Hunter swung again, but this time, she turned her scythe, so the blade was pointed right at the Knight's temple. Yet, at the last second, she pulled the weapon down so that it cut a swath across her chest, tearing apart the chest plate.

Rhodo Knightmon dropped to her feet, clutching her wound, panting heavily. "Come on!" Araki shouted, "I can't believe you won't even fight back."

The Knight suddenly jumped up, slamming her fist into the underside of her opponent's chin. With Araki off-balance, she began to whip her again and again with her ribbons. She then made a grab for the scythe, but Araki kicked her in the stomach. Rhodo Knightmon grabbed her leg and threw her into the air, spinning her quickly. "Spiral Masquerade!" she shouted. Her ribbons lacerated arms and legs before she crashed into the ground. Rhodo Knightmon leapt atop her and pulled her fist back, ready to crush the Hunter's head, but she hesitated. She tried again, but let her fist drop, sighing loudly.

"I…I'm sorry," she spat, "I…I can't do it, I can't kill anyone…even you…."

She laughed, "Why not, I'm nothing but a genetic copy, get rid of me, and Lord Sentry can just make another. My purpose was to free Dagomon, and I did that."

"I feel so sorry for you," RhodoKnightmon said, "Your entire life…"

"I don't want your pity!" she spat, "Once Lord Sentry revives GranDracmon, I will serve the ruler of all creation."

Rhodo Knightmon glared at her, "Not if Uncle Taichi stops him first, he probably could use my help…'

"To do what?" Araki asked, "Sit on the sidelines again? You can't even stop me, you really think you can stop Lord Sentry?"

"I won't know unless I try…"

"You'll never make it to him!" Araki shouted, jumping back to her feet and rushing to renew her assault. Rhodo Knightmon blocked the scythe slash with her shield. Araki smirked, "Grave Scream!"

The Knight stumbled backwards, clutching her head. Araki jumped into the air, ready to lacerate her opponent with all of her weight, but Rhodo Knight swung his fist, "Argent Fear!" Her attack impacted the Hunter's shoulder and she landed on the ground without completing her attack.

"Not bad," she said, "My arm is numb. Unfortunately, you didn't hit the right one!" While her left arm was hanging limply at her side, her right arm was gripping her scythe. She charged, her weapon held high above her. She swung down, ready to finish the battle, but Rhodo Knightmon swung her shield around, cutting cleanly Araki's neck, separating her head from her shoulders.

Her body fell lifelessly to the ground, and Rhodo Knightmon fell to her knees, panting heavily. She glanced at Araki's body, and twisted her head away. "No! No, I'm not sad…I'm not. She and Masanori, and Lord Sentry, they used people and hurt people, just for their selfish goals…I'm _not_ sad…"

She climbed back to her feet, but regressed back to Asami and Leormon. They both stared at Araki for another moment before they began walking. "We've got to find Uncle Taichi, he's going to need help. I just hope he's okay."

-----------

Following their battle with Sakumi, the DATS Agents were recuperating in their building. Akira and Adan were lying in the beds of the emergence ward. Yasu was fretting over the red haired boy's every need. She was even attempting to feed him.

She brought the spoon to his mouth, "Here, open up."

"I can feed myself," he protested, grabbing the utensil from her.

"All right!" she snapped, "Jeeze, I'm just trying to help!"

"Well babying me isn't helping!"

Over to the side, Michael and Mimi chuckled. "Remember the first battle we were in?" he asked, "I got hurt fighting a Meramon, and you wouldn't even let me sleep without you watching over me."

She giggled slightly, "Yeah, well, you got hurt saving me, I couldn't just…ya know…"

He smiled, "Yeah, I know…I asked you out when I woke up."

Alarms began to blare. "Oh what's the problem now?" Akira gasped. He threw off the sheets and was about to jumped out of bed, but Yasu pushed him back.

"You're not going anywhere," the blond girl said, "Lay back down."

"I'll go see what's going on," Michael volunteered, running out the door. He made his way to the command center and jumped inside. The rest of the Agents were assembled inside. "What's going on?"

"Something's coming right at us," Sora answered.

"What?"

"We're getting visual now," Reika answered.

All eyes focused on the main monitor, which was displaying an image of the outside of the front of the building. Two figures descended from the sky, hovering in front of the building. "The Ancients!" Miayag exclaimed.

"Oh no," Noriko gasped.

The Priestess fled from the room, followed by the others. They ran through the halls and up the stairs, arriving on the roof. The two Ancients smiled when they saw the group standing on the top of the building. "Ah, good," Ancient Greymon said, "We are here, where is our opponent?"

-----------

Taichi and Agumon X's path around the great tree had brought them to another path that intersected like a fork in the road. The middle-aged man gave a slight chuckle when he saw another man and digimon run towards them from the other path. "Yamato, Gabumon, fancy meeting you here."

He shrugged slightly, "Well, you know, just thought we'd go out for a stroll."

Agumon X and Gabumon X nodded slightly at one another. "Glad you're here," Agumon X said, "We sure could use your help."

Yamato sighed, glancing over his shoulder, "We left the others there, I hope they're okay."

"They're fine," Taichi said quickly, "T..they can handle anything…" He looked over his shoulder at the path he and Agumon X had run from, "…I hope."

A bolt of energy crackled overhead. All eyes turned to the path that stretched around the giant trunk, reaching to the heights. "That can't be good," Agumon X said.

"We'd better get moving," Yamato said.

Taichi nodded and they begin to run up the path once again. "I hope we're in time, if we don't stop him, GranDracmon's coming back."

"Yeah," Yamato frowned, "We nearly killed ourselves to get rid of him the last time. Omegamon X just barely won."

"And in fifteen years we've never found another evolutionary form," Gabumon X said.

"Well, there hasn't really been any major threats since Juro," Agumon X replied.

"Yeah," Taichi frowned, "And we've all just been sitting behind a desk since then."

"What's with all the negativity?" Yamato asked, "Come on, we can do this!"

"You're right," Taichi said, clenching his fist, "And Schimidt's gonna pay when I find him!"

To be continued…..

Author's note: I'm sorry about the length between updates. The title of this chapter and the preceding chapter reference the chapter titles of the beginning of the story: _Dawn of the Heroes_ was the _dawn_ of the tale, while now we are nearing it's end. So _Twilight of the Heroes_ was the twilight, and now night has fallen, thus the title of this chapter, but it's also a play on words: _Knight_ rather then _Night,_ indicating what had happened.

Are they dead, did they survive? Did some survive, did some die? Well, you'll just have to keep reading.

Hope to see you next time.


	40. Knightfall: Chapter 2

_My name is Asami Yamaki, a Chosen of DATS. We had entered Yddrisil to stop the Hunters from using its power to revive GranDracmon, Juro, and the Demon Lords. We all got separated and had to fight battles with the Hunters. Lino fought Rudra, Kasumi fought Artemis, Gabe fought Hoakah, and I fought Araki. Even though we all won, Lino, Kasumi and Gabe each gave everything that had to stop them, only I and Leormon are still able to go on. We've got to get to Uncle Taichi._

-----

_Knightfall_

_Chapter 2_

_-----------_

The forces for the preservation of Earth, the group of DATS Chosen known as Royal Knights were battling their foes, the Hunters, who were motivated by conquest, by greed, by power. They had taken control of Yddrisil, the host computer of the Digital World, and held the world at ransom; but the situation was much more severe than the governments of the Earth were aware, for the Hunters' master, Lord Sentry, wished to use Yddrisil to revive the greatest, most evil, and by far most powerful digimon to ever walk the face of the Earth, GranDracmon. Time was quickly running out.

The evolved form of Kenji Kido and his Otamamon with the Bow of Forest was Sleipmon, a mighty centaur-like digimon who used his bow to fire arrow after arrow at his opponent, the Hunter Nanook. The Hunter did not attempt to avoid the projectile, he instead used his chakrams to deflect each one, and those he did not deflect, he used his weapon to slice them in twain.

"You know," Sleipmon said, lowering his bow, "You're a lot faster than you let on."

Nanook yawned, "Yeah, well…"

"I guess you're pretty motivated when you need to be."

The Hunter shrugged, "Just doin' what I hafta do."

Sleipmon began to feel anger well up inside him, "Really? Were you just doin' your job when your raped Kara?"

-

_He ran back to his dorm room, slamming the door. Otamamon poked his head from his spot beneath the bed. "Kenji?"_

_The teenager fell into the chair by his desk, slamming his books onto the ground in the process. His partner trotted over and sat by his feet. "What's wrong?"_

"_That fucking Langelet, he's nothing but a bigot! I wish he'd have a heart attack or something, so then he wouldn't be able to teach for the rest of the summer!"_

_Otamamon_ _was staring in shock. "Kenji, I…I've never seen you like this before." It was true, his partner had never wished for the malicious harm of another being. He fought as a member of DATS, but never took pleasure in it. _

_The teenage boy sighed deeply, staring out the window, "I…I just can't take him anymore. He's always calling me, "A dam Jap."_

"_Well, this is America, can't you complain or something?"_

"_What good would it do? I'm only here for another month, I can take it."_

"_I don't know, you look like you're about to have a heart attack…or at least a breakdown."_

_Kenji gave a slight smile. There was a knock on the door. Kenji turned to his partner, but he was already diving under the bed. The teenage boy slowly opened the door to reveal a blond girl standing on the other side. She was dressed in a tight orange t-shirt and a pair of black pants. She had a backpack around her back, which seemed to be heavy as she was struggling to keep standing. He was lost in her being for a moment, so she smiled slightly. "H…hi, I…I don't know if you remember me, but we're in Mr. Scribts's class together."_

"_Y..yeah, h…hi Kara." He mentioned to the room, "Um, d…do you want to come inside?"_

_She scooted past him and entered the small dorm room. "You're alone?"_

_He nodded. "Yes."_

"_Lucky," she said, "I've got to share a room with three other girls. We get along okay most of the time, but sometimes Anna ticks me off." She placed the backpack on the floor and she sat on his bed._

"_I'd offer you something, but my small refrigerator is empty…I really need to go shopping."_

"_That's okay," she replied, "I, um…heard what Langelet said to you in class. I don't know what his problem is, but he's really got it out for you."_

_He frowned. "Yeah, I know."_

"_But…t…the reason I wanted to see you now i…is that…um…jeeze this is harder then I thought." She took a deep breath, "The reason I wanted to see you is that I…I saw you the other night, by the lake."_

_He gasped, he had been there so Otamamon could swim. "W…what are you talking about?"_

_Kara smiled and unzipped the backpack, allowing a plant creature to emerge. "Floramon?" Kenji gasped._

"_Floramon?"_ _Otamamon asked, crawling out from beneath the bed._

"_Yeah," Kara smiled, "I'm a Chosen, just like you."_

_The two began to spend more and more time together, something that did not go unnoticed, especially from the prejudiced Lengelet. The two were talking after class one day. "The summer program's gonna end soon," Kara said, "And you'll go back home, right?"_

_Kenji nodded. "Yeah."_

_The girl sniffled slightly, "I think I'm missing you already."_

"_What are you doing with him, huh?"_

_Both teenagers turned to see a muscular boy standing beside them. "Leave us alone, Langelet," Kara said._

_He looked at Kenji, "Why are you hanging with this fucking Jap?"_

_Kenji did not answer, but Kara snarled. "Why don't you just leave him alone?"_

_Langelet_ _snorted and marched away. "What an ass," Kara sighed, "Can you believe he even invited me to his party?"_

"_Party?"_ _Kenji asked._

"_Yeah, I'm not going though."_

"_Oh…um, do you want to see a movie or something?"_

"_Nah, I'm just gonna stay in tonight. Later."_

_Kenji watched her leave, and his waved his hand. "Yeah, later."_

_It was a few days later before they saw one another again. Kenji approached her one day. "Hi."_

_She looked different, sadder, heavy circles under her eyes. "Oh, hey."_

_He blinked. "What's wrong?"_

"_Oh, n…nothing," she said, turning away. When she did, she saw Langelet waltzing down the hall in his typical arrogant fashion. "I…I need to go." She ran down the hall. _

"_What was that about?"_

_He was worried about her, and decided to go to her house to see her. He brought Otamamon with him to see Floramon. But she was not there. After speaking with her mother, he found out she had gone to the park. He figured that she had taken her Floramon there so that she could enjoy the grass and the sunshine, but they were not there either. _

"_She was here," Otamamon said, sniffing the ground, "The scent's still strong, come on."_

_They followed the trail to overgrown area that was relatively unused. What they saw there caused them both to gasp aloud, Kara and her Floramon were indeed there, looking like they were about to kill Langelet, who was lying, bloodied and bruised on the ground._

"_Kara!"_ _Kenji shouted._

_The girl twisted to him, tears pouring down her face. "Stay the fuck away!" she screamed, "Just go away!"_

_Langelet_ _stared at her, then twisted to Kenji. His eyes stared at Otamamon, but focused on Kenji. "Come on man, please help me…."_

_Kenji turned back to Kara. He slowly approached her, "Kara, what is going on?"_

"_J…just stay away!" she screamed, "Stay away!"_

"_Listen," he said, raising his hand, "I know what a jerk he is, believe me, but he doesn't deserve this…"_

"_You have no idea! He raped me!" she exploded._

_Kenji gasped. He stared at the cowering Langelet, then back at Kara. "He what?"_

"_At his party," she panted, almost hyperventilating, "He…he g…got me d…drunk, and….and…"_

_Kenji did not even care that she lied to him about going to the party, all he cared about was stopping her from killing him. "O..okay, but you can't…"_

"_He deserves this!" she screamed, "Floramon…k…kill him!"_

_Her plant digimon instantly obeyed. "Allergy Shower…"_

"_No!" Otamamon exclaimed, tackling the plant into the ground._

_Kara was watching her partner, which gave Kenji the opportunity to grab her hands behind her back. "Let me go!" she shouted._

"_No!" he shouted back, "You can't kill him! Just stop!"_

"_No, no! I want him to pay, I want to kill him…" She broke down in tears._

_The police arrived later. Kenji used his contacts with the Japanese government to keep Langelet "quiet," about seeing their digimon partners. He was convicted and sentenced to ten years in jail. Kara, on the other hand, was brought for psychiatric treatment by DATS-friendly doctors, she was deemed to unstable to properly handle a digimon partner. The last time he heard from her, she was in a mental hospital, she was never able to recover…._

-

Nanook shrugged again, "Not really, I was drunk, I don't even remember that."

"You do…You don't even remember that?! You ruined her life! She's in a mental hospital because of you!" Sleipmon narrowed his eyes, "And you don't even care, do you? She was nothing to you, was she?"

"Not really, no."

Sleipmon's anger took control of him and he charged forward. Nanook leapt backwards, then placed his palm on the base of a thick branch. Boils spread across the trunk, instantly necrotizing the branch, which fell over, crashing into the ground only inches in front of the Royal Knight. "Damn it," Nanook whined, "Did it too fast."

The brush with quick death brought Sleipmon out of his rage, and he slightly trotted backwards from the fallen branch. He was studying Nanook cautiously, waiting for the Hunter to attack, but he did not, he stood in place, supporting himself on his chakram. "You're pretty laid back for the middle of a fight," Sleipmon said.

Nanook, once again, shrugged. "Yeah, maybe."

"You really don't even seem eager to do this, why are you a Hunter to begin with?"

"Well, that's kinda complicated. I was pretty much a failure at school, I doubt I wouldda even been able to get a job doing anything."

"Because you're so lazy and you don't care about anything."

"Probably right, after you got me locked up in jail, Lord Sentry sprang me, he just told me to follow him, and then I wouldn't hafta worry about stuff like getting a job. So I figured, what the hell, right?"

"You took the easy way out."

"Yeah, I did, because…hey, it's the easy way out." He sighed deeply, "But, I guess you won't just let me kill you, so I can't take the easy way out this time." He swung his arms open, gripping tightly to his chakrams, "Let's just get this over with."

Sleipmon fired a glowing red arrow from his bow, "Bifrost!" Nanook waved his palm in a wide arc, leaving a stream of glowing, oozing red and green color. The arrow past through the stream and instantly decomposed into dust, the arrow tip was inches from the Hunter's face before it vanished.

"More of your unholy powers?" Sleipmon asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Yeah, sure, whatever you wanna call it." Nanook jumped into the air, twisting over the fallen tree branch and as he fell, he came close to the Knight's face. He slashed with his chakrams, but Sleipmon batted him away with his bow. The Hunter landed gracefully on the ground, then threw both of his chakrams at the Knight. Sleipmon maneuvered quickly on his feet, allowing the weapons to fly beneath him and then arced like a boomerang. One sliced through another tree branch, which decayed, causing the branch to fall.

Sleipmon watched the chakrams return to the Hunter's hand. "I suppose it would not be a good idea to let those touch me."

"No, it wouldn't," Nanook replied, "They can spread my 'death touch,' farther than I can reach." He stared at the Knight for a moment, then snickered, "It's funny, you know."

"What?"

"You still really aren't that interested in fighting me, are you?"

Sleipmon hesitated for a moment, then shook his head, "No…no, I guess not."

The Hunter snickered, "And they say I'm the unmotivated one. You never wanted to fight to begin with, did you?"

"N-no, I really don't believe in fighting…"

"Then why are you a DATS Agent to being with?"

"Because, I made a promise to my father, that I would fight whenever my friends needed me…" He narrowed his eyes, "…and my friends need me."

Nanook narrowed his eyes, "You think you're so great 'cause you've got friends?!" he shouted.

Sleipmon stared at him, "Well, it looks like you can get angry after all."

The Hunter threw his chakrams as hard as he could, Sleipmon managed to block one with his bow, but the other twisted around and clipped the Knight's shoulder armor. The metal plate began to decay and burn his skin. He grabbed it and flung it to the ground, where it vanished in black smoke. In retaliation, The Knight fired a large arrow from his bow, but Nanook sliced it apart by throwing his bladed weapons at it.

"If that's the best you can do, you're in trouble," he said with a smirk, "I've trained with Artemis, and she fires much faster than you!" He threw his weapons again, but Sleipmon was ready this time, and fired two arrows in quick succession, each one knocking the spinning weapons back. When Nanook leapt into the air to catch his weapons, Sleipmon fired a Bifrost arrow at his opponent. The Hunter saw the in-coming projectile at the last moment. He tried to twist out of the way, but couldn't move his entire body in time, and the arrow ripped across his back. As he fell, he threw his chakram again, this one cut a small slice in Sleipmon's bare shoulder. It was only a small slice, but still felt like a burning poker drilling into his flesh.

Nanook landed on the ground and glared at his opponent. "You bastard," he panted, then smirked, "I guess you can fight pretty good, surprising since, compared to the others, you're practically useless."

"What?" he exclaimed.

The Hunter took a step closer, "I mean, let's face it, everyone pays attention to Kasumi, Asami, Gabe, Akira, Yasu, you're always beneath their notice. They take you for granted, don't they?"

Sleipmon pointed his bow and arrow at his opponent, but as he tried to fire, Nanook's word kept echoing in his head.

"_M…maybe he's right…I mean, what do I really do, what do I really bring to them? Shiro is smart and he's a good leader, Gabe is strong, Akira, Yasu, Eliane are powerful, Kasumi's got some issues, but she never gives up, Mr. Yagami, and Mr. Ishida…they can practically do anything! Even my parents can heal people…what do I do?"_

"You're lying!" he shouted, charging his opponent, "You're lying!" He began to swing his bow-he did not want to attack from a distance, he wanted to hurt his opponent, really hurt him.

Nanook blocked each jab with his weapons. "Looks like we can get a rise out of you too."

Sleipmon gasped and was still for a moment. That was all Nanook needed to execute a flurry of slices with his chakrams, tearing apart the Knight's armor. Sleipmon's body was on fire, pain erupting all throughout, it felt like Nanook's touch was decaying his body from the outside in. The Knight slammed his fist into Nanook's jaw. As the Hunter fell to the ground, he reached for his chakram. The Knight kicked him with his front leg, then shifted all of his weight onto his back legs, standing tall before falling with all of his weight onto Nanook with his front legs. The Hunter yelled out in pain, his body was being crushed. He grabbed the Knight's front horse leg with his hand, his necrotizing touch erupting across it.

Sleipmon jumped back, panting heavily. The pain was almost unbearable, he fought the urge to scream out. Nanook did not rest, but threw his remaining chakram, this once slicing across the rest side of the Knight's horse body. His flesh began to blister, large boils appearing everywhere.

The Knight struggled to stay on his feet, but his injured leg was buckling under his weight. Nanook panted heavily, coughing up blood. He held his chakram out in front of him, "Why are you even fighting, huh? You think DATS is gonna care? They could less if you live or die!"

Sleipmon smirked, "Yeah, you really think so? Or are you just confusing me, with you and the Hunters?"

Nanook gripped his chakram and charge forward. Selipmon readied an arrow in his bow and ran forward as well. He was limping severely because of his injured leg, and the pain from his boiling flesh was blurring his vision, but he pushed past the pain and kept his eyes focused on Nanook. The Hunter suddenly leapt into the air, intending to throw his chakram and the Knight's head from above, but Sleipmon swung up his arms and fired his arrow, directly into Nanook's chest. The arrow then carried his body through the air before it impacted into a tree. Nanook hung by the arrow, twitching and spewing blood before he remained still.

Sleipmon dropped his arms, panting heavily, "Y…you see," he said with a chuckle, "You're completely wrong…"

"_Well, I think it's desperate enough," Akira thought, eying Kenji and Lizzie, "I can hit them with my power, but I've always used my hands, and they're tied behind my back. Hopefully I can still do this…"_

_He took a deep breath, calling upon the power of Fire that lay within his Chosen blood. He manipulated this energy, and with his arms bound behind his back, he push that energy to the next best place he could, his shoulders. He bent down and fired two beam of red energy from his shoulder blades, flying past the three Ancient warriors towards his fellow DATS agents._

_Kenji and Lizzie stared with shock. "What the hell is that?" the girl asked._

_Before Kenji could answer, the red energy smashed into both teenagers and their partners, causing their bodies to spasm and shake. They yelled in pain before collapsing to the ground._

_Kenji and Lizzie's bodies began to glow in a bright red, the color of fire, the power from Akira. The light grew brighter, and brighter, enveloping the entire cavern._

_The three Ancients and their prisoners stopped short as the light exploded behind them. They twisted around and watched as a group of figures emerged, Masa, Dorumon, Mixcoatl, Patamon, Kenji and Lizzie, along with two different digimon standing beside them: a large plant creature beside Lizzie, and a gold warrior beside Kenji._

"_Alraumon and Otamamon evolved to Fully Evolved?" Akira's Falcomon gasped._

"_It worked?" his partner said in amazement._

_Lizzie grinned, "That's right! Meet Alraumon's Fully Evolved form, Blossomon!"_

_Kenji mentioned to his partner, "And this is Grademon."_

_Kenji nodded in reply, "Yeah…" He blinked, then reached into his pocket._

"_What?" his Otamamon asked._

"_During the battle my D-terminal was vibrating, I got a message, but since we were in the middle of fighting I didn't look, but now…"_

_He flipped open the lid, "It's from Eliane, but how'd she send us an e-mail? We tried to e-mail them, but never got a response…." His eyes shot open and he gasped._

"_What?" Lizzie gasped._

"_Yasu, Eliane and Asami are in trouble, we've got to move, right now!"_

"_How much trouble?"_ _Masa asked._

"_Two Demons are attacking them, Mega level! And Shiro and Gabe are unconscious…"_

"_Unconscious…?" Lizzie asked, a fearful look in her eye._

_Masa_ _nodded, "Well, I guess we'd better help them."_

_Kenji blinked, "You're coming with us?"_

_Mixcoatl_ _gasped, "You're going with them?"_

_Masa_ _mentioned to Dorumon, "Yeah, we are."_

"_Masa," his partner whispered, "What are you doing?"_

_Mixcoatl_ _pointed at him, "We're here to destroy them, not help them! What the hell are you thinking?"_

_Masa_ _shrugged. "I don't know…I just want to help them."_

"_If you go with them, you're a traitor, understand? And if you leave, you know what will happen to your mother!"_

"_Mother?"_ _Lizzie asked._

_Mixcoatl_ _continued speaking, "If you don't care what happens to yourself, at least care what will happen to her!"_

_Adan_ _tugged at his older brother's arm, "Brother..please…"_

"_I'm not letting them…"_

"_Please…"_

"_Fine!"_ _Mixcoatl spat, "But I am going to report this, and I'm going to say that you attacked us and knocked us out, so I'm not on Lord Sentry's bad side, understand?"_

"_Brother!" Adan shouted, "Masa has been our teammate, don't we owe him anything?"_

_Mixcoatl_ _was silent for a long moment before pointing at the temple. "We are going back to examine that temple, I don't know how long we'll be, but when we get back out, I'm sending a message to Lord Sentry, you'd better do whatever you need to do before then, got it?"_

_The boy nodded, "Yeah…yeah…" He turned to Kenji, "We'd better go."_

_The other boy blinked, "Uh…yeah, right, um…but they're on the Dark Continent, and we're still on the Light Continent…"_

"_No problem," Masa said with a smile, "Dorugremon can carry us across the water. We'd better hurry, every second's gonna count_

-

"He wouldn't have given me that power if he didn't need me, and Masa wouldn't have come with us if he didn't trust me. So…you're wrong. My friends…they will…come for me…" He paused for a moment, then smiled slowly, "…no…they'll…miss…me…."

The Knight fell to the ground, his entire body was covered by the necrotizing boils before exploding in light. Kenji and Otamamon remained, their bodies with not a touch of the boils, but…they remained perfectly still.

---

Duftmon X stood in place, cautiously studying his opponent. The Hunter Orion was staring back. "One of us is going to have to do something soon," he stated, "Or we are going to be standing like this for all eternity."

The Royal Knight did not answer. Orion smiled, "You're hoping that I start, aren't you? You don't want to fight me until you determine what powers I have…in addition to this!" He threw open his left hand, which sent a stream of red liquid sailing through the air and whacking the side of Dutmon X's head. The Knight rubbed his jaw and stared at his opponent. The red stream floated around Orion like a wiggling snake. The Hunter made a quick motion with his hand, and the red stream whipped into the underside of Duftmon X's head. The Royal Knight jumped back a few feet and whipped out his sword.

"Did you forget about my blood-controlling abilities?"

"No, did you forget _my_ abilities? Eine Billion!" He began to slash repeatedly with his sword. Orion formed his whip into a sword and managed to block Duftmon X's sword-swipe. He blocked as many as he could, but with a thousand slashes, he simply could not keep up, and Duftmon X's sword tore through Orion's shirt and jacket, even cutting into his skin.

"Not bad," Orion panted. He glanced at his torso, which was already covered with gashes, that were oozing blood, "But you know what I can do now…"

The Knight gripped his sword tightly as more than a dozen streams of blood shot up from Orion's chest. Each one formed into a sharp blade and all fired at the Knight. Duftmon X blocked as many as he could, but more than a few slashed across his arms and legs.

Orion smirked. "Now we're even."

Duftmon X glared at him, "How are you Hunters able to do that anyway? What's the source of your powers?"

"Are you serious? My cybernetic enhancements in my body…"

"I know that! But what do they do? How do they work?"

He smiled slightly, "Well, it would take too long to explain," He narrowed his eyes at him, "…but that's always been you, hasn't it? You always have to know everything that's going on. That's good, you know, you like to figure things out, you like to know why things happened."

Duftmon X glared at him, "Why are you….praising me like that?"

"Oh, I'm just stating a fact. We-that is, the Hunters-know all about you, your personalities, your strengths, your weaknesses, and, out of all of the DATS….children, you are the most…level, I suppose, out of all of them, your strengths and weaknesses are well-balanced, that's why the rest of them look up to you, even Kasumi and Gabe, though they'd probably never admit it."

He blinked, "W…what? What are you talking about?"

"You don't get it? You're a born leader, you're smart, you figured things out…you're…perfect. They all look up to you, isn't it hard to always have to live up to their expectations?"

"Y…yeah, maybe but…"

Orion used his whip of blood to smash Duftmon X's chest armor.

-

"_Shiro, what's up?" Kasumi exclaimed as she entered the homeroom. The blond boy was in his usual desk in the classroom. She sat next to him, dropping her school bag onto the floor. "Did you hear? I took down a Hunter yesterday!"_

_He gave her an odd look, "I thought he ran away."_

"_Yeah, 'cause he knew he couldn't beat me!"_

"_Maybe he ran because he couldn't stand your mouth?"_

_Kasumi spun around and saw Gabe enter the classroom. He was dressed in the white shirt, gray pants and black blazer of the Shinjuku High School…of course, the girls wore skirts instead of pants. "W…why are you dressed like that?"_

_He stared at her as he sat in the desk in front of Shiro, "We're going to be here for a while, so my parents didn't want me to miss school. Jeeze, my family only moved into that rental house yesterday, but I was living with you for a few days, don't you pay attention to anything?"_

_She smirked, "Well, the schools in Japan are harder then in America."_

"_I'll take my chances, thanks," he replied._

"_Anyway," she said, turning to Shiro, "Me and Yuki beat that Hunter…"_

_Gabe smirked slightly and turned to the blond boy as well. "Hey, did you tell her about taking down Tsuragi with Weregarurumon?"_

_The pony-tailed girl felt her blood turn cold. She stared at her friend, her jaw dropping. "You…have a Fully Evolved?"_

_Shiro felt like hiding his head in his arms on the desk. Kasumi and Gabe both were his friends, why were they always putting him in the middle? His friends were now glaring at each other, he would have to step between them or a fight would break out. "Now come on you two," he said, "Kasumi, that was great that you were able to defeat Artemis, espically since we don't know that much about their powers." He looked to Gabe, "Thank you for…being excited for me. Now both of you, please…"_

_They both turned away, grumbling under their breath. Kasumi turned back to Shiro, "You didn't answer my question. You have a Fully Evolved?"_

_Shiro hesitated, then shrugged sheepishly, "Um…uh…"_

"_I don't fucking believe this!" she shouted as loud as she could, her rage overtaking her. Unfortunately, the class turned quiet. Kasumi blushed fiercely._

"_Miss Yagami!" the teacher frowned, "Outside, now!"_

_The teenage girl stormed out of the room and Shiro sighed deeply._

_-_

Orion suddenly appeared before Duftmon X and punched him in his face as hard as he could. The Royal Knight swung his glowing saber up from the ground, cutting through Orion's lower leg, but he jumped back at the last second, sparing him from having Duftmon X's sword jabbed into his vital organs. The Hunter executed a back flip, kicking Duftmon X's chin. His head jerked back, but he managed to swing his saber around. Orion blocked with the metal plates on his arm, then swung his leg into Duftmon X's already injured side. The Knight punched Orion's face, than leaped backwards, landing on his feet. He exhaled a blast of thick smog, "Braun Nebel!"

Orion covered his face as his body was enveloped by the thick mist. He felt his skin began to burn, made all the worse by his previous lacerations. He fought off the pain and swung his fist into the Knight's nose. He grabbed Duftmon X's head, then threw it into his knee. The Knight stumbled backwards, his vision blurry and his head swimming.

Orion was panting, but he was still able to speak. "Remember your fight against Tsuragi and Shinji?" he asked, "Remember how you had to jump in front of everyone else to save them? You had to be hero?"

-

_The blond boy nodded, then turned to his sister, "Yasu, listen to me very carefully, the Goblimon village should be around here somewhere, we gave them equipment to contact us if they needed to. Find the village, then call Dad to get you, and the others back to Earth, understand?"_

"_B-but…"_

"_Do you understand?"_

_She nodded quickly, "Yeah, but what about you?"_

_Shiro_ _looked to Weregarurumon, who nodded. "We'll buy you as much time as we can."_

"_What?!" she screamed._

"_They want Asami, and while we don't know for what, it can't be good. Protecting her is our top priority right now."_

_Asami_ _blinked, "W…wait, you can't get yourselves killed just because of me!"_

_Gabe flashed her a smile, "Hey, don't worry, we'll be fine, and we'll see you back on Earth."_

"_Don't lie to me!" she screamed._

_Demon suddenly began to scream. _

_Shiro_ _turned to his sister again, "Yasu, go, now!"_

_She was shaking, "B…but…."_

"_Now!" he screamed. "Ready Weregarurumon?"_

"_Yes, I'm right behind you!" he shouted, running after his partner as he charged forward._

"_No, Oniichan!" Yasu screamed._

_With his Lance of Darkness firmly in his hand, Shiro and Weregarurumon quickly caught up to Gabe and Mystimon. "Never thought you'd go in for a suicide mission," Gabe commented._

"_There's no other choice," the blond boy replied, "We need to buy time so the others can escape." He gave a faint smile, "Besides, miracles can still happen."_

_Weregarurumon_ _nodded slightly at Mystimon, "It was a honor fighting beside you."_

"_Right back at ya," the warrior nodded._

_Demon began to scream and fired a stream of flames from his palms, "**Flame Inferno**!"_

_Mystimon_ _and Weregarurumon leapt in front of their partners and shielded them with their own bodies. The humans were safe, but the digimon had reverted to their Child forms._

_Gabe stood beside Kotemon, "I think this is gonna be the quickest last stand in history!"_

"_Brace yourselves!" Shiro screamed, "He's coming for another attack!"_

_Demon fired another blast, "**Flame Inferno!"**_

_The DATS quartet braced themselves, frozen in place as the flames overtook them. "I just hope Asami will be safe," Gabe thought, "Mom, Dad…Lizzie…goodbye…."_

_Shiro_ _thoughts began to churn as the flames began to rip across his body. "Dad, Mom, I'm sorry…"_

_-_

Duftmon X glared at his opponent, "They couldn't fight them!"

"Yes, but don't you wish _you_ could have been saved? You always have to save them, you always have to be responsible for them."

-

_Shiro's_ _eyes grew wide with horror. Asami's Leormon and Gabe's Kotemon were both out of the battle; his partner was completely vulnerable! The blond boy stared at Gururumon, he remembered when he first received the Digitama that would become his best friend. He was only eight-years-old, and he was always jealous of his parents because they had digimon partners, but when he received that blue egg, he promised to take care of it, to protect it. As they both grew older, they spent nearly every moment together, Psychemon took on some of Shiro's characteristics, and vice-versa. They became perfect partners, two acting as one. Ignoring his common sense, Shiro leapt in front of his injured partner. "Shiro, no…" Gururumon managed to muttered._

"_Shiro!"_ _Asami shouted._

"_What the fuck are you doing?!" Gabe demanded, "You're gonna get killed!"_

_Shiro_ _stared at the in-coming Neodevimon, gripping his Lance tightly. "No!" his partner shouted, "R…run! Y..you're gonna get hurt!"_

"_No," the blond boy finally replied, "I'm not leaving you, no matter what, I'm staying right by your side, no matter what happens, we do it together!"_

_Shiro_ _narrowed his eyes. Ami was right, he was not one to become angry easily, but now…now anger building inside him. The Lance of Darkness began to glow with an intense black light. The weapon had been charged by Yasu and Noriko, and was now more then ready to fulfill the reason for its creation. Gururumon slowly raised his head, the light was healing his injuries; with his new-found sudden burst of power, he rose back to his feet, eyes narrowing at Neodevimon._

"_**Garurumon evolve to…"**_

"_**Weregarurumon!"**_

_-_

"You always have to save everyone, don't you? Aren't you tired of it?"

Duftmon X jumped back onto his feet and charged. Orion sighed and smashed his fist into Duftmon X's face, then twisted around quickly. The Knight ducked and Orion's foot sailed over his head. Duftmon X swung his saber and hacked into Orion's leg, unfortunately, it was a cybernetic leg. Orion raised his hand and formed a stream of blood into a whip that he wrapped around Duftmon X's neck. He jerked his arm back and the Knight was forced to his feet. Duftmon X swung his sword through the blood whip then jerked it aside once again, cutting across Orion's chest. The Hunter grabbed his arm then threw Duftmon X into the ground. The Knight grabbed Orion's ankle and yanked as hard as he could, and the Hunter fell to the ground. Duftmon X jumped back to his feet and swung down his sword, but the Hunter kicked his foot into Duftmon X's chest.

Orion climbed back to his feet, staring at Duftmon X. "You're still fighting me, what for? Because you're supposed to? Once again, because they're forcing you to, once again, you need to save them. Aren't you tired of having to always save everyone? Look at yourself, wouldn't it just be better for you to turn your back on that?

"What?" Duftmon X snapped.

"Just walk away now, why do you always have to save everyone? Better yet, why not join the Hunters? Join with us, and you'll never have to follow the orders of DATS again."

Duftmon X stared at the ground, panting heavily. "Y….you're right, I have to be responsible for them, I have to save them."

"That's right," Orion nodded, "Just walk away now or join us. The choice is yours, but either way, you'll be free from your obligations and responsibilities. Just walk away…."

Duftmon X kept staring at the ground. "_M…maybe he's right….maybe I should just…._" An image of Yamato, Noriko, Yasu followed by the others DATS agents suddenly filled his mind. He gasped loudly then jumped back to his feet, swinging his saber into Orion's thigh as he did.

"You!" he shouted, "You…you almost made me…."

The Hunter shrugged, "Well, I couldn't make you.._almost_ do anything you didn't want to do yourself." Duftmon X glared at him, and the Hunter continued, "I'm a Hunter, I know your strengths and weaknesses, remember? And apparently, that's your weakness…"

The Knight charged his opponent, and the Hunter formed another blood sword, blocking Duftmon X's sword strikes. They continued in a duel, each one blocking the other's jabs until Orion created streams of blood from his many open wounds that cracked across Duftmon X's face. The Knight was already heavily injured, and the pain forced him to jump back.

He stared at his opponent, breathing heavily. Orion had cuts and lacerations all over his body from Duftmon X's previous Eine Billion attack. "…_and he can use all of that as a weapon. If I keep cutting him…."_ He gasped,"…_If I keep cutting him…."_

Orion's streams of blood were flowing upwards from his lacerations. He seemed to have trouble standing, as his body kept drifting from side to side. He was also breathing heavily, "W....well, are you ready to…finish this….?"

Duftmon X stood on his feet, "Yes, I am." He bolted forward, swinging his saber, "Eine Billion!" His glowing saber began quick and rapid slashes across Orion's entire body, ripping away large sections of skin and flesh. Orion used his powers to sending out waves of blood from those wounds and pounded into the Knight across his injured body. This explosion of blood sent the Knight tumbling backwards until he came to a stop lying on his back. He jumped to his feet, but was in so much pain that he could only make it to his knees. Orion was laughing at him, pools of blood around his feet.

Duftmon X panted, "I don't know why you're laughing, look at your body."

The Hunter glanced at his arms, legs and chest, large lacerations were oozing blood all over. "Yes, so? Don't forget, you keep giving me the tools I need for my powers!"

"That's right, but you're so busy attacking me with that blood, that you used all of it!"

Orion gasped as he suddenly felt an excruciating pain in his head. He began to tilter, before falling to his side, lifeless. Duftmon X smirked, "And that means I win."

The Knight was silent and unmoving for a moment, waiting for Orion to jump back to his feet, but after a few moments, Duftmon X realized that the Hunter was dead. The Knight attempted to climb back to his feet, but his full injuries came racing to his body, and he fell to the ground, lying motionless.

"_Dad…I know you'll defeat Lord Sentry, Mom…I'll miss you…Yasu…I'm gonna miss you the most. I just wish I could be there for your…first….…."_

His body exploded in light, returning to Shiro and Psychemon, both remaining perfectly still.

---

Alphamon used his sword to block a jab from Dexmon's massive fist. The Royal Knight twisted his weapon around in his hand and swung at his opponent's head. The Undead Digimon whipped around his elongated arms and smacked the Knight's head. Alphamon swung his sword again, this time cutting a chunk out of Dexmon's arm. The Undead Digimon smashed his head into the Knight's face. Alphamon dropped his weapon and grabbed hold of both sides of Dexmon's head and smashed his knee into his nose. The Undead digimon swung his arms quickly, knocking Alphamon into the ground. Dexmon jumped back, panting.

"Well," the Undead digimon said, "I thought you didn't want to fight me."

Alphamon rose to his feet, staring at his opponent, "I don't." He took a deep breath to control his panting, "We don't have to do this! Come on, we're brothers-twin brothers! We shouldn't be fighting!"

"Then don't fight, it'll make my job easier!" He swung his arm from below, his fist heading for Alphamon's chin. The Knight jumped back and pointed his fingers at Dexmon's face.

"Digitize of Soul!" Beams of energy blasted from his fingertips, striking Dexmon directly in the face. The Undead digimon swung his two arms around, crushing the Knight's head within his palms. While the Knight stumbled back, Dexmon grabbed his torso and twirled him around above his head before throwing him into the ground, head-first.

Alphamon rolled along the ground and jumped back to his feet. "Stop it!" he shouted, "I don't want to fight you! We're brothers, stop fighting me!"

"And what do you expect us to do?" Dexmon asked, "Talk about our problems? Kiss and make up? No thanks! Process F!" He exhaled a blast of green smog from his mouth that burned Alphamon's arm as it touched. The Knight slashed across one of Dexmon's leg with his blade, then pivoted on his left leg, hitting Dexmon with his right heel.

"I don't want to fight you!" Alphamon shouted, "You're my brother, damn it!"

-

_When the Demon Master saw the form of Kasumi and Koromon lying on the ground, with Gabe and Shiro lying inside the cavern, he only chuckled, "So, it seems that my two best Demons…my two remaining Demons…were defeated, eh?" He sighed, "Well, I guess it doesn't matter, right? After all, we're here to finish that job…"_

_Lizzie stared at the Demon Master, then over to Masa, "He…he does look…."_

"_Hmm?"_ _Masanori questioned._

_Masa_ _slowly raised his arm to his helmet, his hand was shaking as he loosened it and let it drop to the ground. The others gasped when they saw his face; they looked to him, then to Masanori, then back to Masa again. They were silent as the ex-Hunter stepped forward._

_Masanori chuckled, "Oh, it's you, I didn't think you'd be here."_

"_Who are you?" Masa demanded, "Why do you look like me?"_

"_I do? Maybe you look like me." He chuckled, "Well, I guess it's neither…or both, depending on how you look at it."_

"_What?"_

"_You and I, we are merely two sides of the same coin, we are opposites, yet, we aren't. Confusing, isn't it…brother…"_

_Masa_ _suddenly tensed, grabbing his head. Images shot through his mind, strange images, and feelings, surreal and unworldly. There were two…two that were somewhere, together, they shared more then any other could share, then they were separated…._

"_Twins!"_ _Masa gasped, "We're…twins?"_

"_Yes…we share the same father….and mother…."_

"_Who?_ _Who's my father?"_

"_You mean you haven't guessed yet? Your father…is Lord Sentry."_

_He felt the color drain from his face, while his spine turned to ice. "No…no…!"_

"_Masa," Dorumon said, turning to him, "Lord Sentry's your father…?"_

_Masa_ _looked to the ground, fists clenched tightly, "Mom….Mom, you knew all along!"_

-

Alphamon clenched his fist before throwing it open, "Do you have any idea how….how happy I was when I found out I had a brother? I grew up practically alone except for my mom…" He clenched his fists again, "What about our Mother? Don't you want to meet her?"

"I've already seen her," Dexmon snarled, "And as far as I'm concerned, my Father is the only parent I need! Process F!" He exhaled another blast of green smoke. Alphamon swung his sword through the smog to disperse it, and he was about to launch an attack, but Dexmon attacked first, smacking into his with the back of his elongated arm. The Knight twisted pivoted on his left leg and kicked Dexmon's torso with his right. He flipped, landing on his hands, then pushing back, smacking the Undead digimon with both of his feet before jumping back to a safe distance.

"Ultimate War Blade King!" he screamed, slashing the air with his sword rapidly, sending out crescent blades of air that slashed across Dexmon's body. The Undead digimon fired a explosion of intense energy from his palm, "Process O!" The blast of energy struck Alphamon's wrist and his sword was flung from his hand where it clanged into the ground. The Knight did not stop, but began to swing his fists. His right fist crashed across the right side of Dexmon's face, then his left fist crashed across the left side of the Undead digimon's face. As he brutally smashed his opponent again and again, he shouted out, "You're my fucking twin brother! Why are we fighting?" He began to punch Dexmon as he spoke every word, "We…shouldn't…be…doing…this! Stop…right…now!"

He gave a final punch and Dexmon tumbled back. He climbed to his feet and panted heavily, spitting out green blood from his mouth. "S…stop? Why? S…so we can be a f…a family? Don't insult my intelligence! You're noting but a loner! You don't want a family, don't fool yourself!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" he shouted, "I was an only child, I was so lonely growing up!"

"And yet you keep pushing people away, don't you?" Dexmon chuckled, "You work alone, you _like_ being alone! Face it, you've gotten so used to it just being you and your mother that you don't want anyone else getting near you or her! That's why you didn't want DATS to help you rescue her from the Hunters, right?"

He shook his head, "N…no, that's not…."

-

_Taichi_ _nodded, "Okay, so we'd better get this as soon as possible."_

_Masa_ _began to walk towards the door. "Where are you going?" Miayag asked._

_The teenage boy mentioned to the others, "I'm not part of their group, I'm not going to wait for their approval to do what I need to do. I'll stop my brother and my father myself."_

"_Really?"_ _Gabe snapped, "From what I hear, you needed Mr. Yagami and Mr. Ishida's help to rescue your mother, now that she's here with the 'group-you-don't-need-to-wait-for-their-approval,' you're suddenly Mr. Attitude! Know what I think, you're a coward!"_

_He stopped at the door and slowly turned to face the other boy, "Coward?" He walked towards Gabe at a face pace, his face inches from Gabe's, "Why don't you say that now?"_

"_I'm not afraid of you," Gabe replied, staying calm, "You're a coward because you're too scared to admit that you're not the tough shit you think you are. You were probably the star of the football team, right? Straight A student? Girls wanted to be with you, guys wanted to be you. You're probably so used to being the 'star of the show," you can't stand it…stand it! when you need someone's help, huh?"_

_Masa_ _grabbed his shirt with his left hand and pulled back his right fist. The others ran to surround them, but Gabe shouted quickly, "I know what that's like! I'm the same as you!"_

_Masa's_ _fist held in mid-air and he stared at Gabe. The other boy continued, "I was an arrogant piece of shit back home, go ahead, ask my parents or my sister, they'll tell you. I used to think I was the greatest in the world, hell, I was even the field leader of a group of DATS agents in America. But one day, we had a mission, it was going to be the first one where I lead the group completely by myself, without my parents there, and you know what happened? I was so focused on impressing a girl, that I let my arrogance get the better of me, and a team member betrayed us, killed the whole team. I was so cocky, I thought, I'm here, I can handle anything, well, I couldn't. You can't be so powerful that you don't need help! You know what? Better yet, talk to Kasumi, I'm sure she'll tell you the same thing, she's learned that lesson too, but she's lucky, she didn't have to lose people she cared about before she got it. You need to learn it the way she did, not the way I did."_

_Masa_ _released his grip on Gabe's shirt. He turned and walked away, but stopped when he reached the door. He did not turn around, but did speak, "Come and get me when the team is ready to leave." He glanced over his shoulder at Gabe, "And just so you know, it's not arrogance, it's extreme loneliness."_

-

Dexmon shot forward and used his claws to slash a chunk of armor from Alphamon's chest. The Knight swung his fist around, pointing his finger tips at the Undead digimon's chin, "Digitize of Soul!" A blast of energy from each finger tip threw Dexmon's head back, but the Undead digimon continued to attack. He swung his arm near the ground, clipping Alphamon's leg and twisting him around through the air. He grabbed the spinning Knight by the leg and began to smash him repeatedly into the ground. After having his head hit the ground again and again, Alphamon was starting to lose consciousness, but out of the corner of his eye, he spotted an object glinting in the light-it was his sword! Dexmon smashed him into the ground again, but Alphamon grabbed his weapon and quickly twisted around, using his sword to slice off Dexmon's hand. The Undead digimon roared in pain as Alphamon scrambled to safety.

Dexmon clutched his missing appendage as he glared at the Knight. "S…so, this is what you do to your brother, huh?"

Alphamon was panting, staring at his sword. "I…I was j…just…."

"You don't deserve a brother!" he screamed.

The Knight stared at the ground, "I…m…maybe he's right…I never really wanted anyone to really get close, but…."

-

_As Dorughoramon fell to the ground, he had only enough strength to slightly lift his head to stare at his executioner. Dagomon's last tentacle was already flying towards its target, Dorughoramon's head. The dragon only smiled slightly as he closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable. "Mom, Asami, I'm sorry…"_

_On the sidelines, the girls and their partners were frozen in place. While Dagomon's Thousand Whips had happened in almost the blink of an eye, they had seen enough to know that the battle was over, they had lost. Yet, as Asami watched the last tentacle fly for its target, she felt a feeling rise up inside her, a mixture of sadness, desperation and rage, "Masa-Oniichan!" she screamed. Her body suddenly exploded with silver light, so intense that it filled the room._

_Dorughoramon's_ _eyes shot back open. Dagomon's tentacle, which was heading straight and true from the dragon's head, suddenly jerked away from its path, firing over the dragon's head with only inches to spare. The squid glared at Asami, "Juro's power! No! I will not be sealed again!"_

_The other girls were staring at their glowing comrade, "Asami…" Leormon said in awe._

_She held out her hands, "Quick, give me your power, Masa needs it!"_

_They obeyed without question, Yasu and Eliane gripping her left hand, and Bolades and Ines gripping her right. She stared at Dorughoramon, "We are your friends, do not forget that."_

"_Big brother…" Dorughoramon thought to himself, "Big brother…"_

-

"Asami!" Alphamon screamed, "Asami!"

"What are you shouting about now?" Dexmon snapped, "Calling out that fucking princesses name? I'm sure Araki's killed her by now."

"No," the Knight declared, "She's stronger then you realize, and I know, because she's shown it to me, she _saved_ me!" He sighed and said in a quiet tone, "…just like a little sister would…"

"What?" Dexmon snapped.

Alphamon gripped his sword, "I wish you would leave our father…but I guess you never will…."

"Of course not!" Dexmon snapped, "I'm his son, _you_ were nothing but a tool for generating enough power to lead us to Yddrisil, which means you're disposable!" He smirked, "And it's time to take out the trash!"

Both combatants stared at one another for a moment, then both charged forward. Alphamon fired his Digitize of Soul from his finger tips, but this was countered by Dexmon unleashing his Process O. Both energy attacks exploded upon impact. Both Alphamon and Dexmon jumped through the light and smoke. Dexmon expunged a blast of green fog, "Process F!"

Ultimate War Blade King!" Alphamon screamed. He quickly and rapidly swung his sword through the air, dispersing the fog. Dexmon swung his arms in front of his face to protect it front the lacerating blades of air. When he removed them, he saw Alphamon in front of him, his sword swinging through the air. Dexmon swung his arm around, reading his Process O…

….but it was too late. Alphamon's blade rammed through Dexmon's chest and out his back. Both combatants were motionless for a moment, then Alphamon pulled his weapon out of the Undead digimon's chest, and Dexmon fell onto his side, motionless.

Alphamon panted heavily. "You left me no choice…brother…."

Dexmon's body exploded in light, reverting to Masanori and Dexdorumon. Alphamon exploded in light as well, returning to Masahiko and Dorumon. The teenage boy stared at his twin brother, lying motionless on the ground. Tears were brought to his eyes, but he shrugged them off.

His body suddenly felt on fire, and he dropped to his knees. "…Dorumon?"

His partner trotted to his side, then fell to the ground. Masa soon followed, falling flat on his face. "_Mom…Asami….I'm sorry that I won't be….."_

His eyes closed and his body was still……

-

-

-

-

He gasped loudly and his eyes shot open. "No….no! We can't die….not yet….Lord Ishida's going to need help!"

He struggled to his feet. "Dorumon….Dorumon, come on."

The Child digimon jumped to his feet, "I'm fine…I'm…I'm okay…" He stumbled for a moment, but regained his balance. Both human and digimon pushed past the pain and stumbled down the path.

-

Flidais let loose a shrill laugh as she leap and darted around Dukemon's jabs with his lance. The female Hunter pivoted gracefully on her limbs, dancing around the Knight with ease. "Damn it!" Dukemon snapped, "Stand still!"

"Why do that?" she chuckled, "Ye still won't be able ta touch me!" Dukemon trusted his lance at her, but once again she leapt into the air and landed gracefully on the tip of the weapon. She jumped again, heading right for his head. She twisted quickly, crashing her foot against the side of the head. He responded by whacking her into the ground with his lance. She landed on her hands, pushed herself into a back-flip then landed perfectly on her feet. She had her back to Dukemon, so did not see when he rushed her, slashing down with his weapon. She dropped to her feet, then twisted her entire body around, using her legs to knock the lance aside, then jump into the air, her fist heading for Dukemon's face. The Knight blocked with his shield, then pushed her back with a quick thrust. She twisted through the air and landed gracefully on the ground.

"You do that pretty well," he said, "Were you a gymnast or dancer?"

She chuckled, "Both, actually, all I wanted ta be was a stage performer, but that dinnae happen."

"Why not?" he asked, "Why did you join the Hunters?"

She shrugged, "Well, if ye must know, I was hit by a car a few years ago, I couldnae even walk. But Lord Sentry gave me the chance again…"

"And you just had to sell your soul!" he snapped.

"Well, it's not like I wouldnae have done anythin' ta get where I wanta anyway," she smirked wickedly, "Besides which, this is a lot more fun!"

Dukemon growled, "You gave up your entire life just so you could…could kill and destroy?"

"Well, yeah, who doesn't like ta destroy? Gives ye such a rush, but ye know all about that."

"What are you talking about?"

She smirked wickedly, "Ye almost destroyed yuir relationship with hikari, dinnae ye?"

"What?"

"Ye didnae tell her about your relationship with Hypnos."

He felt a feeling in the pit of his stomach.

-

_He ran to the door and flung it open. He was truly surprised when he saw his girlfriend standing on the other side. She was panting, and her cheeks were red. "H…Hikari!" he gasped, standing aside to let her enter, but she stood in place. He was taken back slightly, but he continued, "Did…did you run over here? What's wrong?"_

_She stared at him. "Are you in charge of Hypnos?"_

_He blinked. "W…what are you talking about?"_

"_My c…" She hesitated for a moment, "Miayag told me you were in command."_

"_Miayag?" he gasped._

_Her eyes narrowed. "How do you know that name?"_

"_How do you?" he asked, "She is a criminal!"_

"_She's my cousin!" she shouted, "You are in charge of Hypnos, aren't you?"_

_He was silent. She had caught him, she had tricked him, and he had walked right into it. He took a deep breath. "Yes, I am."_

"_You've lied to me all this time!" she shouted, "How…how could you?"_

"_It's….it was classified…"_

"_I told you all about the Digital World! And you used all that information against me and my friends!"_

"_No, that's not true!"_

"_You stole my brother's remains for some….some fucking experiment!"_

_Yamaki dropped the television remote, which he had still been holding. He had never heard Hikari ever swear before, but to use quite possibly the worse single swear word, told him that she was very upset, and that simple words were not going to make this better. Yet, he was going to try._

"_Hikari, I'm sorry…"_

_He went to embrace her, but she twisted away. "And what about me?" she asked. He could tell that she was beginning to cry, "What about our relationship? Were you lying about that?"_

"_No!" he said, "Hikari, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me!"_

_She twisted back around, tears streaming down her cheek. "How can I believe you? How can I trust you?"_

_She sniffled. "I can't do this…I won't do this! I'm not going to give into my feelings and forgive you, I'm not going to fold this time! Every other time that someone hurt me, no matter what, I always forgave them, except for Myotismon. What he did to Tailmon, what he did to Wizardmon, what he did to my family and friends, all because of me!"_

_She stared directly into his eyes, "This is the same. I endangered, I exposed, my family and friends, all of my secrets, all of their secrets, to you because I thought I could trust you, but you used all of that for some secret government agency! I won't forgive, not this time!"_

_He reached for her, but she began to run. "Hikari…"_

"_Don't ever come near me again!" she shouted, running towards the elevator, but then stopped. She turned back around and ran back to him. She pointed her finger at him. "And you listen to me, if you come after any of my friends because of this…" She stared at him directly in the eyes, "I…will…kill…you…" She twisted back and ran, tears pouring from her eyes like a torrent._

_She dove into the elevator and collapsed to the floor, sobbing loudly._

-

"That was fifteen years ago!" he shouted.

Flidais laughed her shrill laugh again, "Have I touched a nerve?"

The Knight's shield exploded with a beam of energy, "Final Elysion!" Flidais smirked, watching as the blast came closer. She dropped to the ground, the energy beam firing harmlessly over her. She propelled back into the air and her tongue came to life, erupting from her mouth like a living whip. It wrapped tightly around Dukemon's lance. She pulled on her tongue and the weapon flung from Dukemon's arm. The Knight jumped after his weapon, and Flidais went on the offensive, rapidly slamming her feet into his chest, cracking the chest plate on his armor. With his hand free, he was able to grab Flidais by the leg and throw her into the ground. She jumped back into the air, but Dukemon finally got a good hit, punching her right in the stomach when she twisted around. She landed on the ground, clutching her abdomen.

"Hi…hittin a lady….?"

Dukemon snorted, "Yeah, well, you're no lady."

"That really hurt," she pouted, "I wonder if it hurt this much for Hikari?"

Dukemon winced again. Flidais smirked, "And hey…look what I got…" She affixed it to her hand, then charged at her opponent, swinging the weapon wildly. Dukemon was forced onto the defensive, blocking each slash and thrust with his shield. He blocked a slash, then swung his fist into Flidais's head. She used her lasso tongue to grab hold of his leg and pull quickly. The Knight stumbled back but as he did, he swung his leg through the air, only striking her by sheer luck. Both combatants took a small rest as they recovered from their recent wounds.

"Not bad," Flidais smirked, "How's Hikari gonna feel when ye tell her that ye were danicin' with another woman?"

"Shut up!" Dukemon snapped, "So you know about me, is that what you're trying to say? Well, if you know me that well, then you know that me and Hikari made up…damn it, we've been married for fifteen years! So talk all you want, that's not gonna work!"

The Hunter chuckled as she gripped the lance, "Well, looks like ye were able ta overcome yuir inner demons a long time ago, eh?"

"Shut up and fight!" he snapped.

Flidais stretched to the side on her leg, "Works for me, I never was one for taunting anyway!" She ran forward and began to slash with her stolen lance. Dukemon blocked with his shield again, then pivoted quickly, kicking her in the face. Her tongue leapt out of her mouth and wrapped around his neck. She chuckled and began to tighten her grip and Dukemon could feel the bones and muscles in his neck begin to bend.

He slashed his shield at her tongue, cutting it clean in twain. Instantly, he was able to breathe again. He tore the tongue from his neck and stared at his opponent. She was coughing loudly, spewing a black liquid from her lacerated appendage. She growled at Dukemon and charged him again. She used what was left of her tongue to wrap around the lance and, staying a safe distance away as her tongue slashed through the air. Dukemon could only use his shield to block the weapon. However, he could not keep up, and one of her slashes cut deeply into his arm. He tried not to scream out in pain.

Flidais laughed, "Looks like ye ain't so tough, huh?"

Dukemon responded by swinging his fist into her side. She pivoted and landed on his arm, jumping again, aiming for his head, but he had seen this trick before and ducked. He grabbed her leg and slammed her into the ground. However, the lance was still attached to her tongue, and it maneuvered behind Dukemon before smashing into his back. He yelled aloud, looking over his shoulder at the weapon, which was sticking out of his lower back. Flidais jumped back to her feet, and used her tongue to pull the weapon from his back, then twisted around his head. She grabbed the lance, then shoved it deep into his front shoulder. He yelled out again, glaring at her. She was still holding the weapon and laughing wickedly. "Looks like I won, huh?"

Dukemon smirked. He twisted his shield around, pointing it directly at her abdomen, "Final Elysion!"

She was about to scream, but the Knight's shield exploded with a beam of pure energy, incinerating her torso. The remains of Flidais fell to the ground, unmoving. Dukemon panted heavily, blood gushing from his wounds. He took a few steps forward before he felt his legs give out and he fell to the ground.

"H…hikari…. A….Assssami….."

His body exploded in light, reverting back to Yamaki and V-mon. Both human and digimon shared the same injuries as Dukemon.

----

Alarms began to blare. "Oh what's the problem now?" Akira gasped. He threw off the sheets and was about to jumped out of bed, but Yasu pushed him back.

"You're not going anywhere," the blond girl said, "Lay back down."

"I'll go see what's going on," Michael volunteered, running out the door. He made his way to the command center and jumped inside. The rest of the Agents were assembled inside. "What's going on?"

"Something's coming right at us," Sora answered.

"What?"

"We're getting visual now," Reika answered.

All eyes focused on the main monitor, which was displaying an image of the outside of the front of the building. Two figures descended from the sky, hovering in front of the building. "The Ancients!" Miayag exclaimed.

"Oh no," Noriko gasped.

The Priestess fled from the room, followed by the others. They ran through the halls and up the stairs, arriving on the roof. The two Ancients smiled when they saw the group standing on the top of the building. "Ah, good," Ancient Greymon said, "We are here, where is our opponent?"

The DATS Agents were silent as the two Ancients landed atop the building roof. "Where are they?" Ancient Garurumon snapped.

Again, no one spoke. The two Ancients scanned the crowd until their eyes focused on Miayag. "Ah you were the one that made the promise."

The Priestess flinched. "Y..yes…"

"Where are our opponents?" he asked again, "We have paused our destruction of this world, as per the agreement, now, you must fulfill your part of our bargain."

She hesitated, "Um…."

"Where are they?" the Ancient asked again, stomping his foot against the roof. The entire building shook.

"They're not here!" Miayag exclaimed.

"Where are they?" Ancient Garurumon demanded.

"They…."

"They had something important to do!" Noriko interrupted, "They'll be back as soon as they can."

"We had an agreement," Ancient Greymon said again, glancing at Noriko, then at Miayag.

"I know that," Miayag bowed in apology, "But…it was very important, else they would have been here to…"

"Where are they?" Ancient Garurumon asked.

The Agents all hesitated. Ancient Greymon sighed in annoyance. He nodded slightly at his partner. Ancient Garurumon leapt back into the sky, hovering above the building. He raised his sword above his head, and it began to crackle with intense cold, "Absolute…"

"They're in the Digital World!" Sora shouted, "Please, they'll be back to fight you as soon as they can, we just need a little more time…"

Ancient Garurumon landed beside his partner, "What are they doing in the Digital World? Are they trying to hide from us?"

"No," Ancient Greymon answered before the DATS Agents could, "They had something far more important to do, and judging by the expression on their faces, and their unwillingness to tell us, my only conclusion is that they are not here because they believe they have found a way to destroy us before we could battle."

"No!" Sora shouted, shaking her head, "T..that's not true!"

"I believe it is!" Ancient Greymon shouted back, "They are in Yddrisil, are they not?"

They began to protest, but the two Ancients were no longer interested. "I sense a gate to the Digital World below," Ancient Garurumon said, "At a sharp angle, seventy-five degrees I think."

Ancient Greymon took a deep breath, then breathed out a blast of flame and force that ripped through the roof, cutting a perfect large circle at a perfect seventy-five degree angle into the depths of the DATS building.

"Stop!" Miayag cried, "Stop this at once!"

They ignored her and walked towards the hole. Piyomon, Noriko and Miayag's Plotmons, and Michael's Betamon rushed towards them, began to evolve. Ancient Greymon flapped his flame-covered wings, creating a gust of wind that threw the Child digimon off of the side of the roof. The humans rushed to the edge and looked over, expecting to see the splattered remains of their partners lying on the ground, but they had all landed on the next ledge down. With no hope of stopping them, the humans watched helplessly as the two Ancients descended through the holes in the preceding floors until they arrived at the basement level, where the Digital Gate was still online. "Through here?" Ancient Greymon asked.

Ancient Garurumon nodded, "Yes, our opponents await!"

Ancient Greymon stepped through first, but Ancient Garurumon paused before the gate. He gripped his swords in his hand and swung them across each other quickly, creating a gust of wind that not only pushed him through the gate, but also impacted against the far wall, destroying a section of computer servers that powered the Gate. With these connections destroyed, the Gate was instantly silenced. The two Ancients were now inside of Yddrisil, searching for their opponents, for the battle they had been promised.

----

Taichi and Yamato continued to run up the path, twisting and rounding around the tree before the path began to straighten, and they stepped onto the top of the great tree. It was a large, flat platform, with small tree branches and leaves littering the area. In the center of this platform was Lord Sentry, draped in a silver robe, his arms pointing up at a large, crackling ball of swirling energy. His back was facing away from them. He was chanting in a low grumble while the ball of energy grew larger.

"What's he doing?" Yamato asked.

He continued to chant the energy crackling the air. "Maybe he's finally lost his mind," Agumon X commented.

Sentry's arms dropped to his sides and he glanced over his shoulder at them," Those idiots can't do anything right! I told them I didn't want to be disturbed!"

He turned fully, staring at them, "But, I suppose once I get rid of the two of you, I'll be able to finish"

Gabumon X mentioned to the ball of energy, "What are you doing?"

"This?" he asked, pointing at it, "This is Yddrisil's main interface, once I am able to bypass it, I will be able to open a door to the Digital Underworld, and bring back GranDracmon and the Demon Lords. That interface hasn't been used in nearly fifty years, so you can understand why I have to proceed…cautiously."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Taichi growled, eyes narrowing, "It's time to end this, right now!"

Sentry cracked his neck, "I'm ready." He flexed his muscles and grew like the other Hunters, growing larger and larger until he towered over his opponents.

Taichi summoned the Katana of Fire, while Yamato called for the Shotguns of Light. They nodded at one another, then nodded at their partners. "All right!" Taichi called, "Let's go!"

"Agumon X…."

"Gabumon X…."

"….Warp-Jogress evolve to….Omegamon X!"

Taichi and Yamato merged with their partners as they evolved together to form the mighty Omegamon X. The Royal Knight and the Hunter stood still, simply staring at one another before both screamed out and charged forward.

To be continued….


	41. Knightfall: Chapter 3

_My name is Masahiko Seisou, but you can call me Masa. I was part of the group that invaded Yddrisil to stop my father, Victor von Schmidt, known to us as the leader of the Hunters, Lord Sentry. Unfortunately, our forces are falling left and right: Lino, my former fellow Hunter and now fellow Knight, was the first to fall fighting Rudra, Kasumi was next while fighting Artemis, followed by Gabe fighting Hoakah, Kenji fighting Nanook, Shiro fighting Orion, and Mr. Yamaki fighting Flidais. The good news is that they all fell while killing their opponents, so we don't have any more Hunters to worry about. Me and Asami survived though, we were able to kill our opponents: Masanori and Araki, and now we're running as fast as we can to get to help Mr. Yagami and Mr. Ishida because right now they're fighting Lord Sentry, the one responsible for everything that's happened so far, and it's even worse, because if they don't stop him, he's going to revive GranDracmon and the Demon Lords!_

-----

_Knightfall_

_Chapter 3_

_-----------_

Taichi and Yamato continued to run up the path, twisting and rounding around the tree before the path began to straighten, and they stepped onto the top of the great tree. It was a large, flat platform, with small tree branches and leaves littering the area. In the center of this platform was Lord Sentry, draped in a silver robe, his arms pointing up at a large, crackling ball of swirling energy. His back was facing away from them. He was chanting in a low grumble while the ball of energy grew larger.

"What's he doing?" Yamato asked.

He continued to chant the energy crackling the air. "Maybe he's finally lost his mind," Agumon X commented.

Sentry's arms dropped to his sides and he glanced over his shoulder at them," Those idiots can't do anything right! I told them I didn't want to be disturbed!"

He turned fully, staring at them, "But, I suppose once I get rid of the two of you, I'll be able to finish"

Gabumon X mentioned to the ball of energy, "What are you doing?"

"This?" he asked, pointing at it, "This is Yddrisil's main interface, once I am able to bypass it, I will be able to open a door to the Digital Underworld, and bring back GranDracmon and the Demon Lords. That interface hasn't been used in nearly fifty years, so you can understand why I have to proceed…cautiously."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Taichi growled, eyes narrowing, "It's time to end this, right now!"

Sentry cracked his neck, "I'm ready." He flexed his muscles and grew like the other Hunters, growing larger and larger until he towered over his opponents.

Taichi summoned the Katana of Fire, while Yamato called for the Shotguns of Light. They nodded at one another, then nodded at their partners. "All right!" Taichi called, "Let's go!"

"Agumon X…."

"Gabumon X…."

"….Warp-Jogress evolve to….Omegamon X!"

Taichi and Yamato merged with their partners as they evolved together to form the mighty Omegamon X. The Royal Knight and the Hunter stood still, simply staring at one another before both screamed out and charged forward. Their fists slammed into one another creating a massive sonic boom that ripped across the landscape. Lord Sentry grabbed Omegamon X's free arm and whipped him around, but Omegamon X grabbed his opponent's leg and pulled harder. Both forces cancelled each other out and both combatants were free to continue their assault. The Knight shot forward, bringing his arm around, but at the last second, pivoted his legs so his foot impacted deep into Sentry's chest. The Hunter smirked and grabbed hold of his leg with both of his hands and swung him around, releasing his grip and sending the Knight smashing into the ground. Within seconds Omegamon X was shooting like a launching rocket, smashing it fist into Sentry's chin. The Hunter twisted around in the air, swinging his leg into the side of the Knight's head. Omegamon X batted him aside. Sentry hovered backwards and fired a bolt of energy from his fist, which the Knight blocked with the forearm of his Metalgarurumon arm.

Omegamon X paused for a moment glaring at the Hunter. He lifted up his Wargreymon arm then swung it to the side, a sword blade emerging. He launched at his opponent, swinging and whipping his sword like a master, unfortunately, Sentry was blocking each and every jab with expert precision. He blocked a jab with his left hand, then swung with his right, punching the Knight in the jaw with his right fist. Omegamon X winced, but whipped his leg around, the tip of his foot japing into Sentry's side. The Hunter winced as well, then brought both of his fists together and slammed them down as hard as he could into the top of the Knight's head, sending him spiraling to the ground. He stopped himself at the last moment and catapulted back into the air. He was cracking his neck. "Damn it, can't you lay off my head, you little fucker?!"

Sentry smirked an arrogant grin, "Why is it that you DATS always start to swear when you're angry about being out-classed?"

"I am _not_ out-classed!" Omegamon X snapped back, "And I'm gonna prove it to you, you fucking little piece of shit!" He shot forward in an explosion of force, swinging his Metalgarurumon arm, intending to smash Sentry's nose, but the Hunter caught his fist with his right arm, then spun around, jabbing his elbow into Omegamon X's nose.

"I told you to stop that!" the Knight snapped, finally getting a good punch in, cracking his Metalgarurumon fist across Sentry's nose, then again, and again, and again. The Hunter seemed to be unfazed as he jabbed his knee into Omegamon X's chest, then grabbed the Knight's head and smashed it into his knee. Omegamon X swung both of his arms around and smashed Sentry's head between both of his hands. Sentry roared in pain and hovered backwards. Omegamon X swung his sword as Sentry's shoulder, but the Hunter blocked at the last moment, then twisted agilely around and kicked Omegamon X in the side. The Knight groaned, then slammed his elbow into Sentry's nose. The Hunter's head was flung backwards. Omegamon X twisted quickly, smashing his foot into Sentry's stomach. The Hunter lurched forward, and the Knight raised both of his hands above his head before hitting his back with all of his force, propelling the Hunter into the ground.

Sentry crawled from the crater, glaring at Omegamon X. The Knight cocked his head to the side and smirked, "I thought I was out-classed…"

Sentry screamed and exploded into the sky. Omegamon X crossed his arms to shield his face from Sentry's punch, but he could not move his arms before the Hunter's fist connected into his chin. Sentry did not let up as he repeatedly threw punches which the Knight attempted to avoid, but too many hit their mark. Omegamon X's armor was dented, but remained intact. Sentry suddenly shot up into the air, but when the Knight went to look, he was only met by the Hunter's foot crashing into his face with such force that he was sent twisting through the air and once again crashing into the ground.

"As I told you," Sentry chuckled, "You are out-classed. I have the training of Juro!"

"What?" the Knight spat, "What are you talking about?"

"Well, you see, long before I joined the Chosen Council…"

-

_16-year-old Victor von Schmidt crossed his arms with an arrogant smirk on his face. His Machgoagamon had just defeated a Drimogemon, beating him to the point of deletion. Drimogemon's partner, a boy named Wilhelm, could barely believe his eyes. "Drimogemon, Drimogemon!"_

"_Oh stop whining!" Schmidt sighed in disgust, "Act like a man!"_

_Wilhelm knelt at his partner's side, and gently rubbed his back. He glared at Schmidt "You bastard! You knew we didn't have a chance! How can you evolve your partner to Fully Evolved? I thought only the Odaiba Chosen could do that!"_

_Schmidt narrowed his eyes, "I am _not _part of the Odaiba Chosen, and I should kill you now for even associating me with those…those would-be kings and queens who think they have the right to tell the rest of us Chosen what to do!"_

_Wilhlem stared at Schmidt, blinking in surprise. The other teenager sighed and turned. "Come, Machgaogamon."_

"_Yes, Master," his partner replied, marching after him. Once they were back at his house, he and Gaomon stood on his balcony, staring at the horizon. "What is the point of this?" he asked._

"_Sir?" Gaomon asked._

"_We're able to defeat our opponents so easily, but what is the point of it? What is the point of being a Chosen?"_

_A dark chill suddenly swept across them. They twisted around to see an elderly man standing on the balcony with them. He smiled slightly, "To answer your question, Victor, being a Chosen is, in essence, no different than simply being human. You have a partner, and together, you two form a mighty weapon that you can use to fulfill your own desires, your own hope, your own dreams."_

_Schmidt took a step back, "W…who are you?"_

"_You don't know? Well, my name is Hagan von Schmidt."_

"_v..von Schmidt?"_

"_I am your grandfather!"_

"_M…my grandfather is d…"_

"_Dead? Yes, your father would probably say that. You see, your grandmother never told me she was pregnant, and by the time I found out, your father was a few years older than you. Let's just say we never really got along."_

_Schmidt was nearly overcome with questions, but one pushed ahead of the rest, "W…what do you know about Chosen?"_

"_Simple, I am one."_

"_You're a Chosen? B…but there aren't any Chosen older than…"_

"_Yes, there are, the First Generation, of which I am the only survivor. Once upon a time, I was called Juro, because I was the Tenth to balance out the First, I was Chance against his Fate."_

"_What are you talking about?"_

_Juro pointed at Schmidt's chest, "The reason why you can evolve your partner to Fully Evolve is because flowing within you is the Power of Chance, the same power that I control. You don't fully understand it yet, but I can show you."_

"_What?"_

"_I can train you in the use of your partner, your powers, your abilities."_

"_A…and why would you do this?"_

_Juro chuckled, "I've waited a long time for this. Once I discovered that your father did not possess the necessary qualifications-whatever they may be for I don't know-to become a Chosen, I hope that those qualifications would appear later in my descendants. I need you Victor. If I train you, I want you to locate the weapon that the others took from me, I want you to find my Flail of Chance!"_

-

Sentry sighed, "But, than another opportunity came to me…"

-

_Juro_ _was seated in his study, reading the morning paper when Schmidt raced inside. "Grandfather!"_

_He put down the paper and smiled slightly at him. "What is it?"_

_Schmidt grinned, "Grandfather, I have great news, Taichi Yagami has left the Chosen Council."_

"_Yagami?" he asked, "The one who was leading the Council?"_

"_That's right," Schmidt smirked, "And the council is going to vote who will succeed him, if I can win that vote, then, little by little, I can gain more power…"_

_Juro grinned as well and nodded, "Yes, I understand, and once you find my weapon, then I can join you, and we can finish the work I began nearly thirty years ago."_

-

Omegamon X narrowed his eyes. "So you're telling me that the entire time you were on the Chosen Council, you were just following Juro's orders, huh?" As he spoke, he held out both of his arms.

"My grandfather's orders, yes," he nodded, "But we didn't have any idea that the Demon Lords were, in fact, creations of GranDracmon, because they, themselves, didn't know that."

The Knight nodded slightly, "Yeah, I remember that." He suddenly whipped his Metalgarurumon arm around and fired a blast of energy at his opponent. Sentry gasped, and then bent backwards, the energy blast sailed over his head. Omegamon X was in front of him in a flash. He smashed his Wargreymon arm into his head, then swung his other arm around into the other side of his head. He smashed into knee into Sentry's stomach, then raising both of his arms into the air, he brought them crashing into the Hunter's back.

Sentry pushed past the pain and twisted around in the air, kicking Omegamon X in the should before pushing off and grabbing the Knight's ankles. Sentry twisted quickly in the air before releasing his grip; Omegamon X was sent flying through the air with a crack. The Knight stopped his motion and shot backwards, spinning through the air as he did so his foot hit Sentry's head with such force that he was sent spiraling through the air. The Knight grabbed the Hunter's foot and gave a quick yank, pulling Sentry's chin into direct contact with his elbow. The Hunter roared aloud as he broke free of Omegamon X's grip.

"I've certainly pissed you off, haven't I?" Sentry said, cracking his neck back into place.

"Why the fuck do you think!" he snapped. His Wargreymon arm whipped forward and grabbed Sentry by his shirt. He then used his Metalgarurumon arm to punch the Hunter directly in his face. "I hate you because you forced me to give you the list of DATS Agents and your Hunters killed nearly all of them!"

He punched Sentry again, "And because what your Demons did to Asami!"

He punched him once again, "And most of all, because of what you did to Miayag!"

He gave him one last punch before stopping for a moment. Sentry's face was bloating and oozing with blood and what appeared to be oil. He looked dazed and semi-conscious, that is, until he suddenly smirked and whipped his palm around, pointing it directly at Omegamon X's face. Before the Knight could react, Sentry shouted out, "Garuru Cannon!"

An explosion of energy crashed into Omegamon X's face, throwing him backwards through the air. "You son of a bitch!" the Knight screamed.

Sentry chuckled, "You forgot about that ability of mine, didn't you?"

Omegamon X spat out a glob of blood. "No, actually, I was hoping _you_ had forgotten."

"Ha! I wouldn't ever forget that, it's what my cybernetics were created for! Unfortunately, I can only hold the data of eight digimon, and I have six right now."

"Six? What six?"

Sentry chuckled. "Possibly the most powerful digimon ever to walk both Earth and the Digital World! The combined powers of GranDracmon, Juro and MetalPhantomon, Cahiti and Lucemon!" He narrowed his eyes slightly, "Of course, I couldn't let _your_ powers go to waste." He grinned, "Add to that the recently acquired powers of Dagomon, and I have the powers those six, with my cybernetics possessing memory slots for two more data sources."

"Yeah?" Omegamon X asked, "And what then, you become even more of a jack-ass then you are now?"

Sentry sneered, "Why don't you tell me? 3D Laser!" He fired an intense beam of light from his palm that struck the Knight in the chest. Omegamon X leapt into the air and extended his Grey Sword. The Hunter whipped out his hand, extending his own blade from his forearm. The two began a fierce sword fight, their blades clanging and clashing against one another. They each swung at the same time and their blades met in a shower of sparks. They each struggled as hard as they could to overpower the other, but they both brought their other hands around and shouted out at the same time, "Garuru Cannon!" Both beams hit one another and exploded, throwing them both twirling through the air.

Omegamon X halted his motion and darted back into the air. He swung around his sword and cut a slash in Sentry's arm. The Hunter kicked him in the stomach to push him back, then raised his hand above his head. "Here, let's see if you remember this special little trick, GranDracmon's number one hit, Crystal Revolution!"

Omegamon X gasped loudly as he saw the ball of shimmering energy flew towards him, "Oh shit!" He quickly ducked and the ball of energy shot over his head. It smashed into the bark of the large trunk, instantly turning a section into crystal. When the Knight twisted his head back, Sentry was directly in front of him.

"Here's a special one from Dagomon, Thousand Whips!" His fist suddenly came alive, punching the Knight's chest one thousand times before ceasing. Before he could perform another technique, Omegamon smashed his elbow into Sentry's side. He grabbed hold of Sentry's arm with his Wargreymon head, then pointed his Metalgarurumon cannon directly at the Hunter's head.

"Garuru Cannon!" The blast hit Sentry at full force, and with Omegamon X holding tightly to the Hunter's arm, he was completely caught in the blast. Sentry was disoriented, his clothes in tatters. Omegamon X then began a flurry of punches into Sentry's face, cracking across his nose and bashing into the side of his head.

"Yeah, hurts doesn't it?!" he screamed, "Hurts when you just keep hitting the head, huh?!"

He grabbed Sentry's leg and swung him through a branch of the tree jutting into the air. The branch exploded, sending wooden shards into the air. The Knight twisted Sentry upside down, then shot across the base of the branch, his face scrapping across the bottom before releasing his grip, and the Hunter skipped across the base like a stone skipping across water. Omegamon X stood motionless as Sentry crawled to his feet, his face puffy and dripping with blood and cybernetic coolant. He glared at Omegamon X, then threw his arms into the air, screaming loudly, "Grand Cross Freezer!" An explosion of missiles erupted mysteriously from every inch of him body, all of them heading straight for Omegamon X. The Knight used his sword to bat every missile back; the projectiles exploded into the ground, but Sentry leapt into the sky. Omegamon X followed and their battle resumed.

---

As Omegamon X and Lord Sentry battled, their soldiers had been doing the same: each Royal Knight dueled a Hunter, each fighting to the bitter end. The Knights had been successful: the Hunters were dead, gone, never to return. The Knights paid a heavy price, however.

The first to fall was Lino and Patamon, evolved to Cranniumon. Their opponent had been Rudra, a master of insects and locusts. Cranniumon had used his spear to defeat him, but Rudra's locusts had devoured the Knight's armor, leaving him defenseless. Lino and Patamon now lay motionless on their battlefield.

Kasumi and Yuki Agumon, evolved to Alforce V-dramon X, had faced Artemis, a Hunter who could use the darkness to teleport. She had showered the Knight with arrows before using the shadows to move to another area and attack again. The Knight had won, but only after being lacerated multiple times by the Hunter's projectiles.

Gabe and Kotemon, evolved to Dynasmon X, fought Hoakah, one who could call upon the most powerful traits of the animals of the wilderness. Hoakah was in reality Ralph Azala, the young man who betrayed the short-lived American team of DATS Agents. Gabe had carried this grudge for years. This battle was an explosion show of emotions as well as strength. In the end, however, Hoakah fell, but Dynasmon X had fallen as well.

Kenji and Otamamon, evolved to Sleipmon, had their own problem from the past to deal with. Their opponent was Nanook, one who could melt the person's skin off the bone with his necrotizing touch that caused massive, disintegrating boils. He was really a boy named Langelet, who had studied with Kenji in a special summer school in America. Langelet had raped a girl named Kara, the incident caused a massive breakdown for the girl. Kenji had always felt responsible because he could not stop in it time. But, he was able to avenge Kara by destroying Nanook. Unfortunately, his final attack used all the energy he had.

Shiro and Psychemon, evolved to Duftmon X, fought Orion, the man that nearly killed Yamato. Orion had the unique ability to telekinetically control blood once it had left a person's body. He had almost convinced Duftmon X to join with the Hunters, but the Knight remembered who he truly was and defeated the Hunter in a Kamikaze attack.

Mitsuo Yamaki and V-mon had evolved together to Dukemon and fought Flidais, a woman who possessed the attributes of a frog: she could leap far higher than any normal person, and her tongue attacked like an exploding whip. She tried to attack Dukemon's long-buried guilt about how he had deceived and like to Hikari when they first met. Yet, she did not know that Mitsuo and Hikari had put that incident long behind them. Dukemon defeated the frog-Hunter, but like the others, it was his final attack.

Only Masa and Asami, along with their partners, were still standing after their battles. Masa and Dorumon, evolved to Alphamon, had faced their twin brother, Masahiko and Dexdorumon, evolved to Dexmon. Alphamon tried to convince Dexmon to turn away from their father, but Dexmon would not forsake Lord Sentry, and so, Alphamon had no choice but to destroy his brother. Asami and Leormon, evolved to Rhodo Knightmon, had to battle the evil Priestess, Araki. She tried to convince the Knight that she was still the same weakling she had always been, but Rhodo Knightmon remembered her accomplishments and defeated her. These survivors had followed the same path that Taichi and Yamato had taken from their separate areas and had met each other in the center path. "Masa!" Asami exclaimed, "Are you okay?"

He nodded, "Yes, I'm fine, a little sore and tired, but otherwise…"

The girl nodded, then looked past his shoulders, "There's…no one else with you?"

He shook his head slowly, "N…no…"

Asami frowned and Leormon spoke, "We didn't see anyone either. I couldn't even get their scents."

"That might just be because of where we are," Masa suggested, "Yddrisil might be….I dunno…"

The small feline nodded, then turned his head to scan up the long path that was encircling the trunk, leading up to the very top, "But, Omegamon's scent is definitely up there."

Asami held her hands in front of her chest, "Uncle Taichi…"

Masa and Dorumon started to run up the path, "What are you waiting for!" Dorumon called, "Come on!"

The girl and her lion partner nodded and followed them. As they ran as fast as they could, Asami noticed a silver crystal hanging from Masa's neck. "What is that?" She gave a slight gasp, "Is that….?"

-

_Masanori and Araki both reached into their cloaks to remove a diamond-shaped crystal. His was silver, hers was gold. "This device is similar to the Soul Catcher that was used to siphon the Daughters of the First. It is a crude design, so this may hurt…"_

_They placed their crystals together, and a blast of light struck ASami. Her body began to quiver before a strange colored light erupted from her chest. This color was a muddle of gold and silver-Fate and Chance. The beam returned to the two crystals and they began to glow. Asami fell to the ground, but was caught by Yasu and Eliane. Masanori stared at his crystal, glowing brightly. "Success! At long last, success! The path to god will now be opened!"_

_-_

_The Demon Master rose to his feet, staring up at Dorughoramon. His eyes darted from the towering dragon to the shoreline. The Flail of Chance was firmly in the metal dragon's hand, he would not be able to reclaim it. His eyes, instead, focused on the two glowing crystals near the rolling waves, the same crystals Araki had used to attempt to free the Agent of Destruction…._

_Masanori smirked, "I will never accept defeat and become your slave!" He ran quickly, diving into a roll, grabbing the silver colored crystal and jumping back to his feet._

"_The crystal?!"_ _Dorughoramon gasped._

"_That's right!" the Demon Master laughed, holding the crystal, which began to glow with a silver light, "The same power of Chance that was taken from Asami Yamaki. It might not have freed the Agent, but, I think it might have some more use left!" He jabbed it into his stomach, lurching forward._

"_No!" the metal dragon screamed._

_Leormon_ _gulped, "I've got a bad feeling about this…"_

_Masanori's body began to radiate with silver light, pulling Dexdorumon into the glowing globe of energy._

"_**Dexdorumon warp evolve to…"**_

_**The silver light of Chance wrapped around Dexdorumon and Masanori, binding tightly to their bodies, fusing them into one. This figure suddenly erupted in size, growing larger and larger. Two elongated arms burst from his torso, whipping from side to side. Large red wings erupted from his back, and purple armor flowed across his body.**_

"_**Dexmon!"**_

-

Masa nodded. "Yeah."

"B..but, that was _inside_ of Masanori! How did you…" She gasped again, "He's…?"

Masa nodded again, "Yeah, he is."

The girl placed a hand on his shoulder, "Masa, I'm so sorry…"

He wiggled free, "I had to do it."

Asami guessed this meant the conversation was over, so she said no more of it. Instead, she asked, "W…why did you take it, if you don't mind me asking."

He shrugged, "I…I don't know. J..just had a feeling I should."

She nodded and the rest of the journey was made in silence, but as they approached the top of the tree, that silence was shattered by the sounds of an explosive battle. They quickened their pace and arrived at the very top of the tree just in time to see Omegamon X throw Lord Sentry through another branch jutting from the ground. The Hunter broke free of the Knight's grip and rebounded by smashing his elbow into Omegamon X's neck.

"Uncle Taichi!" Asami shouted.

The Knight turned to the ground, "Asami?" he asked before Sentry rammed his foot into his stomach.

The girl gripped her digivice tightly. "Come on Leormon, let's…"

"No," Masa said, shaking his head.

"No?" Asami gasped, "What do you mean?"

He mentioned to the fight, "This is Omegamon's battle."

The girl gasped, "W…what, but we…." She sighed, "Okay." She held her hands in front of her chest, "Uncle Taichi, Mr. Ishida, please be okay."

Above them, the two combatants were still battling with explosive force. Omegamon X pointed his cannon at the Hunter. "Garuru Cannon!"

Sentry darted aside just as the blast of energy shot past him. He then thrust his palm into the air and gathered a large ball of energy. "Gaia Force!"

Omegamon X was forced to move aside as well, which left him open for Sentry's next attack. He shot to the Knight's side and threw his hands open, "Max Power Vice!" The Knight shifted aside, and when Sentry slammed his hands together, it crushed Omegamon X's Metalgarurumon arm. The Knight screamed out, but used his Grey Sword jutting from his Wargreymon arm to slice off Sentry's right arm. Asami screamed and Sentry clutched his missing limb, which was sprouting oil and coolant.

"Fucking son of a piece of shit!" he spat.

Omegamon X mentioned to his Metalgarurumon arm, which was hanging limply at his side. "Yeah _sorry…_"

Sentry chuckled. "You should know, just missing one arm isn't going to stop me." He took a massive breath, then exhaled with an explosion of fire, "Purgatorial Flame!"

With only one arm to throw in front of his face to shield it, the flames began to rip across his head. He had no choice but to twist to the side. Sentry appeared over him and slammed his foot into the top of the Knight's head as hard as he could, and Omegamon X smashed into the ground with an explosion of tree bark.

"Omegamon!" Asami shrieked.

The Knight crawled out of the crater and glared up at his opponent. This time, Sentry smirked. "Just stay down. While I enjoyed this little match, I don't have time for you right now, I have to complete the revival of GranDracmon."

Omegamon X turned to the ball of swirling energy, then back at Sentry. "So that's what that's for, huh?"

Sentry nodded. "Yes, that's right."

The Knight crawled to his feet. "Why are you going to bring GranDracmon back? Don't you know what kind of a…a monster he is!"

Sentry smirked, "As a matter of fact, as I do."

-

_The Digital World was gone, destroyed by the Demon Lords. All that remained was debris floating in the void: piles of rocks, globs of water, various pieces of electrical equipment left over from the Chosen Council's occupation, and, three member of the same Council: Ivan Kragoff, Madelyne Osborn, and floating between them was Victor von Schmidt, the Security General of the Chosen Council-effectively, the leader of the Digital World. _

_But that was before the X-Chosen defeated them and left them for dead. They were miraculously able to survive the destruction of the Digital World, but now lay in deep unconsciousness, waiting for the end…_

"_Victor…"_

_The form of Schmidt remained motionless._

"_Victor…"_

_Again, he did not respond._

"_VICTOR!"_

_He gasped loudly, jerking his head around, trying to locate the source of the voice. There was nothing, only death._

"_Victor!"_

"_Who are you?" he shouted, looking around, "Where are you!"_

"_I am here."_

_A dark light began to shimmer across his face. Schmidt looked to the source and found a glowing circle in the void-a massive circle that contained the figure of a demon. "Who….what are you?"_

_The figure smiled slightly, "I am GranDracmon."_

"_G…granDracmon?"_

"_Yes, that is correct."_

"_Who are you?"_

"_A demon of the highest order! I was…recently freed from my prison and I began a conquest of the Earth, but was stopped and killed by the X-Chosen."_

"_Killed?"_

"_Yes, that is correct. I am dead…and have been, for the past year."_

"_Year?" Schmidt gasped, "B…but I don't recall the X-Chosen fighting anyone like you! The Council's Army would have…"_

"_Victor," GranDracmon said, "You have been floating within this void for a year."_

_Schmidt gasped, his eyes growing wide, "A y…year?"_

_GranDracmon chuckled, "It's amazing, the data in your body acted like a typical computer system, going into a sort of…'hibernation' mode because of your inactivity. And being in that hibernation mode was enough for your organic side to used an extremely minimal amount of energy to survive for this long." He mentioned to Kragoff and Osborn, "And the same goes for them. However, your energy if not unlimited, and it is finally to the point where you straddle the lines of life and death. So, that is how you are able to communicate with me, because I am in the realm of the dead, and you are very near to there, so near that time is essential, if you are to accept my offer, you must do it now."_

"_What offer?" he asked, "What are you talking about?"_

_A different voice answered, "You are going to join our special army, the army of GranDracmon."_

_Schmidt's eyes focused on the figure standing next to GranDracmon, a figure he recognized by the orange cloak he wore. "You!" he shouted, "Cahiti! No! I'm not working with you again, it's your fault I ended up like this!"_

_Cahiti sneered at him, "Don't complain like that! I was just being manipulated too!" He mentioned to GranDracmon, "By him."_

_Before Schmidt could speak again, a third voice joined in, "Accept his offer Victor, it's our only chance now."_

_Schmidt saw a figure standing on the other side of GranDracmon, another one he recognized, "G..grandfather?"_

_Juro nodded, "Yes."_

"_B…but what are you doing….there?"_

"_Because, grandson, I am dead as well. The Digital World was destroyed about a year ago, but the Weapons of the Dragon Warriors were not, and they passed through a Digital Gate and landed on Earth. I got my Flail of Chance back, but, the X-Chosen killed me too." Juro mentioned to GranDracmon, "But, he is the one that gave me the strength and soldiers and power to challenge Yuushi and the other Dragon Warriors. So, you see Victor, we have all been GranDracmon's soldiers. In fact, many of the Chosen's enemies, such as Myostimon and the Dark Masters, found their ultimate source in GranDracmon, so you see Victor, GranDracmon, is your Lord and Master, because I call him Lord."_

"_Yes," Cahiti smirked, "And I do as well. Lord GranDracmon fought and defeated the true ruler of this Digital Underworld, and he is now King, but the rules established by the Gods of the Digital World are still in effect and cannot be removed by us in any means. You have to do this to bring us back."_

"_How? How do I do that?"_

"_Gain control of the Gods' creation, gain control of the master, the host computer of the Digital World, gain control of Yddrisil!"_

_Schmidt turned to Juro, "Grandfather?"_

_Juro nodded, "Yes, you must do this, if you die, then all hope will be lost, because you don't have any children, and my other descendants will not follow GranDracmon."_

_Schmidt hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Fine, I'll do it!"_

_GranDracmon smirked, "Excellent. Do to your closeness to the realm of the dead, I still am able to do this…"_

_The debris of the electronic systems floating within the void came to life, assimilating the bodies of the three members of the Chosen Council. Schmidt's body was being transformed by the circuitry and mechanical systems. He had been changed, transformed, upgraded, evolved, as did the other two. Their bodies became embedded with circuitry and machinery. Osborn and Kragoff instantly returned to consciousness._

_As all three examined their restored forms, GranDracmon chuckled, "Yes, excellent, you have been brought back from death. You will be the seekers, the searchers of Yddrisil, the exterminators of the X-Chosen, never rest, never forget your mission, you are, the Hunters." He looked at the rejuvenated Kragoff, "Orion." He looked at Osborn, "Artemis." He looked at Schmidt, "And you, grandson of Juro, you will be my watchdog, my guardian, you will watch over my resurrection, you will be my Sentry!"_

_­_-

Sentry continued, "Grandfather sent me to the remains of Juro's research, and the rest, as they say, is history."

Omegamon X began to chuckle, "So, let me get this straight, you were just going to die, but because GranDracmon told you to, you made an incredibly complicated plan to bring him back? You join the Chosen Council to get Juro's weapon, you start to exterminate all the Infected Chosen because the Demon Lords wanted to get their God-complex kicks, and now you're bringing back GranDracmon because he told you to. Fuck it, you are nothing but a pawn!"

Sentry narrowed his eyes, "What is that?"

"You heard me," the Knight laughed, "You are just everyone else's lackey! You're just a fucking errand boy!"

Over to the side, Asami gasped, "I…I can't believe he said that…"

"It's true," Masa said, crossing his arms, "He's just doing GranDracmon's and Juro's dirty work."

"Still," she frowned, "He didn't need to say it like that."

Before any more could be said, a loud explosion was heard from above. Sentry had executed a 3D Laser attack that Omegamon X blocked with his sword. The Knight swung his blade around, and Sentry ducked. He threw his knee into Omegamon X's stomach, then twisted quickly, intending to kick off the Knight's head, but he blocked with his forearm. Omegamon X smashed his head into Sentry's head, and the Hunter was flung back.

He flew back, ready to resume his attack, but Omegamon X darted aside, spinning quickly and smashing his heel into Sentry's back. He then whipped his arm around and bashed it across the Hunter's head. Sentry twirled, but before he could attack, Omegamon X executed a three kick combo before throwing Sentry aside. The Hunter darted back, glaring at his opponent.

"I think it's over," Masa said.

"It's over?" Asami gasped, "What do you mean?"

Masa mentioned to the battle, "Sentry's lost the advantage, Omegamon X's just too strong for him."

Sentry was panting heavily before he screamed loudly. "Y…you…no! No, I won't lose like this, I refuse to!"

Omegamon X raised his eyebrow as Sentry began to groan to himself. The Hunter held his remaining arm close to his chest and his body began to glow in a black light. "I…I'm sure you r…remember t…this attack…"

The Knight studied him carefully, then gasped, "Divine Atonement! Lucemon's attack!"

"That's right!" Sentry screamed, "And once I let this one go, you, and your fan club down there are going to be vaporized!"

Asami, Masa and the partners gasped loudly. Omegamon X narrowed his eyes and shot towards Sentry. The Knight raised his blade into the air, but Sentry only laughed. "Too late! Divine…"

"All Delete!" Omegamon X screamed. His blade began to rapidly slice through Sentry's body, cleanly cutting his legs, arms, torso and waist into pieces. His last slice separated Sentry's head from his neck. Sentry's eyes focused on the glowing ball of energy, the energy of Yddrisil that was supposed to free GranDracmon from the Digital Underworld.

"N…no…" he muttered, his eyes closing, "L….Lord G…granDracmon…."

The pieces of Sentry's body smashed into the ground, scattered about the tree top. Omegamon X was still for a moment, waiting for Sentry to come back to life and resume the battle, but this did not happen. The Knight descended to the ground, before exploding in light regressing back to Taichi, Yamato, Agumon X and Gabumon X. All four collapsed to the ground. The others rushed over, and Asami helped Taichi to his feet, Masa helped Yamato, while Leormon hoisted Agumon X, and Dorumon lifted Gabumon X.

Taichi blinked, "A…Asami…Masa? W…where are the others?"

"We don't know," his niece said, sadly. She smiled suddenly, "B…but I'm sure they're fine. They're probably just exhausted, let's go find them, okay?"

Masa looked over his shoulder at the remains of Lord Sentry, "What about…?"

"Just leave him," Yamato said, "This is what he deserves."

They nodded and began the walk down the path winding around the trunk of Yddrisil.

--

Ancient Greymon and Ancient Garurumon were currently running _up_ that winding path. "I can sense that our opponents are here," Ancient Garurumon said.

"I know," Ancient Greymon smiled, "And soon…very soon…."

--

At the very top of Yddrisil, the ball of energy that Sentry had summoned began to swirl and twist with unholy power. Four streams of white mist suddenly flowed from the ball and entered into Sentry's lifeless head. Suddenly, the scattered pieces of his body began to be pulled together. Once the pieces were close enough, streams of wire and flesh began to reassemble the pieces: legs were attached to waist, waist attached to torso, arms attached to torso, and torso attached to head.

Sentry's eyes suddenly opened wide, glowing an unholy shade of red. His body floated into the air, and landed on his feet. Sentry smirked, and spoke in a deep, scratching voice, "I walk the Digital World once more!"

_Next: Ancient Greymon and Ancient Garurumon arrive, ready for their fight with Wargreymon X and Metalgarurumon X, but when Sentry arrives, things go from bad to worse. The Final Battle is about to begin!_


	42. At the Edge of Midnight

_My name is Masahiko Seisou, but you can call me Masa. Me and Asami were the only survivors of the final battle between the Hunters and the Royal Knights, though we didn't know it at the time. We ran to the top of Yddrisil and watched Omegamon X fight Lord Sentry. We learned a lot about Lord Sentry's past, about how GranDracmon saved him after the Digital World was destroyed by the Demon Lords, and how Cahiti, and Juro were working for GranDracmon. Omegamon X defeated him by using his All Delete attack, which turned him into cold cuts, but after we left, the dimensional vortex he opened sent out weird streams of energy that possessed the parts of his body and fused them back together! I don't think this is over yet!_

-------------

_At the Edge of Midnight:_

_Chapter I_

_------------_

The mighty and mysterious tree Yddrisil had been the scene of a tremendous war, the final battles between the Royal Knights of DATS and the Hunters of GranDracmon. This encounter had left these combatants completely defeated. They lay scattered on the branches, which were jutting from all sides of the massive trunk. At the very top, Omegamon X had faced Lord Sentry and thoroughly defeated the Hunter. Yet, as Taichi, Yamato, their partners, and Asami, Masa and their partners made their way down the path leading down to the base of the tree, Lord Sentry had mysteriously returned to life!

-

Taichi moaned slightly as he sat down with his back against a small branch pushing up from the larger branch on which they were standing. He started to rub his shoulder, "Man…"

"Sore?" Agumon X chuckled.

"Yeah, I am," he replied, annoyed, "I'm forty-years-old." He sighed, continuing to rub her shoulder, "I'm getting too old for this."

Yamato chuckled as he plopped down beside him, "Yeah, maybe you're right. Lately, it seems that after each battle, I hurt a little more. I mean, my son and your daughter both have Megas, your son and my daughter both have Fully Evolveds, not to mention Jyou's son and Mimi and Michael's son have Megas, and Asami too, and then there's Masa. Maybe we're really aren't needed that much anymore."

Gabumon X stared at his partner, "Are you telling me that you want to retire to a desk?"

"Yeah, Taichi," Agumon X said, "You hate sitting behind a desk now."

"I don't know," he sighed, "I think it's just…"

"Oh come on!" Masa exclaimed, "I was watching you guys fight, you were amazing! You guys are so powerful, I…" He stuttered, as if it was hard for him to say what he wanted to say, "I…I mean I may be strong, but I…." He took a deep breath, "I don't have nearly the experience that you do." He said the last part quickly, forcing himself to say it.

Over to the side, Asami was entering information into her D-terminal. "What are you doing?" Leormon asked.

"I'm trying to text the others, but I'm not getting anything," she frowned, "I've tried Gabe, Kasumi, Shiro and my father, but…" She gasped, "Oh no! What if…."

Leormon felt a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, yet he still spoke, "W…what if w…what…?"

Asami turned and ran towards the others, "Uncle Taichi!" she cried, "Uncle Taichi!"

Her uncle rose to his feet, "W..what is it?" he asked.

She was nearly hysterical, "I..I can't contact any of the others!"

Yamato and the two X-digimon glanced at each other while Taichi comforted his niece, "Asami, t…that doesn't mean that…."

Agumon X suddenly gasped, "Uh oh!"

"What?" Taichi asked, twisting to face him.

"Something's coming!" the lizard shouted, "Right now!"

Yamato and the X-digimon jumped to their feet while the group made a tight circle. They cautiously scanned the large branch. "I don't see anything," Asami said.

"No!" Leormon shouted, "Something's definitely coming…no…something's here!"

"Where?" Dorumon shouted.

"Above us!" the small lion exclaimed.

They whipped their heads back to stare at the sky where two figures were hovering above them. One was dressed in blue armor and carried two large swords, and the other was similar to a red dragon. It was this one that spoke, "Greetings humans."

"Ancients!" Masa gasped.

"That is right," the blue one responded, "I am Ancient Garurumon."

"I am Ancient Greymon," the other said, "Who is to be our opponents?"

Taichi shook his head and opened his arm in a wave. "You're kidding, right? You came all the way here to fight us?"

"We were promised a battle," Ancient Greymon replied.

"Yeah, I know, but…jeeze, were you that bored?"

"Taichi!" Yamato snapped, "I don't think it's a good idea to taunt them!"

The two Ancients stared at Taichi and Yamato. Ancient Greymon studied the brown-haired man, "Hidokoro is within you."

Ancient Garurumon nodded at Yamato, "And Lucien is within you." His eyes moved to Masa, "But Yuushi is within you…but…so is Juro?"

Ancient Greymon mentioned to Asami, "The same with this one, though she is Juro with a slight mix of Yuushi. Most mysterious."

The dragon smiled slightly, "Well, if you know who we are, then you must be the opponents with which we were promised a battle."

"Why?" Asami asked, "Why do you have to fight?"

"Because of the terms of our agreement," Ancient Garurumon said, "If we can defeat the strongest of Earth's defenders, then we may proceed with our extermination of the Chosen population."

The girl gasped while Dorumon protested, "But…we defeated Dagomon, we beat the Hunters! They weren't able to revive GranDracmon!"

Ancient Greymon shook his head, "But the gate has already been open, anyone may enter Yddrisil, we must safeguard the stability of the Digital World."

Gabumon X growled, "How can you justify killing all those humans and digimon?"

"It is what we must do," Ancient Garurumon answered, "They must be annihilated to safeguard the Digital World."

Masa stared at them, then narrowed his eyes, "You…my mother thought you were noble, but mistaken warriors…but you're not, are you? You and the rest of the Ancients…you're nothing but murderers!"

"How dare you!" Ancient Greymon snapped, "We were created by the Dragon Warriors, our mission comes from the highest authority!"

-

_The Dragon Warriors, those that later generations would call the First Chosen, were assembled in a round room. Each one sat in a chair that was attached to the top of a column, and each column was arranged in a circle. Juro was seated in the chair that bore his symbol, and his hands were rubbing along the marble arm rests. "Ah…I have missed this."_

"_And you wouldn't have to 'miss it,' if you didn't turn traitor!"_

_Juro glared at the young man seated directed across from him, "Well, Yuushi, if you hadn't tried to rule me…"_

"_Stop it!" Kendra shouted, covering her ears, "Just stop!"_

"_She's right," Hidokoro said, "We've got a more important matter to talk about." He mentioned to Yuushi and Juro, "Your power sealed away Dagomon and Yddrisil, but there's still the chance he could be freed, and if he comes back, he'll no doubt try to bring the Gods back to the Digital World again. We need away to prevent that from happening. Let's face it, we can't know or be everywhere at once."_

"_What do you suggest?" asked Montenegro?_

_The Chosen of Fire only sighed and shook his head. Abungu spoke instead, "Perhaps more warriors?"_

_Glaucio turned to him, "How? We don't even know how we were created. The three Prophetesses haven't learned anything from the Angels." _

"_That idea might have merit," said Yuushi, "We cannot make more like ourselves, but maybe we can make warriors like the digimon."_

"_How?" Juro asked, "Unless you've found a way to create life since I've been gone, I don't think that's possible."_

_Svetlana spoke, "I wonder, if we were to somehow…use a part of ourselves, could we not make at least an extension of our own lifeforce?"_

"_How?" Lucien asked._

_Yuushi rubbed his chin, "Maybe Asuka can help us."_

_-_

_Asuka was seated in another room of the First Chosen's Temple. She missed her room in the First Chosen's Castle on Center Island and she wondered why Yuushi wanted to meet here, probably because it was remote and kept Juro from the center of the First Chosen's empire. She sighed as she brushed her long hair; she missed Juro, her heart ached for him, but at the same time, it ached for Yuushi. Why was she unable to resolve these feelings?"_

_There was a knock on the door. "Yes?"_

_A Floramon entered, "I beg your pardon M'Lady, but Lord Yuushi wishes your presence."_

"_Yes, I shall be right there."_

_-_

_Asuka entered the inner chamber, her long dress moving like water around her legs. As she walked towards the center, she cast a quick glance at Juro. She smiled slightly at him, and he nodded his head slowly. She stopped in the center of the room and addressed Yuushi. "Yes, how may I be of service?"_

"_Lady Asuka," Yuushi said, "We wish to create a group of warriors to prevent the revival of Dagomon, is there a way we may use a piece of ourselves to give life to these warriors?"_

_She was silent for a long while and then said, "Perhaps if I could use my abilities to remove a small portion of your souls, it may be possible."_

_Juro was about to speak, but Yuushi spoke first, "You that harm you in any way?"_

"_None that I can foresee," she replied, "But I should probably rest before attempting it."_

_Yuushi nodded. "We will be waiting."_

_-_

_Asuka walked back to her room. "Can I really do this?" she asked herself, "Can I do what they want, or….or is that beyond my power?"_

_There was another knock on her door. "Yes, come in."_

_The door opened and Yuushi entered."Asuka. Are you sure that you can do that?"_

"_I…." she sighed, "I am not certain, but I will certainly try." She smiled at him, "I can see people's minds, I can alter the thoughts of those of weak will, I can even see events that have yet to pass. Why can't I move a being's lifeforce?"_

_He smiled at her, "If you can truly do this…" He shook his head, "They consider me the strongest, but your power transcends us all." _

_She began to blush. "L…Lord Yuushi…"_

_He placed his hands on her shoulders and she started at his face. Her heart began to beat faster, "L…Lord Yuushi…" _

_He moved closer and lightly kissed her on the lips. She returned his kiss with one of her own. Then they began to kiss a longer, passionate embrace. That is, until Asuka pushed him away. "No! No, we cannot do this…you are married! You have children! I have met Aneko, and your daughters, I have watched Yuuko and Kumiko! I cannot do this!"_

_He was breathing heavy, "Y..yes, but Aneko doesn't need to know. She cannot come here…"_

_Asuka stared at him, "Y…you do not love her?"_

_He blinked, "No, I…I do love her, b…but I love you…"_

_Her heart beat faster at that statement. "Y…you do?" He was about to answer, but she held up her hand, "No, do not answer. You do not love me, you only desire me because I am a younger woman than your wife."_

_He shook his head, "No, that's not true!"_

"_No, it is. You are almost forty, I am only 27…Lord Yuushi, when you first met me, I was only five years old!"_

"_Y…yeah, but you're not now…"_

"_Lord Yuushi," she said, calming herself, "Think of your family, think of Aneko, Yuuko and Kumiko."_

_He was silent for a long while, then nodded, "Y..yes, you are right." He nodded again, "P…please forgive me." He bowed and exited the room. Asuka fell onto her bed, breathing heavily to gain control of her emotions. Unfortunately, Juro entered the room._

"_Lord Juro!" she gasped._

_He smiled at her, "Are you sure you should be calling me that? Yuushi won't like that you're calling a 'traitor' Lord."_

_She sighed, "You wouldn't be a traitor if you would just repent…"_

"_I'm not sorry," he said, "I'm not apologizing. I'm just as strong as Yuushi, yet why is he the only one who can rule? Tell me that."_

"_Please," Asuka said, nearly in tears, "I can't bear to have you two fight anymore. When they banished you, my heart broke in two, and when you returned to help fight Dagomon, it was the happiest day of my life. I thought you had come to your senses and abandoned your conquered kingdom and your desire to destroy Yuushi's empire."_

_He said simply, "I will never abandon my desire to destroy Yuushi's empire."_

_Asuka turned her head, "I can't stand it when you talk like that!"_

_He grinned seductively, "Then why don't you tell me to leave?"_

_She turned slowly to him, her face was flush, "B…because I can't…"_

_Juro walked over to her and gently rubbed her chin, "Your face…it is still as beautiful as the last time I saw you."_

_Asuka tried to step back, but found that she could not. "L…Lord Juro…I…I heard you had….had taken a wife…."_

_He pulled his hand back. He sighed and turned away. "Naoki and I never married. And after our children were born, she fled my home in Germany, I believe she was trying to come to Japan,…or at least China."_

_Asuka blinked, "W…why?"_

"_To give our children to Yuushi!"_

"_Y…you told her…?"_

"_Yes, I did! And she betrayed me! She took my children from me!"_

"_W…why don't you try to convince her to…"_

_He twirled to stare at her, tears in his eyes, "Because, they are dead! They took a ship to reach Japan, and it sunk! They are dead!"_

_She shook her head quickly, "W…when…."_

"_Seven years ago!"_

"_Right when you left us…" she said slowly, "Is that why…."_

_He did not answer, only left the room. Asuka fell to the ground sobbing._

_-_

_A day later, Asuka called the First Chosen to the Inner Chamber of the temple. There the young prophetess stood in the center of the ten warriors. "Before we began," she said, "I think that perhaps the powers of Fate and Chance are too powerful to be wielded by any other them yourselves." She eyed Yuushi, then Juro._

"_What do you suggest?" Juro asked._

"_Your powers can affect probability, try to create elemental powers like the rest of the First Chosen."_

_The two nodded. Asuka took a deep breath and raised her arms. "Now, you all must concentrate on your power, imagine your abilities."_

_Then nodded and closed their eyes, each one thinking of the powers that were theirs to command. Asuka closed her eyes as well. She could sense their lifeforce of each of the ten surrounding her. She saw them as swirling balls of energy. She imagined herself reaching out and removing a small part of that ball of energy. She closed her fists and each of the smaller balls of energy suddenly began to grow, exploding in size._

_She gasped and they all opened their eyes. Standing before them were ten large digimon. The First Chosen and Asuka studied them cautiously. They were not moving, staring down at them. Finally, Yuushi spoke, "W…who are you?"_

_The digimon looked at one another. "We…do not know," a red dragon asked._

_Asuka nodded slightly and mentioned to the First Chosen, "Each of you was created by one of them, your lifeforce comes from them. You have powers that have been given to them by the Great Angels. These mighty powers are older than this world, powers from the ancients!"_

"_They we will be called Ancient as well," the dragon replied, "I…I am Ancient Greymon, and I…I believe I was created by Hidokoro."_

_A blue bipedal wolf spoke next, "I am Ancient Garurumon, and I was created by Lucien."_

_The digimon continued to name themselves. "I am Ancient Irismon, and I was created by Svetlana."_

"_I am Ancient Sphinxmon and I was created by Daiyu."_

"_I am Ancient Volcamon and I was created by Montenegro."_

"_I am Ancient Troiamon and I was created by Abungu."_

"_I am Ancient Mermaimon and I was created by Kendra."_

"_I am Ancient Wisemon and I was created by Glacuio."_

"_I am Ancient Megatheriumon and I was created by Juro."_

"_I am Ancient Beetmon and I was created by Yuushi."_

_These last two caused the First Chosen to glance at their two most powerful members. They both shrugged. "I did what Asuka told me to," Juro said._

"_Yes," Yuushi nodded, "So did I." He turned to the Ancients and approached them, "I am Yuushi, these are the First Chosen."_

"_What is it you wish of us?" Ancient Beetmon asked, "You have given us life, how may we serve you?"_

"_We serve the Three Great Angels, but the Elder Gods oppose those Angels. Their servant, Dagomon, has been sealed away, but there are still many kingdoms that existed that serve the Gods. We need you to prevent the resurrection of Dagomon."_

_All ten bowed. "As you have commanded, My Lords and Ladies, " Ancient Megatheriumon said._

-

Ancient Greymon continued, "We were created by the powers of the Dragon Warriors, we were given life by Lady Asuka! It is our mission to protect the Digital World!"

"Hmm," Masa said, "It seems that Asuka could control data, and she moved some of the First Chosen's data to create you. The First Chosen obviously didn't understand that…"

"It doesn't matter to us," Ancient Garurumon said, "We have our mission from the Dragon Warriors."

"And we're descended from those warriors!" Yamato protested.

"And yet is what your actions that brought those enemies to Yddrisil, you and the rest of the Chosen, must be exterminated."

Agumon X was not ready to give up the argument, "But the First Chosen were…were Chosen too! You admire them so much, but you're killing the same type of human and digimon!"

"As long as the Digital World and Earth exist, it will only be a matter of time before more Chosen are created," answered Ancient Garurumon.

"Enough debating!" Ancient Greymon snapped, "Defend yourselves!"

Taichi and Yamato summoned their weapons, but as they did, they felt a pang of pain shot through their bodies. They both moaned. "Oh man," Taichi said, "We haven't had to fight battles right after the other for a long time."

"I know," Yamato said in a whisper, "Let's just hope we can do this."

While his statement was low enough that the Ancients did not hear, Masa, Asami and their partners did. The two teens nodded at one another, then stepped forward. "We're your opponents!" Masa declared.

"What?" Taichi gasped, "What are you doing?"

"You're still hurt from fighting Lord Sentry," Asami said with a slight smile, "We'll take care of this."

Ancient Garurumon raised his eyebrow as he studied the two teenagers and their partners, "You? If you are to be our opponents, then why…" He looked to Taichi and Yamato, "…Did you prepare to battle?"

"Because _they_ are our opponents," Ancient Greymon replied, "Those two are protecting them."

The Chosen and Digimon nodded at one another. Masa and Dorumon began to glow. "Dorumon warp evolve to Alphamon!"

Asami and Leormon began to glow as well. "Leormon warp evolve to Rhodo Knightmon!"

Ancient Greymon and Ancient Garurumon stared at the two Royal Knights. The dragon chuckled, "But very well, if you wish us to go through your defenders first, then we will. Come children, let us see if you truly are descended from the Dragon Warriors!"

Alphamon shot forward, swinging his sword at Ancient Greymon. The dragon flapped his wings quickly and shot higher, the Knight's sword swiping at empty air. Ancient Greymon twisted around in the sky and kicked the Knight in the side. He twisted through the air and swung his sword once more. Ancient Greymon's armor suddenly exploded with flames, throwing Alphamon into a spin through the air. The Ancient was right behind, and he used his teeth to grab hold of his opponent's ankle and threw him into the ground. Alphamon skidded along the bark of the tree branch, but catapulted back into the air. He flipped quickly before smashing his heel into Ancient Greymon's back. He flipped around and swung his hand, intending to use his momentum to slice the Ancient in half, only to realize with horror that his hands was empty! His sword was gone!

He spotted it lying on the ground, he must had dropped it when Ancient Greymon threw him down. It was already too late to attempt another move, he clenched his fist and the hand that would have sliced Ancient Greymon open now punch the Ancient's stomach with all of his might. The dragon hunched over, moaning loudly. Alphamon pulled his fist back and pointed his fingers directly at Ancient Greymon's head. "Digitize of Soul!" Beams of energy fired from each of his digits, striking the Ancient's head with explosive force. His head whipped back, but Alphamon did not halt his attack. He began to repeatedly punch the Dragon with explosive force. He moved down and grabbed tightly to the Ancient's tail. He began to spin him tightly over his head before changing his position so that when he released his grip, the dragon would be thrown into the ground. Alphamon laughed as he watched the Ancient head straight towards the ground. "Yeah, let's see how you like it!"

Down below, Taichi and Agumon X had been watching the entire battle. When he saw Alphamon still hovering in the air, he screamed, "Alphamon! What are you doing? Keep attacking, don't give him the chance to…"

Ancient Greymon suddenly stopped inches above the surface of the branch. He twisted his position quickly and shot back into the air. He smashed the top of his head into Alphamon's chin. The Knight roared in pain, and he attempted to strike the Ancient with his fist, but the dragon had wrapped his tail around the Knight's ankle and swung him through the air before swinging him back around to bash his head into the top of Alphamon's head. He flung his back, then flung him forward again, intending to repeat his combo, but the Knight was ready this time. When Ancient Greymon used his tail to whip Alphamon into position for a bash to the head, the Knight smirked wickedly and threw his punch into Ancient Greymon's jaw, shattering his teeth, which flew through the air. Ancient Greymon shouted with rage and pain. He flung Alphamon into the ground again. The Knight hit the ground, but rolled to limit the pain, grabbing his sword and once he was on his feet shot into the air again.

"Ultimate War Blade King Dragon Sword!" His blade exploded with energy and he swung for Ancient Greymon's neck, but the dragon lifted his front leg to block. When the blade struck the shin guard, the metal armor shattered, but the fissures continued up his legs and through his shoulder and chest plates, causing them to fall to pieces to the ground.

"Hell yeah!" Agumon X cheered, "Nice!"

Ancient Greymon was staring at Alphamon in shock. The Royal Knight chuckled pointing his sword at him. "All right," Alphamon said, "Your move."

-

Rhodo Knightmon and Ancient Garurumon had been battling off to the side. The wolf man was slashing with his massive swords while the Royal Knight blocked with her shield. So far, she was completely unable to mount an offense as she was cowering completely behind her shield. She finally fell backwards with Ancient Garurumon's thrust, so he was off balance and fell forward. As he fell, Rhodo Knightmon slammed her feet into the Ancient's chest, throwing him into the air. The Royal Knight shot up from the ground and hovered in the air. Ancient Garurumon screamed, "Absolute Zero!" A blast of intense blue energy exploded from his mouth. Rhodo Knightmon darted to the side with inches to spare. The blast hit one of the branches above her, turning instantly to ice.

The Knight turned back to face her opponent, only to see him flying towards her. She rolled to the right to avoid Ancient Garurumon, then unleashed her razor ribbons, "Spiral Masquerade!"

The ribbons slashed across the Ancient's left gauntlet, but he grabbed the ribbon with his right hand and whipped her around, smashing the Knight through the top of a branch. Rhodo Knightmon wrapped her legs around the remainder of the branch and yanked on her end of the ribbon. The razor fabric slipped from Ancient Garurumon's hand. He flew after his opponent swinging his massive sword at her. Rhodo Knightmon blocked with her shield, then swung her foot around, kicking him in the side. She had to move her limb quickly to avoid having it hacked off by the Ancient's sword. But she proved to be far more agile then her opponent as she easily darted and twisted around him.

He swung his sword at her, but she twisted around his extended limb and kicked him in his chest, then twisted again to kick his face with her other leg. She made to fly higher into the air but he grabbed her leg with his left hand and yanked her back down. He used his right hand to bring his sword around, smashing his weapon into her shoulder.

Down below, Yamato and Gabumon X both gasped aloud. "Oh no!" the blond man screamed, "Rhodo Knightmon!"

Ancient Garurumon was chuckling at his opponent. "So…you're not so tough after all, are you, spawn of Juro?"

Rhodo Knightmon only spoke, "Argent Fear!" She slammed her fist into Ancient Garurumon's chin with such force that it threw his head backwards. He kept his grip on the Knight however, and snarled at her. He released his grip, but quickly slammed the top of her head, sending her spiraling towards the ground. She spotted a branch, however, and landed atop it. She used it like a springboard and shot back into the air with her fist pulled back. "Argent…"

Ancient Garurumon readied his swords, but Rhodo Knight suddenly whipped her other arm around, sending out her razor ribbons. "Spiral Masquerade!"

The razor fabric slipped between Ancient Garurumon's swords and wrapped tightly around his body, bounding his arms tightly to his torso. The Knight pulled as hard as she could and Ancient Garurumon crashed into the ground.

Taichi smirked as he faced Yamato, "I guess they weren't nearly as strong as they thought they were."

"Maybe," Yamato said, "Or maybe _they're_…" mentioning to the two Royal Knights, "…are stronger than they thought…"

----

At the very top of Yddrisil, the ball of energy that Sentry had summoned began to swirl and twist with unholy power. Four streams of white mist suddenly flowed from the ball and entered into Sentry's lifeless head. Suddenly, the scattered pieces of his body began to be pulled together. Once the pieces were close enough, streams of wire and flesh began to reassemble the pieces: legs were attached to waist, waist attached to torso, arms attached to torso, and torso attached to head.

Sentry's eyes suddenly opened wide, glowing an unholy shade of red. His body floated into the air, and landed on his feet. Sentry smirked, and spoke in a deep, scratching voice, "I walk the Digital World once more!"

He screamed loudly and exploded forward, flying down the trunk of Yddrisil at lightning speed before he reached the branch on which the Ancients and the Knights were battling. He stopped above them with an explosion of light and sound. Ancient Greymon and Ancient Garurumon were lying on the ground, with Rhodo Knightmon and Alphamon hovering above them. Taichi, Yamato, Agumon X and Gabumon X were seated on the ground. All of them were staring in shock and horror at Sentry.

"W…what?" Rhodo Knightmon exclaimed.

"What the fuck?" Taichi exclaimed, jumping to his feet, "Y…you're….how the hell did you come back this time? We sliced you in half!"

Sentry chuckled, "You haven't realized it yet? I am immortal."

"Immortal?" Agumon X snorted, "You're an immortal pain in the fucking ass!"

The two Ancients rose to their feet and stared at the stranger. "I don't know who you are," Ancient Greymon said, "But we're in the middle of something…"

Alphamon pointed at Sentry, "_That's_ the guy that broke into Yddrisil, he's the one that freed Dagomon and the one that wants to revive GranDracmon!"

Sentry laughed again, "I'm afraid you are a little mistaken, I am not going to revive GranDracmon…" His eyes suddenly dilated and his body shook slightly. When he looked back at the others, he had a sinister grin and his eyes were glowing red. He spoke in a deep, familiar voice,"…for I am GranDracmon!"

The DATS Agents gasped, while the two Ancients only looked on. "GranDracmon!" Yamato gasped, "H…how are you GranDracmon?"

"Because I am," he replied, "I have escaped from the Digital Underworld, but I have no physical body…none of us do…"

"Us?" Gabumon X asked.

Sentry's body twisted again and he this time he spoke with a suave voice, "Greetings X-Chosen…" He looked at the two Royal Knights, "And great-grandchildren."

"Juro!" Yamato snapped.

"Yes," he smiled, "That's right, grandson."

Sentry's body twisted again. He laughed deeply and spoke with an arrogant tone, "My plans worked perfectly, it's time to prove our superiority to you!"

Taichi growled. "Cahiti!"

Sentry's body shifted once again. This time, he put his hand on his hip and stood in a feminine manner, "Ah…it's sooo good to feel the breeze again…" He licked his lips, "And get the pleasures of the flesh again."

Taichi blinked. "A…Asro?"

Sentry blew him a kiss and winked, "Taichi, darling, you still look as good as you did when you were a young man. What do you say, you wanna leave that woman you're with?"

His body twisted again. "All right, that's enough!" he shouted. He stared at the group and smirked. "All right, it's time to get down to business."

"Business?" Taichi shouted, clenching his fists, "_Business?_ After all the shit you've done, it's just business?!"

Sentry ignored him and continued speaking, "As you've just seen, this body's become pretty crowded, so I need to make some more room."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Yamato shouted.

Sentry grinned even more, "You already know this body has the powers of six digimon, but it can hold eight. I need the data of two more beings…" He narrowed his eyes at Alphamon and Rhodo Knightmon, "And I think I'll take you!"

Before they could react, Sentry shot forward, ready to punch Alphamon's head, but suddenly stopped. He was twitching again, and his lips were moving, he seemed to be in conference with his 'inner voices.' He finally sighed deeply and smirked at the two Knights, "Well, looks like you're off the hook." He turned to the two Ancients, "But you two on the other hand…"

Ancient Garurumon pointed his sword at Sentry. "I do not know who you are, but as my brother has said before, you are interrupting a battle that was arranged. If you wish to fight us, you must wait…"

Sentry shook his head, "Sorry, can't do that. I need to be freed of these…tenants at once."

Ancient Greymon glared at Sentry. "You will not find us to be so easy opponents! Omega Burst!" He exhaled a geyser of flame, but Sentry responded with one of his own.

"Purgatorial Flame!"

This evil flame dwarfed Ancient Greymon's attack and would have enveloped the Ancient, if he had not ducked to safety. Ancient Garurumon came around from behind intending to slice off Sentry's head, but he twirled and smashed the Ancient's sword between his hands, "Max Power Vice!"

Ancient Garurumon stared in horror at his weapon, but not for long, for Sentry's fist smashed across the Ancient's face. He dropped down to avoid Ancient Greymon's tail, which shot over his head. Sentry twisted and blasted out a wave of cold energy, "Cocytus Breath!" The arctic chill struck the dragon's leg, turning it instantly to ice.

While the two Ancients recovered their wounds, Rhodo Knightmon and Alphamon flew to attack. Sentry pointed his both of his palms at them, "Garuru Cannon!" The blast of energy exploded from both hands, making it twice as powerful. It enveloped both Knights, sending them smashing into the ground. Taichi and the others ran to them, only to see Masa, Asami and their partners climb to their feet.

"Are you all okay?" Gabumon X asked.

"Y..yeah," Dorumon said, "I think so…Masa, are….Masa?"

His partner was not at his side, rather, he was walking forward, glaring at Sentry. "You piece of shit!" he screamed, "Stop being GranDracmon's….pussy and fight for yourself!"

Sentry glared at him, and his eyes twitched before glowing red once again. He spoke in the same deep voice as before, "Yes," he laughed, "Perhaps Sentry is nothing more than my puppet, but he has been a very good puppet at that."

Masa clenched his fist and glared at him, "GranDracmon…my mother did tell me about you…she said you were the devil…"

Sentry grinned in an impossibly large smile, "Yes, she is right at that…" His eyes focused on the grey shard that hung around Masa's neck, "And what is this?" He made a wave with his hand, and the silver crystal lifted from around the boy's neck and flew to Sentry's hand. He examined it closely, then grinned, "Ah, it is imbued with the power of Juro…." He began to laugh, "What is this? Your last hope perhaps? Ha! It is nothing more than a sliver of chance!" He tilted the head back and pushed the crystal deep into his mouth, then…swallowed it!

"What the fuck?" Yamato snapped, "You're not even remotely human anymore, are you?"

Sentry ducked again to avoid Ancient Garurumon's sword swipe from behind. He twisted quickly and kicked the Ancient's hand, and the sword fell to the ground. Sentry grabbed him by the leg and swung him around in the air, smacking him into Ancient Greymon. The two Ancients untangled themselves and charged for another attack. Sentry flew over top of them, then fired two beams of energy from his palms, a 3D Laser that struck Ancient Greymon from behind, and a Garuru Cannon that struck Ancient Garurumon from behind. Both of the Ancient smashed into the ground. Sentry then held his palms above his head and summoned streams of energy from all around that gathered into a massive ball in his palms. "Gaia Force Zero!" He threw the ball into the Ancients, where it exploded in a blast of light and debris.

Ancient Greymon and Ancient Garurumon did not move, but still had enough strength to glance at each other. "How….how?" Ancient Greymon said, "How could we…we were created by the Dragon Warriors, ours was a holy mission!"

Ancient Garurumon turned to glare at the DATS Agents, "And now…your world…will come to an end…for because of you Chosen…"

Sentry screamed a shrill shriek. Metal tendrils whipped out from both of his palms, piercing the two Ancients from behind. The DATS Agents could only stare in horror as Ancient Greymon and Ancient Garurumon dissolved into data, and that data flowed through Sentry's tendrils and into his body.

He was still for a moment, hovering motionless in the sky, the he suddenly tilted his head back and screamed so loudly that the branches around him swayed. He suddenly curled tightly and his body began to glow brightly while it also grew larger, much, much larger. He seemed to fold into a massive ball, but soon seven legs sprouted out, spiny with evil purple on their undersides. A large, single eye sprouted from his back. It fell to the large branch, and its weight was so massive that the branch shifted downwards. The DATS Agents were tossed like ragdolls from the shockwave, but they all landed back on branch, bruised and battered, but not broken. The creature glared at them with its single eye and spoke one word, "Ogudomon…"

It screamed once again, then a great suction pulled from its underside. Asami and Leormon were lifted first, being the smallest. "Uncle Taichi!" Asami screamed as she was pulled from the ground.

"Asami!" Taichi screamed, instinctively jumping after his niece. Both he and Agumon X were taken into the whirlwind next. Masa and Dorumon were ensnared next. Yamato and Gabumon X grabbed them to attempt to keep them on the ground, but they too were caught up in the whirlwind. All eight beings were pulled to Ogudomon's underside, and simply passed through the creature's underside, disappearing within the immense being that was Ogudomon.

The digimon roared and charged down the path winding around the tree. Due to his size, he was able to reach the base of Yddrisil in little time. With a demonic chuckle, he passed through the gate from Neodigital to invade Earth.

----

Akira was standing on the balcony of DATS headquarters, looking up at the evening sky. He heard the door open behind him, and turned to see Yasu stepping outside. "Hi," she said.

"H…hi," he responded, raising an eyebrow. "What's up? You're never this sweet unless you want something."

She frowned at him, "I was just trying to…to…."

He blinked, "To what? What?"

She pointed to the sky. Akira spun around and gasped, where before the moon and stars had shown brightly on a clear sky, now a thick fog had appeared. So quickly that it could not be natural.

"I think we've got another problem," he said.

A dark mass soon appeared within the fog, materializing within Earth's boundaries: massive feet that caused the ground to bow. The fog parted, and Ogudomon stood over the DATS building, so massive that the building was completely eclipsed within its shadow.

"What the fuck is that?" Akira exclaimed.

The digimon walked forward, creating quakes in the ground as it moved. Its massive eye was focused on Tokyo.

To be continued……..

Author's note: As with the naming of the previous few chapters, Midnight references the 'Night' theme, but also that many superstitions and witchcraft consider midnight to be a time when the dead can cross into the world of the living, thus, GranDracmon an the other's return.


	43. At the Edge of Midnight: Chapter 2

Author's Note: Let me clarify something. Sentry's cybernetic body needed the data from eight different beings before he could evolve to Ogudomon. He had Taichi, Yamato, GranDracmon, Juro, Cahiti during most of the story, then absorbed Dagomon's data when Dagomon showed up, so he could get inside Yddrisil, then absorbed Ancient Greymon and Ancient Garurumon in the last chapter. Then all of the data slots were filled and he evolved. When Sentry fought, he could use the attacks of the digimon whose data he had; he didn't have Asro's data, so didn't use any of Lillithmon's attacks. He was possessed by the digital spirits of GranDracmon, Cahiti and Juro because they were the architects of the events of Magog, and Cahiti brought Asro along because…well, every king needs his whore.

_My name is Yamato Ishida, and things have just gone from bad to worse. We had just defeated Lord Sentry and were going back down Yddrisil to find our other agents when the Ancients appeared. Me and Taichi were still weak from our fight with Sentry, so Masa and Asami fought them instead, but then Sentry came back! He was completely healed because he had succeeded and revived GranDracmon, Cahiti, Asro and Juro, and they were all possessing his body! He absorbed the two Ancients, and then he had the eight data slots he needed and evolved to Ogudomon! He pulled all of us inside him, and then since we weren't standing in his way, he went all the way down to the bottom of Yddrisil and entered Earth! He's going to destroy Tokyo!_

_-------------------------------_

_At the Edge of Midnight:_

_Chapter II_

_-------------------------------_

Sentry glared at him, and his eyes twitched before glowing red once again. He spoke in the same deep voice as before, "Yes," he laughed, "Perhaps Sentry is nothing more than my puppet, but he has been a very good puppet at that."

Masa clenched his fist and glared at him, "GranDracmon…my mother did tell me about you…she said you were the devil…"

Sentry grinned in an impossibly large smile, "Yes, she is right at that…" His eyes focused on the grey shard that hung around Masa's neck, "And what is this?" He made a wave with his hand, and the silver crystal lifted from around the boy's neck and flew to Sentry's hand. He examined it closely, then grinned, "Ah, it is imbued with the power of Juro…." He began to laugh, "What is this? Your last hope perhaps? Ha! It is nothing more than a sliver of chance!" He tilted the head back and pushed the crystal deep into his mouth, then…swallowed it!

"What the fuck?" Yamato snapped, "You're not even remotely human anymore, are you?"

Sentry ducked again to avoid Ancient Garurumon's sword swipe from behind. He twisted quickly and kicked the Ancient's hand, and the sword fell to the ground. Sentry grabbed him by the leg and swung him around in the air, smacking him into Ancient Greymon. The two Ancients untangled themselves and charged for another attack. Sentry flew over top of them, then fired two beams of energy from his palms, a 3D Laser that struck Ancient Greymon from behind, and a Garuru Cannon that struck Ancient Garurumon from behind. Both of the Ancient smashed into the ground. Sentry then held his palms above his head and summoned streams of energy from all around that gathered into a massive ball in his palms. "Gaia Force Zero!" He threw the ball into the Ancients, where it exploded in a blast of light and debris.

Ancient Greymon and Ancient Garurumon did not move, but still had enough strength to glance at each other. "How….how?" Ancient Greymon said, "How could we…we were created by the Dragon Warriors, ours was a holy mission!"

Ancient Garurumon turned to glare at the DATS Agents, "And now…your world…will come to an end…for because of you Chosen…"

Sentry screamed a shrill shriek. Metal tendrils whipped out from both of his palms, piercing the two Ancients from behind. The DATS Agents could only stare in horror as Ancient Greymon and Ancient Garurumon dissolved into data, and that data flowed through Sentry's tendrils and into his body.

He was still for a moment, hovering motionless in the sky, the he suddenly tilted his head back and screamed so loudly that the branches around him swayed. He suddenly curled tightly and his body began to glow brightly while it also grew larger, much, much larger. He seemed to fold into a massive ball, but soon seven legs sprouted out, spiny with evil purple on their undersides. A large, single eye sprouted from his back. It fell to the large branch, and its weight was so massive that the branch shifted downwards. The DATS Agents were tossed like ragdolls from the shockwave, but they all landed back on branch, bruised and battered, but not broken. The creature glared at them with its single eye and spoke one word, "Ogudomon…"

It screamed once again, then a great suction pulled from its underside. Asami and Leormon were lifted first, being the smallest. "Uncle Taichi!" Asami screamed as she was pulled from the ground.

"Asami!" Taichi screamed, instinctively jumping after his niece. Both he and Agumon X were taken into the whirlwind next. Masa and Dorumon were ensnared next. Yamato and Gabumon X grabbed them to attempt to keep them on the ground, but they too were caught up in the whirlwind. All eight beings were pulled to Ogudomon's underside, and simply passed through the creature's underside, disappearing within the immense being that was Ogudomon.

The digimon roared and charged down the path winding around the tree. Due to his size, he was able to reach the base of Yddrisil in little time. With a demonic chuckle, he passed through the gate from Neodigital to invade Earth.

----

Akira was standing on the balcony of DATS headquarters, looking up at the evening sky. He heard the door open behind him, and turned to see Yasu stepping outside. "Hi," she said.

"H…hi," he responded, raising an eyebrow. "What's up? You're never this sweet unless you want something."

She frowned at him, "I was just trying to…to…."

He blinked, "To what? What?"

She pointed to the sky. Akira spun around and gasped, where before the moon and stars had shown brightly on a clear sky, now a thick fog had appeared. So quickly that it could not be natural.

"I think we've got another problem," he said.

A dark mass soon appeared within the fog, materializing within Earth's boundaries: massive feet that caused the ground to bow. The fog parted, and Ogudomon stood over the DATS building, so massive that the building was completely eclipsed within its shadow.

"What the fuck is that?" Yasu exclaimed.

The digimon walked forward, creating quakes in the ground as it moved. Its massive eye was focused on Tokyo. It reached the edge of DATS's property in no time, but before it could place its first leg over the wall that marked the boundary line, it heard a voice scream out, "Hey, where do you think you're going?"

The large eye on its back twisted completely around. The DATS Agents had assembled behind him, their partners all at their highest levels: Dingo's Gesomon X, Lynna's Waruseadramon, Anna's Hippo Gryophomon, Aleksey and Joey's Shawujinmon, Jyou's Anomalocarimon X, Miayag's Bastemon, Hikari's Nefertimon X, Sora's Garudamon, Noriko's Ladydevimon, Ines and Bolade's Deramon, Yasu and Eliane's Machgaogamon, and Akira and Adan's Rizegreymon.

"You heard me!" Akira shouted, "Where do you think you're going?"

Ogudomon stood perfectly still, staring at the group.

"Ya don' wanna answer?" Joey asked, "Fine, what are ya? What's yar name?"

The digimon blasted out a defining scream, "Ogudomon!"

"Ogudomon?" Jyou gasped, "W…what's Ogudomon?"

Miayag shook her head, "I…have no idea."

The giant digimon raised the two legs that were nearest to the DATS agents, "Gradus!" it screamed, letting them fall back to the ground.

"Move!" Sora shouted.

The DATS group instantly obeyed her, dispersing with only seconds to spare before the two legs smashed into the ground. "Destroy!" Ogudomon screamed, "Destroy!" Its large eye twisted around again, focusing on the city. "Destroy!" It began to march forward once more.

"Tokyo!" Noriko shouted, "It's gonna destroy Tokyo!"

They instantly surrounded the massive digimon, with Rizegreymon hovering in front of it's eye. Ogudomon's eye twisted around its head, scanning each of the digimon before returning to stare at Rizegreymon once more. The dragon dinosaur pointed his gun barrel arm at Ogudomon's eye. "Leave, now!" he shouted, "Go back wherever you came from and that'll be the end of it. If you don't, then we'll have no choice but to destroy you."

Ogudomon growled in a gurgling voice. "He's laughing at them!" Yasu exclaimed from the ground.

"Oh shit," Lynna gasped, "He's knows we're bluffing!"

Ogudomon took a deep breath, "Catedral!" he screamed. A shockwave of energy exploded in a circular from his underside. The digimon were caught in its wake, throwing them through the air like rag dolls.

Rizegreymon regained control of himself in time to land safely on the ground. He cocked his gun. "That's it! Get 'em!"

The digimon all screamed in agreement and charged the massive Ogudomon.

----------

Sora and Akira's group of DATS could not have known that within Ogudmon's body was a pocket of space that was far larger than even Ogudomon's body, a region of compressed DATA that now contained eight more packets of data: Taichi, Yamato, Asami, Masa and their partners. The inside was a monstrous cave, with black, scaly stalactites and stalagmites. The group was huddled closely together as they surveyed the shadows. "Now what?" Dorumon asked.

"We have to find a way out of here," Gabumon X answered.

Before anyone could respond, a familiar voice sounded in the darkness, "I'm afraid that none of you will be leaving here again."

They gasped as GranDracmon materialized before them, with Cahiti, Asro, Juro and Victor von Schmidt at his sides. "All right!" Taichi shouted, "What the hell is this, huh? What's the point of pulling us inside here?"

"It's really quite simple," Juro answered, mentioning to the rest, "We don't have physical forms any longer, we're invisible data, only able to interact via a physical body."

Masa stared at Schmidt, "Yours?"

"Actually," GranDracmon interrupted, "_I_ am taking control, Ogudomon is now _my_ body. But, as large as it now is, my fellow conspirators need their own bodies…and that is where you come in."

"W…what?" Yamato gasped, "What are you talking about?"

Cahiti opened his arms, "We are still technically possessing this body, we cannot exist outside a physical form, so in order to leave Ogudomon…we're simply going to take _your_ forms."

"You're going to take our bodies?" Asami gasped.

Asro licked her lips, "That's right."

Asami shivered.

Masa clenched his fist, "Ya really think so? Well, you're not taking my body without a fight!"

GranDracmon chuckled, "We did not truly expect you to surrender; if you want to fight, then so be it." He raised his hand quickly and the group was thrown apart, vanishing into the darkness.

------

Outside Ogudomon, the DATS Agents were continuing their attempt to destroy the massive digimon. He was swinging his legs-all of the legs he could muster without losing his balance, at the swarming digimon. Shawujinmon blasted geysers of water into the digimon's underside, while Machgaogamon darted from leg to leg, smashing his fists into the appendages. Anomalocarimon X used his tail to hook a leg and yank it off the ground. Ogudomon still had six more to keep his balance. This was a problem that Waruseadramon attempted to rectify, as he used his long body to twist around two legs and squeeze, hoping to pull them out from under him, but, again, his many legs saved him. Nefertimon X and Hippogryphomon blasted their energy attacks at his sides while dodging his swinging legs. Rizegreymon towards Ogudomon at full force, slamming both of his legs into the digimon's body.

Garudamon gripped Gesomon tightly and lifted him to the top of Ogudomon where his giant eye was staring directly at them. "All right, ya freak!" Gesomon shouted, "Take this! Deadly Shade!" He spewed a blast of oil that splattered across the giant's eyeball. He screeched as he flung his eye from side to side, attempting to shake off the substance.

Ladydevimon darted around Garudamon with her hand transformed into a long blade. "Time to pop that freakin' eye! Darkness Blade!"

"Catedral!" Ogudomon screamed, blasting out a shockwave that threw the digimon tumbling into the ground.

Rizegreymon was back on his feet in a moment. "All right," he said, "Time for a new plan."

-----

Taichi and Agumon X found themselves within a section of the black innards of Ogudomon that resembled a volcanic region, with erupting volcanoes in the background and lava oozing all around. "Where are we now?" Agumon X asked, "We were just inside Ogudomon…"

"I think we are still inside," Taichi replied, "Damn it, what kind of creature is this?"

Agumon X began to sniff the air, "Taichi, we're not alone."

They spun around to witness Cahiti emerge from the darkness. The wicked Demon King smirked, "Grettings."

Taichi growled and clenched his fist, "All right you fucking bastard! Where is everyone else?"

He shrugged, "I don't know _where_, but as for what is happening to them…" He grinned evilly again, "…it is the same that's about to happen to you! I am taking your body for my own!"

He mentioned to his face, "And considering that my face is the same as yours, I won't be too uncomfortable."

"You're gonna fight?" Agumon X snorted, "Where's Lucemon, huh? You're not gonna last very long without your partner?"

Cahiti laughed, "I don't need my partner."

"What?" Taichi and Agumon X gasped.

"I'm pure data now, so, I just simply incorporated Lucemon's data into my own." He made a quick motion with his hands, "Grand Cross!" He fired an image of ten miniature planets in the shape of a cross at his opponents. Taichi and Agumon X both exclaimed in shock and jumped to the side, the cross smashing in to the ground.

Taichi jumped to his feet, summoning the Katana of Fire, "All right, Agumon, let's go!"

His partner nodded and jumped at Taichi, "Agumon X warp evolve to Wargreymon X!"

Taichi and Agumon X, fused into Wargreymon X, landed on the ground with a thud. The armored dragon man stared at Cahiti. Both combatants screamed and leapt into the air.

Wargrymon X threw his arm up to block Cahiti's kick, then swung his other arm, connecting his fist with the Demon's side. The Dragon Man maneuvered through the air, swinging his foot into Cahiti's head, but he grabbed his ankle and began to spin him quickly through the air. He released his grip, sending him crashing into the ground. The Demon flew after him, but the Dragon Man whipped onto his back and used his momentum to plant both of his feet into the Demon's stomach, sending him back into the air.

Cahiti chuckled as he cracked his neck. "Not bad, you certainly haven't lost any of your power in the last fifteen years, but I've grown a lot stronger. Unlike you,_ I_ haven't been doing nothing but sitting behind a desk!"

Wargreymon X rose back to his feet, "Yeah, well let me show you how 'weak' I am!" He thrust his arms into the air and began to draw energy into his palms. "Gaia Force!" He threw his ball of energy at the Demon, who simply shifted his body to avoid it.

He slowly turned back. "You're definitely not that…ahh!" he screamed out as Wargreymon X shot towards him with his bladed gauntlets swinging, cutting a gash into his shoulder. "You bastard!" he screamed.

Wargreymon X snickered, "That's called a diversion. That's what I learned sitting behind a desk!" He swung his bladed gauntlets again, and Cahiti darted back. The Demon swung his fist, but Wargreymon X pulled his head back at the last second and Cahiti only swung empty air. The Dragon Man jabbed his knee into Cahiti's stomach. He was about to slash the Demon, but Cahiti pointed his fingers at the Dragon Man's chest, "Grand Cross!"

The Dragon Man was hit full blast in his chest. He tumbled through the air towards the ground, but managed to land on his two feet. He put both of his arms together above his head and began to spin at an impossible rate, creating a tornado of energy that smashed into the Demon. "Great Tornado!"

Cahiti moaned loudly clutching his head. Wargreymon X shot into the air with his bladed gauntlets ready, but he took a deep breath, then blasted out a stream of fire, "Purgatorial Flame!"

Wargreymon X crossed his arms to shield his face, and when he threw them apart, Cahiti was sailing at him. He crashed his fist across the Dragon Man's nose, then whipped around behind him and kicked his back, grabbed his arm and threw him tumbling away. He recovered quickly.

Cahiti chuckled as he watched Wargreymon X adjusted his gauntlets. "You know," he panted, "You're holding up a lot better than I thought you would."

"Is that another crack about me being old?" Wargreymon X panted back.

"Yes, that's right," he responded, mentioning to his face, "I am the exact double of Taichi Yagami, I look like you when you were in your twenties, but, I was only created seventeen years ago, and I spent the last fifteen years trapped in the Digital Underworld, a place of the spirit, not the body, thus, I did not age."

Wargreymon X chuckled slightly, "Yeah, but if you do take my body, you'll be just as old as me."

Cahiti crossed his arms, "Schmidt's plan-the creation of the Demons, the Hunters, bio-engineering a child with both Fate and Chance, well, GranDracmon did not conceive of it, Juro did not conceive of it, _I_ did. The entire mission, everything Schmidt did, it all came back to _me!"_

"What's your point?"

"My point is, that everything had the end result of freeing us so we could walk this plane of existence once again! Do you think I wouldn't have considered the age of your body? When I can't use it anymore, I'll just use the same digital environment as here to take another!"

Wargreymon X rose to his feet, "Yeah, well, in order to do any of that, you'll have to take care of me first, right?"

Cahiti cracked his knuckles, "Yes, a situation I will soon rectify!"

He shot at Wargreymon X, and the Dragon Man screamed before propelling forward. Both combatants swung their fists which crashed into one another, sending out a shockwave that shattered most of the smaller volcanoes in the area. Cahiti quickly gained the upper hand with a series of rapid punches to the Dragon Man's torso. He finished by giving his head a quick jab with his leg. Wargreymon X was disorient and was hovering from side to side. Cahiti grabbed him and threw him into the ground with a loud crash.

Chaiti raised both of his palms into the air, "Dead or Alive!" A sphere of white appeared over one hand and a sphere of black appeared over the other. He threw both of them into the Dragon Man, and when they met, they exploded in an immense shockwave. When the smoke faded, Cahiti growled at seeing Wargreymon X standing at the edge of the crater, he had leapt to safety at the last moment. The Demon screamed and descended to the ground. He wasted no time in charging Wargreymon X once again. "Paradise Lost!" he screamed, pulling his fist back, ready to unleash his combo, but the Dragon Man ducked to avoid the jab and slammed his fist deep into Cahiti's stomach. The Demon roared out in pain and clutched his injured abdomen. Wargreymon X executed a devastating roundhouse, cracking his heel into Cahiti's head.

The Demon shot into the sky again, screaming loudly. "You…. Your body is mine!"

On the ground, Wargreymon X moved his legs apart and thrust his arms into the air. He began to draw in energy from the environment around him, from the ground, from the lava, from the air, even from the darkness. All formed into a multicolored orb. "Gaia Force Zero!" He pulled his arms back, then threw the orb at Cahiti with all of his might.

The Demon laughed, "You're faster at summoning that attack, but you still can't throw it fast enough!"

He darted aside and the attack passed right by him. He turned back, only to experience an excruciating pain in his stomach. He looked down and saw the giant blade on Wargreymon X's gauntlet deep in his stomach. He followed the gauntlet up the Dragon Man's arm and to his face. Wargreymon X smirked, "I can't believe you fell for that again. Here's something to consider while you burn in Hell, as you get older, you get smarter!"

Cahiti screamed as his data scattered, returning to the Digital Underworld. Wargreymon X dropped back to the ground, and returned to Taichi and Agumon X. "What now?" the small dinosaur asked.

Taichi looked into a dark corridor. "Let's try to find the others

------

Yamato and Gabumon X were standing within an arctic landscape, staring down Juro. The Fallen Chosen was chuckling, "Well, I think your body is going to serve me well…grandson."

Yamato narrowed his eyes, "If I'm really your grandson, why didn't you say anything when the X-Chosen fought you?"

Juro replied quickly, "Simply put, I had no idea. Your grandmother was Japanese, I met her when visiting Yuushi. I brought her back to Germany. She gave birth to triplets: Dierk, Felici and Hiroki, your father."

Yamato said nothing.

"Naoki and I soon had a falling out, and she took our children. I didn't know it at the time, but she left Dierk with a family in Germany, and took Felici and Hiroaki to Japan. She made it to China and crossed the Sea of Japan, when the ship was caught in a storm and sunk. Felici and Hiroaki both survived, however. Felici was placed in foster care and Hiroaki was adopted by Felici's sister, _that_ is the woman you always thought was your real grandmother. Of course, Felici was Mitsuo Yamaki's mother, and Dierk became Victor's father."

"And Victor was the father of Masanori, who needed the powers in Asami, the daughter of Mitsuo," Yamato added, "So, actually _you're_ the source of all our problems the past few months."

Juro snickered, "I'm afraid I can't take all the credit, it was actually mostly Cahiti's plan. He's a pretty good strategist you know."

Yamato frowned, "Yeah, Taichi's corrupted side all right."

The Fallen Chosen snorted and rolled his eyes, "Oh, you have no idea. I spent the last fifteen years listening to his arrogant mouth. Well, let's get started, shall we. Oh, wait, let me change into something more…comfortable…" He tensed his muscles, then began to grow…younger; his white hair turned blond, his wrinkles vanishing, his muscles growing larger. No longer an elderly man, there now stood a young man with wavy blond hair. He cracked his neck, "Ahh, that's better. Now, whenever you're ready. And don't be concerned, my partner's data is now a part of me, so come at me with your full strength, I can take it."

Yamato summoned his Shotguns of Light, "All right, you asked for it!"

"Gabumon X evolve to Metalgarurumon X!"

The armored wolf-man pointed his guns at the age-regressed Juro. "All right, whenever _you're_ ready."

Juro screamed and leapt into the air. Metalgarurumon X fired a round of bullets at his opponent. The Fallen Chose darted through the air, dodging the projectiles, then pointed his fist at the Wolf Man, "3D Laser!"

Metalgarurumon X jumped aside, and Juro dropped from the air, smashing his foot into the wolf's head with all of his weight before propelling back into the air. The Mega shot into the air after him, firing his gun in an attempt to hit the Fallen Chosen, but he was too fast. "Stay still!" he screamed.

Juro suddenly twisted around, kicking Metalgarurumon X across his face, then contorted over the wolf's head, kicking his back. The Wolf Man managed to spin around and fired a shot at Juro's head. The Fallen Chosen shifted aside at the last moment and the bullet impacted into his shoulder. He growled and swung his other fist around. Metalgarurumon X caught the fist within his palm and threw the Fallen Chosen into the ground. Juro landed on his feet but rebounded into the air, bashing his fist into Metalgarurumon X's chin. The Wolf Man began to pivot backwards, and Juro shot further in the air to continue his assault, but the Mega darted back, jabbing the top of his head into the Fallen Chosen's stomach. Juro darted back, clutching his abdomen.

Metalgarurumon X rubbed his head, "Why don't you just stop right now?"

Juro grinned. "I'm just getting started, 3D Laser!" A beam of light exploded from his palm that struck Metalgarurumon X in the shoulder. The Wolf Man responded by firing all of his missile chambers.

"Grand Cross Freezer!"

The Fallen Chosen was forced to drop to the ground to avoid the missile, but one managed to clip him in the ankle, throwing him off balance. Metalgarurumon X darted through the air and slammed his fist into Juro's chin. He was about to swing his gun barrel into the Fallen Chosen's face, but Juro smirked and smashed both of his palms into the Wolf's head. "Max Power Vice!"

Metalgarurumon X moaned loudly, falling to the ground. He landed on his feet, but was stumbling, trying to keep his footing. Juro looked down at him, an amused expression on his face. He crossed his arms and chuckled, "Well, looks like this is going to be easier than I thought. I'll be free of here in no time."

The Wolf Man glared at Juro, "Why did you do it? Why did you join with GranDracmon?"

"You would ask me that now?" he chuckled, "I turned away from the others because I wanted a realm of my own to rule, I was just as powerful as Yuushi, why should I bow to him? While wandering the great desert, I heard GranDracmon's call. He promised me power, and I accepted."

"Just like that, huh? You turned your back on everything, even your family, that's why Naoki left you, huh?"

Juro shrugged, "That bitch's gone, that's all that matters."

Metalgarurumon X could not believe his ears, "That's it, huh? You feel nothing? What about your children? What about me? If you knew I was your grandson when we fought before, what then?"

"Nothing," he answered, "You sided with the descendents of Yuushi, then-as now- you're nothing, you're simply a means for me to escape the horrors of the Digital Underworld!" His smile grew, "and I can't wait to feel the tastes of life again…maybe I'll start with your wife!"

Metalgarurumon X growled, showing his fangs, "Don't' you dare touch Noriko!" He launched at his opponent, pointing his weapon at the Fallen Chosen, "Garuru Tomahawk!" A massive missile exploded from his shotgun. Juro twisted and the missile passed over his head, but, he then grabbed the projectile and used its momentum to twist it around and send it sailing back towards the metal wolf.

"Shit!" the Mega shouted, rolling to the side as the missile exploded into the ground.

"3D Laser!"

The metal wolf twisted his head in time to see Juro's attack coming straight for him. He was struck directly in the chest, and he fell to his knees, panting heavily. He clutched his abdomen, wincing in pain. Juro came sailing down from the air with his fists pulled back. Metalgarurumon X fired quickly from his shotguns, and the bullets slashed through the Fallen Chosen's side. He pushed past the pain to finish his attack with a devastating blow to the Mega wolf's head. The Wolf Man swung his fist into Juro's stomach, but he shot back into the air.

Metalgarurumon X fired a large bullet from his shotgun at his opponent. Instead of dodging to the side, Juro dropped to the ground. The Wolf man leapt into the air at a near-impossible speed and fired another shotgun bullet, this one striking his previous bullet, changing its direction from upward to downward-and this bullet struck Juro directly in the forehead, throwing his head back. Metalgarurumon X quickly over him and thrust his shotgun into Juro's mouth. He fired a barrage of bullets that ripped through his stomach and chest. His body exploded into data a moment later, and the Fallen Chosen was gone.

Metalgarurumon X panted dropped to his feet, panting heavily. "Enjoy your eternity in Hell," he mumbled.

He rose back to his feet, eyes narrowed, "GranDracmon." He charged into the dark tunnels.

-------

Masa and Dorumon were standing atop a tall mountain, lighting crackling around them. Staring them down was Schmidt. "I have to say," Schmidt said, "Seeing you standing there, the determination on your face…you look just like your mother."

"Shut up!" Masa screamed, "Don't you dare talk about my mother, you fucking bastard!"

"All right, if you don't want to talk about her, then why don't we talk about you…son."

Masa clenched his fists, even more angry than before, "No, let's talk about you! You are a fucking piece of shit! You fucked up the lives of my brother, my mother, all the Demons and the Hunters!"

He just rolled his eyes, "Each of the Demons and the Hunters wanted the power I gave them…"

"You took them when they were confused, depressed and took their pain and made them think you could give them a way out! And you didn't even do anything for yourself, it was all for GranDracmon, you're the worse kind of scum."

This affected Schmidt, as he screamed out. "I am your father, and you will show me some respect!" He smirked, "But, after I take your body, I'll be ruling the world alongside GranDracmon! Time to die!"

Masa and Dorumon warp evolved to Alphamon. He summoned his sword and charged at Schmidt. He swung his blade at his opponent, but Schmidt darted through the Knight's thrust and punched his stomach. Alphamon swung his sword to slash his opponent, but Schmidt rolled aside again. He leapt into the air and fired two bent beams of energy from his palms, "Double Crescent Mirage!"

Alphamon was in too much shock to move as the two beams slashed across his right shoulder. He stumbled back, still staring at Schmidt. "How…?"

He chuckled, "Right now I am a being of pure data, and data can be combined, in this case, the data of my partner."

The Knight shook his head, "But…none of your partner's evolutions had that attack…"

"You're right again, that attack comes from MirageGaogamon, the Mega form of Machgaogamon. What, did you think you were going to win easily?

"I'm still stronger than you!" he shouted, swinging his blade; Schmidt leapt aside and the Knight's blade became stuck in the ground. Schmidt jumped onto Alphamon's wrist, then pushed himself to kick the side of the Knight's head, twisted around and slammed both of his fists into Alphamon's back.

The Knight pulled his sword from the ground and twirled, but Schmidt had already leapt to a safe distance. Alphamon thrust his fingers forward, firing a blast of green energy from each digit, "Digitize of Soul!"

When Schmidt realized he would not be able to dodge all ten beams of energy, he put his palms together in front of his chest and unleashed his own beam of energy, "Full Moon Blaster!" Both attacks smashed into one another, creating an explosion that temporarily blinded Alphamon. Schmidt had managed to shield his eyes, and now was darting behind the sightless Knight. The fingers on his right hand grew into sharp claws. He slashed into Alphamon's back, "Gale Claw!"

The Knight roared in pain and spun around quickly with his sword extended. Schmidt jumped back, but this time, Alphamon was able to cut a gash in the evil Chosen's shin. He dropped to the ground, clutching his wound. "Got ya!" Alphamon shouted, charging with his sword swinging. Schmidt dropped to his back and the blade sliced air above him. He whipped his foot around, striking the Knight in the arm, then used his other leg to propel himself to Alphamon's head, bringing his fist inches in front of the Knight's nose. Alphamon, however, pointed his fingers at Schmidt's chest and fired. "Digitize of Soul!"

Schmidt was struck at point blank in his chest, throwing him back. He landed, clutching his abdomen. He glared at Alphamon, then smirked, "Well play, son."

The Royal Knight narrowed his eyes, staring at his opponent. "Did you ever love my mother? Did you ever care about her, or me, at all."

"Of course I cared about you," he replied, "You were part of the plan all along…"

"What about my mother?!"

"Your mother…" he closed his eyes, as if searching in the darkness of his mind, "You mother was a very spirited woman, she was…" his voice grew softer, "…lonely…she really did love me, I suppose…"

"And what about?" Alphamon shouted, "What about you? Did you love her at all?"

"Whether I did or not is irrelevant!" he screamed, "I did what I was ordered to! We needed a being with both Fate and Chance to free Dagomon. She had Fate, I had Chance, I did what was necessary."

"Just following orders, huh?" he spat, "You're a piece of shit! You just use people to get your own self-centered goals!" He pointed his sword at him, "You're not going to fuck up anyone else's life! "Digitize of Soul!"

Schmidt leapt into the air and fired beams of energy from his palms, "Double Crescent Mirage" Alphamon deflected the blasts like a batter swinging a bat. Schmidt gasped and threw his arms over his face to shield them as the beams of energy struck his torso. The Royal Knight shot into the air and swung his blade at Schmidt, but the evil Chosen dodged at the last second. Alphamon adjusted his swing and this time his blade struck its mark, sinking deep into his opponent's shoulder. Schmidt fired his Full Moon Blaster, which propelled him away from Alphamon, but the Knight was not about to lose the upper hand. He waited until Schmidt had descended before he threw his weapon spinning through the air. Schdmit gasped and twisted aside, but the weapon was spinning in an arc. It sliced through his shin, exploding in a giant gash.

He roared in pain and fell to the ground. He did not even have a chance to examine his injury, as Alphamon smashed his fist across Schmidt's face, then swung his other fist into his head. He brought both of his hands together above his head, then threw them down into Schmidt's back. The evil Chosen grabbed hold of the Knight's feet and threw him onto his back. Schmidt jumped back and clenched his muscles, "Full Moon…  
Alphamon grabbed his sword and swung in desperation. His blade cleanly slashed through Schmidt's abdomen. The two halves of his body separated and fell to the ground before exploding into data, vanishing into nothingness.

The Royal Knight exploded in light, reverting back to Masa and Dorumon. The human was panting heavily, "M…mom," he mumbled, "T…that was for you…"

His partner looked to him, "Masa, what do we do now?"

"GranDracmon's the one behind all of this," he said, "But, I'm worried about Asami. Mr. Yagami and Mr. Ishida can more than take care of themselves, but Asami's still too inexperienced with her Mega form. I hope Mr. Yagami and Mr. Ishida are on their way to fight GranDracmon, we've got to find Asami."

Dorumon nodded. "Right."

----

Asami and Leormon were in the desert, with arid winds whipping at their faces. Their opponent was Asro, who was walking towards her in a seductive manner. "Well, my dear Asami," she chuckled, "I'm very glad that you're here."

"What?" she asked, "W…why?"

"Isn't it obvious? If you weren't here, what body could I have taken? I would have been suck as a man…" She shivered slightly, "But, you're here." She looked the girl over, "I'm going to have to do something about those breasts tough…"

Asami narrowed her eyes, "What's wrong with the size of my breasts?"

Asro mentioned to her own, "But I suppose that's why they make implants."

Leormon stared at his partner, for the first time in a very long time, Asami actually was angry…more so…she was pissed. She summoned the Flail of Chance and did not even order her partner to evolve, and she did not need to, Leormon knew instantly. They both evolved to Rhodo Knightmon and began their battle with Asro.

The Demoness licked her lips, "Ahh, a battle, at last, I'll be able to feel the sensation of the mortal world again!"

Asro swung the claws on her decayed hand at the Royal Knight's chest, "Nazer Nail!" RhodoKnightmon blocked with her shield, then attacked with her own fist, striking the Demoness in the shoulder. She only laughed as she contorted her body around so that she could kick RhodoKnightmon in the side of the head. She then darted back. Once she landed on the ground, she instantly charged forward, pulling her clawed arm back again. RhodoKnightmon readied her sheild, but at the last second, Asro exhaled a blast of black fog, "Phantom Pain!"

RodoKnightmon gasped and tried to use her shield as protection, but the fog simply passed around it. The Knight swung her arm to dissipate it, only to feel that limb go completly numb. She cried out in shock and swung her arm violently back and forth, trying to regain control of it, but it remained limply at her side.

"Phantom Pain usually destroys my victim's desire to fight," Asro explained, "But...it seems that as a Royal Knight, you are somewhat immune to it."

Rhodo Knightmon stared at her. "Maybe, I don't know," she answered, softly. Her face hardened, "But, if it gives me an advantage, then I have to use it!"

Asro laughed, throwing her head back, "Yes! That's right, you'll have to use everything you've got against me!" She leapt at her opponent once more, swinging his decaying hand.

RhodoKnightmon swung her ribbons at the Demoness, "Spiral Masquerade!"

Asro used her decayed arm to grab hold of the razor sharp ribbons and pulled quickly, sending the Knight off balance. The Demoness of Lust gleefully hoped over and kicked RhodoKnightmon in the underside of the chin, then swung her arm. The Knight twisted away with inches to spare. She rolled aside and leapt back to her feet, her fist swinging, "Argent Fear!"

Her fist struck Asro directly on the nose, throwing her head back. The Demoness was far from defeated, however, as she suddenly latched her legs onto the Knight's outstretched arm. She swung around her decayed arm, "Nazer Nail!" Her elongated claw jabbed into the Knight's elbow. RhodoKnightmon roared in pain and flung the Demoness to the ground. Asro's necrotizing touch was already corroding the armor on her arm. She detached her gauntlet and threw it at Asro, but the Demoness only snickered.

"You're fast," she chuckled, "And pretty agile, despite that clunker of a body you've got. Tell ya what, you let me take your body, and I'll give you one hell of a ride…" she mentioned to her crotch, "You a male or a female when you're like that? Well, I guess it really doesn't matter, any which way is fine with me…"

"Is that all you care about?" RodoKnightmon asked, "Getting s…getting sex?"

"Of course!" Asro snickered, "I'm the Demon Chosen of Lust, sexuality is what I am." She shrugged, "Of course, after I take your body, I'll have to find a cute boy to get it from, since Gabriel Barton is dead…"

RhodoKnightmon felt her heart turn cold, "W…what?"

Asro raised an eyebrow, "Oh, you mean you haven't figured that out? Well, I suppose that's why you're hot, not smart. Hoakah took him out. Oh, I should mention that your Daddy's gone too, Flidais took care of that."

RhodoKnightmon stared at her, a mixture of feelings overwhelming her. Seeing her Aunt's face taunt her like that was so cruel…but was it just a taunt? Or was it the truth? Her father…Gabe…

She glared at Asro, tears in her eyes. She charged, her ribbons read to attack. The Demoness opened her arms, licking her lips, "Come on, let's see what you've got!"

RhodoKnightmon waited until she was close enough, then swung her fist at her opponent. "Argent Fear!"

Asro blocked leapt into the air, avoiding the attack. She held out her decayed arm, "Naizer…"

"Spiral Masquerade!" RhodoKnightmon declared as her razor-sharp ribbons leapt into the air. Asro twisted to the side in mid-air, but the Knight had anticipated that, and maneuvered her ribbons _before_ the Demoness made her move. Asro maneuvered directly into a whirlwind of razor fabrics. Her body was torn into pieces that fell slowly to the ground before exploding back into data.

Rhodo Knightmon fell to her knees, reverting back to Asami and Leormon in an explosion of light. "W…wow," the girl said, "We…we actually beat a Demon Lord…"

Leormon chuckled, smiling at his partner, "I know."

"Asami! Leormon!"

Both turned to see Masa and Dorumon charging towards them. "Asami, are you okay?"

She nodded, "Y..yes, but how did you find us?"

Dorumon bowed slightly, "I don't think anyone else is inside of Ogudomon like us. It was easy to find your scents."

Masa looked around, "Did you have to fight someone."

"Yeah," Leormon answered, "Asro."

"And…you beat her?"

Asami nodded, "Yes, we did."

Masa blinked in surprise. "_Maybe Asami can take care of herself too…"_

The girl looked over his shoulder, "Uncle Taichi and Mr. Ishida's not with you?"

He shook his head, "No, but I'm sure they beat their opponents and are going to find GranDracmon."

Asami suddenly gasped. "What?" Masa asked.

"Gabe…my father," she said, breathing heavily, "A…asro s…said they were dead…"

"Dead?" Masa and Dorumon gasped.

Leormon frowned, "Yeah…"

Masa immediately shook his head, "No, I don't believe that! Gabe and your father are a lot stronger than those Hunters, and I'm sure that Kasumi, Shiro and the rest are fine too."

She looked to him with hopeful eyes, "R…really? Then where are they?"

"I…probably on Yddrisil." He smiled, "I'm sure they're on their way back here right now."

The girl nodded quickly, "Y..yes, you're right."

Masa smiled back. _"They're dead? That's probably why only me and Asami made it to the top of Yddrisil, but…how would Asro know that? Was she lying, or…."_

"What are we going to do now?" Asami asked.

"Let's find Mr. Yagami and Mr. Ishida," Masa said, "They're probably going to need all the help they can get."

--------

GranDracmon stood within a section of Ogudomon that was a giant cavern, the walls of which were comprised of a soft material that resembled brain matter. The top was rounded like a dome, and displayed images of the outside world, where the DATS Agents were battling valiantly against the might of Ogudomon.

He turned his attention to the gray-matter walls, which were displaying an image of Taichi, Yamato, Agumon X and Gabumon X charging through the darkened halls, heading directly for him.

"All right," he chuckled, "Looks like I have to take care of this myself." He flexed his muscles, laughing manically, "It is time for round two!"

To be continued…


	44. At the Edge of Midnight: Chapter 3

-------------

_At the Edge of Midnight:_

_Chapter 3_

_------------_

Once again the city of Tokyo was under attack from a digimon threat. However, this attack was like none other. It's opponent was a digimon called Ogudomon, a digimon far more powerful than any that had entered Earth before. With the Royal Knights still unaccounted for, the defense of Earth fell to the remainder of the DATS forces. Akira Yagami ordered the agents into battle, one he was not even certain he would win. Despite this uncertainty, they had stopped Ogudomon from advancing into the Tokyo, keeping him trapped near the Tokyo Bay waterfront.

"Water digimon!" Akira shouted, "Attack from the bay, flying digimon, attack his eye!"

Megaseadramon X, Gesomon X, Waruseadramon, Shawujinmon and Anomalocarimon X jumped into the water while the larger force of digimon took to the air and began to attack the large eye resting atop Ogudomon's body. Rizegreymon pointed his gun arm at his enemy's glowing red eye, "Trident Revolver!"

Ogudomon pulled his eye inside his body and the energy bullets bounced off of his armored form.

"Cut through that armor!" Akira shouted.

Ogudomon's eye popped back out of his body and he scanned the battlefield again. Garudamon and Nefertimon X launched a dual attack against his front side, while Lillymon X and Hippo Gryphomon attacked from the side. This kept Ogudomon's eye focused while another force moved to attack from behind.

Ladydevimon extended her claws and began to slash and hack at the Demon's armor, but to no use. "I can't even make more than a scratch!" she shouted.

"Let me try," Deramon said. She pulled her head back and declared, "Beak Buster!" She unleashed her head like a woodpecker, bashing into the scratch made by Ladydevimon. Her head was a blur as she hacked into the armor. She finally felt it brake under her beak. "I'm in!"

She moved aside, revealing a large hole in the side of the digimon. Rizegreymon with Machgoagamon in his arm, appeared behind them. The dragon dinosaur threw the wolf man, and he slashed at the hole with his claws, ripping it into a large slash. Rizegreymon grabbed both side and ripped it open even further, revealing a gray membrane like skin beneath.

Ogudomon felt his skin being exposed. He unleashed a shockwave of energy from his underside. "Catedral!"

Down below, Akira watched at the digimon were thrown aside. He shouted to the shoreline of the Tokyo Bay, where Dingo and Lynna were standing, "Now!"

"Ya heard 'em!" Lynna shouted, "Kick some arse!"

The water in the bay erupted into a cyclone of twisting water with Shawujinmon riding atop. He rode it until it reached Ogudomon's exposed skin, then leapt aside. The force of water struck the gray membrane, and, for the first time in the battle, Ogudomon moaned in pain. DATS was not about to lose their advantage. The other digimon who had been waiting beneath the water leapt through the surface. Megaseadramon X and Waruseadramon fired two entwining bolts of lightning from their horns, while Anomalocarimon X unleashed his Tail Blade attack.

Ogudomon twisted at the last second, and their attacks struck his armor. Strange tendrils leapt from the gray membrane and grabbed the two Seadramons and Anomalocarimon X, flinging them aside. Gesomon X jumped from the water and whipped his tentacles after them. He grabbed Anomalocarimon X, then grabbed one of Ogudomon's legs to use as a brace to pull Anomalocarimon X back at the colossal digimon. The X digimon sailed through the air, and jabbed his pincers into Ogudomon's exposed area.

He began to thrash from side to side, his large feet stomping everywhere. His eye was spinning wildly. He stumbled before crashing into the ground. They all waited, but the beast was still.

"Did that do it?" Adan asked.

Ogudomon roared loudly and jumped back to his feet. "That answer your question?" Yasu exclaimed.

Akira clenched his fist, "Come on, we've got to keep fighting. No matter what, we can't give up!"

The others nodded and ordered their digimon into battle again. The redheaded boy sighed to himself. _"I wish Dad was here, he'd know what to do."_

"Catedral!" Ogudomon shouted, unleashing his energy wave once again. The digimon that could fly grabbed those that could not and flew higher into the air, avoiding the energy waves. They flew closer to attack, but Ogudomon suddenly displayed flexibility with his legs raising them to swat away the attackers. The two Seadramon wrapped their tails around power poles embedded into the ground while they clasped the legs with their teeth, trying to use their bodies to keep the limbs on the ground. This was a failure, as Ogudomon was far stronger, ripping them from the ground.

Hippo Gryphomon maneuvered through Ogudomon's legs and Shawujinmon leapt from the Wind Guardian's back, landing on Ogudomon with his staff jabbing into the exposed area of the Demon's gray membrane skin. The Demon roared and flicked him into the ground. Ladydevimon grabbed Machgaogamon and hoisted him into the air. Garudamon and Nefertimon X distracted Ogudomon's legs so the devil woman could throw the wolf man onto the top of the Demon's body. He charged at the demon's eye, punching it as hard as he could. Ogudomon thrashed from side to side, throwing the wolf man to the ground.

Rizegreymon floated over the Demon and pointed his gun barrel, "Trident Revolver!" His three energy bolts impacted around Ogudomon's eye. Suddenly, the massive digimon began to shake as beams of energy erupted through his skin.

The digimon and humans ran for cover. "What the hell is goin' on?" Joey shouted.

"Maybe we melted his insides or something," Yasu said.

Akira watched as Ogudomon stumbled back into the bay, beams of energy ripping him apart from the inside. "What the hell is going on?"

---

Taichi and Agumon X met Yamato and Gabumon X as they ran through the twisting tunnels of the innards of Ogudomon. "You okay?" Yamato asked.

"Yeah," Taichi nodded, "Do you know where Asami and Masa are?"

The blond man shook his head, "No."

Taichi clenched his fist, "She had better be okay…"

"I'm sure she is," Agumon X said quickly, "She's a lot stronger than she looks."

The bushy haired man said nothing as they continued through the passages. Yamato looked to his partner, "Are you sure this is the right way?"

"Yes," Gabumon X answered, sniffing the air, "His stench is down this way, I'll never forget it."

They entered in a massive room covered with pulsing gray walls. "Is this the brain?" Agumon X gasped, "That's disgusting!"

A deep, sinister voice echoed through the room, "So…you never forgot my stench, eh?"

The group said nothing as the impressive figure of GranDracmon materialized before them. The Demon God cracked his neck as he chuckled, "Nice to see you again too."

Taichi narrowed his eyes. "Well, looks like its back down to us again, huh?"

GranDracmon flexed his muscles, "The last time, you needed the help of Plesiomon, Hououmon, Kuzuhamon, and especially Apocalymon. Alone, you won't stand a chance."

"Yeah?" Agumon X asked, giving him the finger, "Ya wanna bet?"

Yamato was glaring at GranDracmon, when he noticed the gray crystal hanging around the Demon's neck. "That's…!"

-

-

_Masanori and Araki both reached into their cloaks to remove a diamond-shaped crystal. His was silver, hers was gold. "This device is similar to the Soul Catcher that was used to siphon the Daughters of the First. It is a crude design, so this may hurt…"_

_They placed their crystals together, and a blast of light struck ASami. Her body began to quiver before a strange colored light erupted from her chest. This color was a muddle of gold and silver-Fate and Chance. The beam returned to the two crystals and they began to glow. Asami fell to the ground, but was caught by Yasu and Eliane. Masanori stared at his crystal, glowing brightly. "Success! At long last, success! The path to god will now be opened!"_

_-_

_The Demon Master rose to his feet, staring up at Dorughoramon. His eyes darted from the towering dragon to the shoreline. The Flail of Chance was firmly in the metal dragon's hand, he would not be able to reclaim it. His eyes, instead, focused on the two glowing crystals near the rolling waves, the same crystals Araki had used to attempt to free the Agent of Destruction…._

_Masanori smirked, "I will never accept defeat and become your slave!" He ran quickly, diving into a roll, grabbing the silver colored crystal and jumping back to his feet._

"_The crystal?!" Dorughoramon gasped._

"_That's right!" the Demon Master laughed, holding the crystal, which began to glow with a silver light, "The same power of Chance that was taken from Asami Yamaki. It might not have freed the Agent, but, I think it might have some more use left!" He jabbed it into his stomach, lurching forward._

"_No!" the metal dragon screamed._

_Leormon gulped, "I've got a bad feeling about this…"_

_Masanori's body began to radiate with silver light, pulling Dexdorumon into the glowing globe of energy._

"_**Dexdorumon warp evolve to…"**_

_**The silver light of Chance wrapped around Dexdorumon and Masanori, binding tightly to their bodies, fusing them into one. This figure suddenly erupted in size, growing larger and larger. Two elongated arms burst from his torso, whipping from side to side. Large red wings erupted from his back, and purple armor flowed across his body.**_

"_**Dexmon!"**_

-

_Sentry grinned in an impossibly large smile, "Yes, she is right at that…" His eyes focused on the grey shard that hung around Masa's neck, "And what is this?" He made a wave with his hand, and the silver crystal lifted from around the boy's neck and flew to Sentry's hand. He examined it closely, then grinned, "Ah, it is imbued with the power of Juro…." He began to laugh, "What is this? Your last hope perhaps? Ha! It is nothing more than a sliver of chance!" He tilted the head back and pushed the crystal deep into his mouth, then…swallowed it!_

-

"Yes," GranDracmon replied, "It is." He lightly tapped it, "This simple device was the driving force behind my resurrection." He grinned, "Everything…my entire return, all because of this…."

"Yeah, and all the fucking hell we went through just so your _servants_ could get it!" Taichi shouted, "You're gonna pay for everything, you hear me! Your fucking "Gift of Demons," turned me daughter into a fucking Demon! I'm gonna kill you for that!"

"And you corrupted Juro, Schmidt, Masanori, and all the Demons!" Yamato added.

GranDracmon snickered, "Feeling a brotherhood with your newly discovered relations? Your grandfather, Juro, he wanted power, he wanted to be king, all he had to do was sell his soul…" He shrugged his shoulders, "I bet he'd do it again."

Yamato clenched his fist, "I have had enough of you!" He turned to Taichi, "Ready to kick his ass?"

Taichi grinned, "Yeah, let's go."

"We're ready," Agumon X nodded.

Gabumon X nodded as well, "Yes, we're with you all the way."

The humans summoned their weapons, then thrust them into the air. Humans and digimon began to merge in an explosion of light and power.

"Agumon X warp fusion evolve to…"

"Gabumon X warp fusion evolve to…"

"Omegamon X!"

The large knight stood in place as his cape billowed behind him. His eyes were narrowed as he stared at his opponent. GranDracmon chuckled as he opened his arms, "So, it is time for a rematch, but just to warn you, I have learned a few new tricks since we last met."

"Big deal!" Omegamon X snapped, "No matter what, I'll kill you!"

"Ha ha!" GranDracmon roared, "Well said." He mentioned with his hands, "Well, any time you're ready."

Omegamon X screamed and charged forward. He swung his sword at his opponent, but GranDracmon darted back, then easily backhanded him into the wall. The Knight leapt into the air and began to fire blasts of energy from his cannon. The Demon God caused his muscles to tense and he allowed each blast to strike him directly in the chest. Omegamon X gasped when he saw that there was not even a scratch on his opponent. "As I said before, you cannot handle me on your own." His grin grew, "Allow me to show you…Dead Scream!"

He unleashed a blast of sonic waves that was so deafening that the Knight was forced to cover his head. The sound waves even caused the gray matter surrounding them to ripple and wave. Omegamon X whipped his head from side to side in an attempt to silence the sound. GranDracmon stomped forward and swung his back hand into the Knight's face, throwing him back in a spin. The Demon God grabbed Omegamon X's ankle and threw him into the ground. The Royal Knight broke free of the grip and rolled along the ground before jumping back to his feet. He whipped his leg around, cracking his heel across GranDracmon's nose. The Demon swung his massive fist into the Knight's stomach, and he dropped to the ground, wheezing.

"Oh, come now," GranDracmon chuckled, "Are you even trying?"

"Son of a bitch!" Omegamon X snapped as he jumped to his feet again, swinging his sword into the Demon's chin, "Ultimate Uppercut!"

GranDracmon leapt backwards, and the blade slashed through empty air. The Demon God blasted a beam of shimmering energy, "Crystal Revolution!"

"Ahh!" the Knight gasped, leaping into the air. GranDracmon's crystallizing wave struck the ground, turning it to glass. When the Knight landed on the transformed ground, he slipped on the surface, leaving him wide open. GranDracmon jumped above the Knight, then landed into him with all of his weight. Omegamon X screamed out as the Demon chuckled. The Knight gritted his teeth and slashed his leg with his blade. GranDracmon hissed and jumped back. The Knight jumped back to his feet, firing a barrage of energy from his cannon.

"Omega Howling!"

GranDracmon threw up his arm and blocked most of the blasts from striking his face. When the Knight's attack subsided, the Demon whipped his other arm around, sending a blast of energy into the Knight's chest. Omegamon X skidded backwards, but remained on his feet.

GranDracmon smirked as he cracked his neck. "Well, I would have thought that you would have gotten stronger since we last met, but it seems you've only become weaker…" He chuckled again, "Or it could be that I've ascended far above you." His smile grew again to an impossible width, "I am as far above you as you are above normal humans and digimon."

"You're nothing but an arrogant piece of digital shit!" Omegamon X shouted.

GranDracmon chuckled, "Is that the sort of language that a Royal Knight would speak?"

"Fuck off! Go back to wherever you came from!"

He shook his head, "Now, you know that I cannot do that. I am a virus, I must conquer and dominate."

"No you don't!" Omegamon X snapped back, "That's just bull to justify your own selfish goals!"

The Demon snarled, "You know _nothing_ of my goals! You were not there when the Angels imposed exile upon us to keep us from their heavenly realm!"

"Oh really?" Omegamon X asked with a snort.

"Yes, that's right!" he shouted back. He sighed deeply, closing his eyes, "It was such a long time ago…"

--

_The Flamon arrived early that day. He called for everyone to meet him in the town square. The digimon of the village were eager, this was a messenger from the divine! The Flamon stood in the center of the villagers and read from a scroll, "Hear me, digimon of the village of Hollerith, Lord Seraphimon of the Day, Lord Cherubimon of the Night, and Lady Ophanimon of the Twilight have decreed that you will are here by barred from entering the Heavenly Realm._

_"What?!" the digimon screamed in horror and protest._

_"Why?" an Impmon shouted._

_"It is not my position to ask why," the Flamon replied._

_"Yeah, why would you care, right?" a Elecmon snorted, "_You _get to live in paradise!"_

_The Flamon's eyes opened wide and stared at the in-coming mob. He feared a riot would soon begin, with him as a scapegoat. He immediately fled the boundaries of the village, disappearing into the desert._

_--_

_It appeared that when the Angels cut off the Heavenly Realm from the lower Digital World, the world itself turned against them. The rainy season should have come, but did not. The wind grew fiercer, sandstorms erupted everywhere. The digimon in the lower realms stared up at the clouds, anger and jealously reflected in their eyes._

_The digimon of Hollerith suffered the most. Their village was in the midst of the desert, their only source of substance was a river running outside their boundaries. Now…now, the river was dry. There was no water, there was no food, nothing. _

_"Someone needs to go to one of the other cities and gather food," Elecmon said, in the street one day._

_"None of the other cities have food either," Impmon growled, "Face it, we're dying…we're doomed…"_

_"It is the fault of the Angels," a digimon said. He was a small creature with a black mask and a sly smile. "Because of their arrogance, their dictatorship, their pure selfishness! What do they care for us? They lived in plenty while we die here in the desert, all because of their fear!"_

_"What are you saying, Dracmon?"Elecmon asked._

_Dracmon pointed his fist at the sky, "I'm saying the Angels exiled us from the Heavenly Realm is because we grew too numerous for them to handle! We built their monuments, we tilled their fields, and for what?"If they will not aid us, then we must take what we need! Let us destroy their realm, let us get revenge! We must march to war!"_

_-_

_The war had raged for weeks, but, the digimon of the lower realm were soon overpowered…and the Angel's retaliation was not kind. Their soldiers ravaged the city of Hollerith. They wanted Dracmon, they wanted the leader of the rebellion. The citizens would not tell them, they all die, never revealing the location of their leader._

_Dracmon returned to Hollerith some time after the army had left. The Child-digimon walked through the rubble of what remained of his village. The bodies of his friends and soldiers were lying strewn about the street. He was in shock, not even able to speak, that is, until he saw the bodies of Elecmon and Impmon. He clenched his fists, his body tensed. Rage exploded in an intense scream, but his hate and anger would not be released, it continued to build, to grow. His body began to change, growing larger, bulkier, transforming into a completely different being. His scream intensified until all his wrath and anger exploded from within, "Dracmon evolve to GranDramon!"_

---

Omegamon X snorted, crossing his arms, "Yeah, and what's that suppose to prove, huh? You started a war, and then were pissed because you lost?"

"The Angels were selfish dictators!" he shouted back, "And I would have my revenge!" He smiled, "And it seemed it would be surprisingly easy. For you see, it seemed that arrogance was a trait that was prevalent amongst the rulers of the Angels. I was able to entice Lucemon very easily, and through him, a Seraphimon, an Ophanimon and other angel digimon became my slaves, the Seven Demon Lords!"

"Yeah, yeah," Omegamon X said, "We've heard this before." He blinked, "What about Juro?"

"Juro?" he chuckled, "He was easy. He was wandering the desert, exiled from the First Chosen when I spoke to him. Despite being sealed within the Dark Area, I was able to speak to certain individuals, individuals who's emotions were of such intensity, that I was in…sync, I suppose, with them. Juro wanted power, his jealously and anger resonated with my own desires for vengeance."

"And Miayag?"

His smile grew, "Of all of my slaves, she was the easiest to ensnare. Her depression, her guilt, her sadness, these emotions I feed upon." He chuckled, "But, you should thank me. She was about to kill herself, if I had not stopped her." He sneered, "I couldn't let such….opportunity pass me by, a perfect slave, and even better, the granddaughter of Yuushi."

Omegamon X screamed and charged forward, sword swinging. He waited until he was inches in front of GranDracmon before leaping into the air, intending to throw all of his weight into a sword slash through the Demon's head. The Demon God only laughed as he threw up his fist in an uppercut into the Knight's chest with so much force that his chest armor began to crack. Omegamon X pushed past the pain and continued with his thrust, managing to cut into GranDracmon's shoulder. The Demon only smirked, and with a simple motion, back-handed the Knight into the wall. He rebounded off the membrane-like wall and shot back like a rocket. He readied his blade to strike, but GranDracmon thrust out his palms, "Black Requiem!"

A beam of black fog erupted from his hands, enveloping Omegamon X's legs. The Knight could feel his legs began to burn, and he quickly maneuvered through the air over GranDracmon's head and landed on the ground. He examined his legs, his shin guards were cracked and crumbling. He ignored this and rushed his opponent. "Garuru Cannon!"

GranDracmon caught the energy bolt in his palm. "You'll have to do better than that! Catch!" He whipped it back, directly into Omegamon X's chest. The Knight felt his chest compress and he struggled to breath for a moment. GranDracmon was in front of him in the blink of an eye and executed a devastating punch to his head."Come now, I thought you were going to destroy me."

"You fucking talk too much!" Omegamon X snapped back, attacking him with his sword. GranDracmon ducked to avoid the slash at his neck, then grabbed the Knight by his legs and began to throw him repeatedly into the ground. He released his grip and the Knight slid across the floor. He rebounded quickly, leaping back into the air and fired a barrage of quick bolts from his cannon. "Omega Howling!"

GranDracmon shield his face with his arms, but when he threw them open, he screamed, "Dead Scream!"

The Knight threw his cape over his head, wrapping layers of the thick fabric around and around. GranDracmon's ear-splitting scream was not penetrating his make-shift earmuffs. He had even wrapped above and below his eyes, leaving his vision clear. "Sword of Ruin!" he shouted. He swung his blade from left to right, then right to left in quick succession, making an x-shape of energy that flew forward and exploded inches in front of the Demon God's face. Despite the pain he suffered from the attack, GranDracmon continued screaming, but Omegamon X was now immune and continued to attack. He rushed forward, swinging his sword across GranDracmon's chest. The Demon had no choice but to retreat.

He darted back to a safe distance. Omegamon X gave a quick jerk with his head, unraveling his cape. GranDracmon snarled, "Well played, but that won't save you from this! Crystal Revolution!"

"Shit!" The Knight dove to the right, narrowly missing the attack. He rolled back to his feet, only to see GranDracmon charging towards him. He whipped his sword up, but was a second too soon. His blade missed the charging Demon, who promptly kicked him to the ground and planted both of his front feet onto his chest.

GranDracmon laughed as he began to rain blows down upon the Knight's head. "I told you I was much stronger than when we last met! Heh, and it appears that you _have_ lost much of your strength! I suppose that is what happens to humans as they age, huh?"

The Demon continued to assail the Knight with blows. Every time Omegamon X tried to raise his arms or his leg to counter, GranDracmon would intensify his assault. Omegamon X was losing strength, and, to his horror, even losing consciousness. He felt his eyes began to droop; he gathered what strength he had and was about to push GranDracmon's legs off of him, when the Demon smashed both of his fists into his head at once. Omegamon X's head hit the ground, and the world was covered in darkness.

-

_Screams filled the night air…no, it was not even night, the smog and smoke from the burning cities was so great that it blanketed the sky so thickly that the sun could not penetrate. People and digimon littered the streets, dead bodies strewn everywhere. _

_This city that once stood as a beautiful testament was now a pile of burning rubble. In the center was a castle, a hideous construct of brick and stone. There were gargoyles and grotesque statues guarding the towers. Inside, humans and digimon were bound with electronic collars and made to work, slaving away by building, smashing stone, mending clothes, tilling ground. _

_Akira was walking while carrying a large basket of fruits and bread on his back. He was panting heavily, his eyes stinging from his sweat. He tripped over and rock and fell onto the ground, the food spilling everywhere._

_"Human whelp!" a Skull Satanmon said, appearing before him. The demon digimon raised his whip, but Adan appeared in front of Akira._

_"Leave him alone!"_

_"Adan," Akira said, hoarsely, "Don't…"_

_Skull Satanmon chuckled, "All right, if you want to die in his place, then so be it!"_

_Inside the dungeons of the castle, Sora and Noriko sat within a cell, their feet bound in chains. A Bakemon floated to the door. "Let's go, it's time to report to work, slaves."_

_It appeared as if Sora had finally gone blind, as Noriko had to help her to her feet and guide her through the halls._

_In the throne room was a massive throne constructed of skulls, some still had flesh upon them. Upon the throne sat GranDracmon, chuckling in amusement as Lynna and Dingo were forced to perform a song and dance routine._

_Outside the castle, littering the surrounding fields, were bodies staked to the ground, on display for all who would dare oppose the will of GranDracmon. These bodies were all those that stood against him: Hikari, Lizzie, Jyou, Michael, Mimi…all dead….dead…._

-

Omegamon X's eyes shot open as he slashed his sword into the Demon's leg, cutting a large swath into his skin. GranDracmon roared in pain as he leapt back, landing on the ground with enough force to shake the entire battlefield. Omegamon X remained on his feet despite the shockwaves. He glared at GranDracmon, panting heavily, "You…won't…beat…me!"

Omegamon X held his blade in the air, "Omega Blade!" The sword began to crackle with energy. He pointed it at the Demon, then ran forward. GranDracmon clenched his fists and ran to meet him. The Knight swung his sword cutting deeper into the Demon's leg, but it was still not enough. GranDracmon sent him flying backwards with a kick of his leg. The Knight tumbled across the floor but rose to his feet in a quick motion.

"Black Requiem!"

Omegamon X dropped back to the ground within seconds to spare as the black beam fired over his head. He began to run along the ground on his arms and legs, but surprisingly reached GranDracmon in short time."Ultimate Uppercut!"

His blade slashed across the Demon's Chest. He yelped in pain, but Omegamon X jumped to his feet and pointed his gun barrel at GranDracmon's chest, "Omega Blast!" The beam was powerful enough to throw even GranDracmon's massive bulk skidding back.

The Demon snarled, rubbing his injured chest. "Well, that sword and that cannon are becoming quite the nuisance. I'm going to have to get rid of them."

"Yeah?" Omegamon X asked, walking forward, "What are you going to do?"

GranDracmon's eyes flashed an eerie glow, "Eye of the Gorgan!"

"Shit!" Omegamon X gasped, throwing his arms in front of his face. He waited for a few moments before slowly lowering his limbs. "I…I'm still me…" He smirked, "Well GranDracmon, it looks like your little tick didn't-ahh!"

He was cut off when his Metalgarurumon arm suddenly whipped around and punched in the side of the face. "What the hell?"

GranDracmon laughed and crossed his arms. "What do you think I was aiming for, eh? Now, destroy him."

The cannon on the Metalgarurumon X arm twisted and pointed directly at Omegamon X's head. The Knight whipped his arm aside, but the Metalgarurumon X hand kept twisting to point back at his face. Omegamon X whipped his hand from side to side and the Metalgarurumon X gauntly slipped from his arm and crashed to the floor. He flexed his revealed hand, making certain that each of his fingers still moved. He breathed a sigh of relief, but it quickly turned to horror as the Metalgarurumon X gauntlet floated back into the air. It fired a Garuru Cannon that Omegamon X was able to block by throwing his sword in front of his face. The living gauntlet twirled around over head, firing another blast. Omegamon X rolled to the side to avoid it.

GranDracmon chuckled. "Come on now, can't you control your own hand, or is it too busy jerking you around?"

Omegamon X dodged another Garuru Cannon, "Yeah, ha ha. Don't quit your day job."

The Knight dove for a safe corner and positioned himself onto his knees. The Metalgarurumon X arm positioned itself and fired. Omegamon X leapt into the air, the beam exploding into the ground. He propelled himself over the hovering gauntlet and slashed with his sword, destroying it. He landed back on the ground, panting heavily.

He did not have long to recuperate, as GranDracmon charged him, punching his chin and sending him sailing through the air. Omegamon X shifted his blade around, but the Demon God fired another Crystal Revolution from his palms that hit the Wargreymon X gauntlet. The Knight swore and quickly removed the gauntlet and threw it into the ground, where it shattered into glass slivers.

GranDracmon roared with laughter, "I've disposed of your weapons, your armor is cracked and falling apart, you can barely stand…I think I've beaten you."

Omegamon X took a few deep breaths to control his breathing. He positioned himself with his left leg stretched behind his right with his two bare palms held up."Just because I don't have my Cannon or my Sword doesn't mean you've won. I can't give up, no matter what, I can't. Everyone is depending on me!"

GranDracmon chuckled, "Then I weep for your world!"

Both combatants charged forward. Omegamon X leapt into the air and swung both of his fists at GranDracmon, but the Demon swung his fist into the Knight's exposed chest. Omegamon X instantly dropped his arms, all of his breath rushing from his body. GranDracmon grabbed his ankles with one hand and his wrists with another. With a quick motion, the Demon smashed his knee into the Knight's back. Omegamon X screamed in pain and GranDracmon threw him into the ground. The Knight tried to climb to his feet, but the Demon placed his foot on top of his chest, pinning him to the ground.

He bent forward, his face inches from Omegamon X. "Tell me, how certain are you that I won't defeat you now? You must accept it, I am far superior to you! I am a God! You are nothing compared to me, absolutely nothing! How do you respond to that?"

Omegamon X swung the index and middle fingers of his left arm directly into GranDracmon's eyes. The Demon roared in pain, jumping back, covering his face. "You…you…"

Omegamon X rose to his feet, his body bruised and bloodied from the last assault. "I…am sick and tired of _your fucking mouth!"_

He clenched his fists and began to assail GranDracmon with a flurry of punches, darting from side to side as he avoided the Demon's wild punches; he was still blinded from Omegamon X's unorthodox attack. The Knight dodged blow after blow as he reined punches down upon the Demon God. Eventually, one of GranDracmon's punches connected, striking the Knight in the head. This proved to be the crucial blow, as Omegamon X felt all of his energy drain from him. He stumbled for a moment before falling onto his knees.

GranDracmon rubbed his eyes and blinked for a moment, his vision returning. When he saw his opponent on the ground, he began to laugh. "So, where's your bravado now, huh? You, the great hope, you have lost!"

Omegamon X had to use his arm to keep himself from crashing to the ground. _"M…maybe he's right…I've…I've given everything I've got, and I still can't….Damn it! This isn't like the last time, I can't just pull a miracle out of thin air! I had the Daughters of the First to help last time…"_

-

_Taichi and Yamato, along with their digimon partners, who had been regressed back to the Baby forms, had suddenly found themselves floating within a void of complete and absolute white, a glow that seemed the emanate from all directions, a place surrounded by nothingness. Completely empty…all saved them._

_Taichi crossed his arms as he hovered in the void. "Well, anyone got any ideas?"_

"_We've got to get out of here first," Koromon suggested._

"_But where exactly are we?" Tsunomon asked, "I mean, we could be…anywhere."_

"_This is the void of those trapped in crystal."_

_The quartet spun around and saw an assemblage of nine being, nine humans female, nine that they knew well. "M…Miayag," Taichi gasped, "Sora, Anna…M…Maria, Keeya"_

_Yamato was equally as surprised. "Noriko, Lynna, Catherine, Iduia? But...how…?"_

"_As I have just said," Miayag answered, "We are now in a void, a place created by GranDracmon's Crystal Revolution, here is where all turned to statues are sent."_

"_Okay," Yamato said, "But what about Catherine and the others? They weren't…" He suddenly became aware of the changes in the French woman's appearance…her hair had returned, her locks of curly blond hair were now once more flowing across her shoulders._

_She was not the only one who was starkly different, Keeya's missing had had been returned to her, Maria once more had legs, and Iduia…Iduia was no longer a mess of implants and machines._

"_We're dead?" Yamato gasped._

"_No," Catherine smiled, "We four are, but you are not, not yet…"_

"_But then how…?"_

_Keeya turned to Sora, then mentioned to her and Maria. "Our queen called us here…"_

_Catherine placed a hand on Iduia's shoulder and mentioned to Noriko. "As did our Princess."_

"_But why?" Koromon asked._

"_To urge you not to give up," Anna said._

"_Yeah," Lynna nodded, "Ya can't quit now!"_

_Taichi smiled. "We never had any intention of giving up, we just need to figure out how to win."_

"_But the first thing we need to do is get out of here!" Koromon exclaimed, mentioning with his arms._

_Miayag thought for a moment. "Perhaps if you had enough strength, you could break free."_

"_But we're already at Mega levels," Tsunomon protested, "How could we get stronger then that?"_

_Sora and Noriko glanced at each other, then nodded. "We'll do it."_

"_Do what?" Yamato asked._

"_We'll just give you more of our power," Sora explained, "We'll give you everything we have if we have too."_

"_No!" Taichi shouted, "Sora, you can't…I mean…remember what happened to…to…"_

"_Then we'll help too!" Lynna interrupted, "Me and Anna ain't gonna sit on the sidelines now!"_

"_You can't!" Yamato protested, "You're all still….still alive! And if you give your power now, you'll die!"_

"_We can't just let it end like this!" Noriko said, "We can't!"_

_Iduia smiled and spoke for the first time any of them had heard. Her voice was a melody tone, a Brazilian voice that could have rivaled any singer. "Then maybe we should all help."_

"_Yes," Keeya smiled, "We will give you our energy as well."_

"_But how can you?" Tsunomon asked._

"_My power of Forrest still exists in Mimi," the African woman explained._

"_And Metal is in Michael," Iduia said._

"_My power of Light iz still wi't you, Yamato," Catherine added._

"_And my power of Earth is with you Taichi," Maria giggled._

_Anna turned to Taichi. "And I will give you Wind."_

_Lynna nodded to Yamato. "And I'll give ya Water."_

"_And the last power," Miayag said, "My power, shall be given to you both."_

"_Your power?" Taichi gasped._

_She nodded. "Yuushi was a First Chosen as well, and I hold his power of Fate, I too, am a Daughter of the First. All nine of us, our powers, are yours to use."_

-

Omegamon X gasped, as Miayag's words echoed in his mind, "_All nine of us…all nine of us…all _nine_ of us…"_

The Knight's eyes narrowed as he focused on the silver crystal that was still hanging around GranDracmon's neck. "_Maybe I _can_ pull a miracle out of thin air…"_

"You're awfully quiet over there," GranDracmon chuckled, "Are you contemplating your last moments alive?"

"No," he smirked, "Thinking about how to give you yours."

GranDracmon laughed, "I see you've finally lost your mind. You cannot defeat me. Look, look at yourself! You are barely alive as it is, but I…I endure! It will take far more power then you will ever posses to stop me! The Dark Masters, Apocalymon, Myotismon, I am stronger than them all! To fight me, is death!"

He examined his opponent. "On second thought…you have fought well, if you submit now, if you surrender to me, then I shall let you live. It would be a shame to let such a powerful warrior as yourself perish. What say you?"

"Fuck off!" Omegamon X snapped, "I will never surrender to you, I will die a thousands deaths before I ever join you."

GranDracmon snarled and flexed his arms. "Then so be it!"

Omegamon X ran forward, pain erupting through his body. He panted heavily as he swung his fist at GranDracmon's head, but the Demon darted back. The Knight's thrust left him off balance, and an easy target for GranDracmon. He grabbed his arm and twisted him around, smashing his head into the ground. The Knight twisted his upper body around and grabbed hold of GranDracmon's legs and used it like a pivot to throw his legs around GranDracmon's neck and pulled himself up, trying to reach the crystal hanging around his neck, but the Demon whipped his head, causing the Knight to lose his grip. He crashed into a wall and slid to the ground.

Omegamon X jumped back to his feet and charged. GranDracmon unleashed a flurry of punches into the Knight's chest and he dropped to the ground. He leapt back to his feet, only to be beaten down again. He leapt up with his fists flying, but his energy was all but depleted, and the Demon easily dodged each jab. GranDracmon slammed his elbow into the top of the Knight's head, and he fell to the ground, laying hard on his stomach and chest.

"Now stay down and die!" GranDracmon shouted, "You have lost! Understand this!"

Omegamon X was panting heavily as his head slowly turned to stare up at the towering Demon. He was leaning over top of him, the crystal glistening in the light. "_I'm completely drained…I've got nothing left, this is it, everything on the line!"_ He jumped up again, reaching out with his hand. GranDracmon swung his fist around, aiming for the Knight's head. Omegamon X's hand moved, GranDracmon's drew closer…closer…closer….

The Knight's hand clasped the crystal, his momentum ripping it free of the chain from which it had been hanging. GranDracmon watched in shock as Omegamon X twisted in the air and landed on his feet. He slowly opened his palm, revealing the crystal.

"That?" GranDracmon gasped, "That's what you wanted?!"

"That's right," Omegamon X smirked, "And you gave it to me."

"No!" the Demon shouted. He did not truly know what was about to happen, but he feared it. He began to charge, but in one quick motion, the Knight jabbed the crystal deep into his chest, and the power of Chance flowed through him.

Omegamon X curled into a ball. His muscles were tensing, drawing him into a fetal position, when he suddenly threw himself into a standing position. The silver light exploded from his chest, followed by gold, red, white, brown, light blue, dark blue, green, bluish gray, and black. This rainbow of colors flowed across his body, creating armor across his chest, legs and arms. New gauntlets formed, one adorned with a Greymon head, and another adorned with a Garurumon head. The light flowed to his head, creating a red helmet, while on his back formed a yellow circle with two gold ribbons flowing at his side.

He clenched his fist and gave a shout, "I am Susanoomon!"

Susanoomon stood perfectly still as GranDracmon studied him carefully; with the two yellow ribbons billowing behind him and the Greymon and Metalgarurumon-shaped gauntlets on his arms, he looked to be an upgraded form of Omegamon X. The Demon snickered, "So, your armor grows back and suddenly you think you can defeat me, huh? Well, we'll just see about that!" He roared loudly and charged forward. He swung his arm at his opponent's head, only to swipe through empty air-Susanoomon had simply vanished!

The Demon blinked, cautiously turning his head from side to side. Suddenly he gasped and spun around, Susanoomon was standing directly behind him! "Fast, huh?" he chuckled, "Well, no matter, I can still-ahh!"

He abruptly stopped when Susanoomon darted forward and jabbed his fist deeply into the Demon's chest. He gasped in pain, clutching his injured abdomen. Susanoomon jumped and twisted his body, kicking the side of GranDracmon's head with enough force that he was thrown across the room, smashing into a wall. He jumped back to his feet, clenching his fists, "That was nothing more than a lucky shot! You won't survive this, Black Requiem!"

He fired a beam of black energy from his palms that struck Susanoomon directly in his chest. However, the silent digimon had not even flinched, he was not injured, in fact, the force of the blast had not even moved him! He was still in exactly the same spot as before!

GranDracmon gasped in surprise, and then gritted his teeth. "Fine, let us see how you handle this, Crystal Revolution!"

Once again, Susanoomon stood perfectly in place as the attack struck his chest. A crystallizing wave began to grow across his chest, through his arms, through his legs and over his face. Soon, Susanoomon was nothing more than a glass figure. GranDracmon was laughing, "Well, so ends this world's only hope."

The crystal statue suddenly exploded, sending shards of glass at the Demon. He batted them aside, and then exclaimed in shock upon seeing Susanoomon standing perfectly in place, completely unharmed!

"How....how?! My strongest attacks do not even hurt you! Do you not feel pain? How are you so powerful? HOW?!"

Susanoomon finally spoke, "You cannot defeat me GranDracmon, you cannot hope to defeat me. I am the Fires that burn, I am the Light that shines, I am the Water that brings life, I am the Forest that gives sustenance, I am the Metal of civilization, I am the Air that blows, I am the Earth that is the foundation, I am the Darkness of rest, I am the hands of Fate, I am the dice of Chance. All that is, I am. I am Ten, I am...perfection."

"You are nothing!" he screamed. He dove at his opponent, swinging his fist. Susanoomon caught the fist in his palm and began to squeeze. GranDracmon moaned in pain. The God Man swung his other fist around, nailing the Demon in the face. Susanoomon spun quickly, kicking him with enough force to send him skidding back. GranDracmon panted heavily, rubbing his injured nose.

Susanoomon locked his arms together, pointing his hands at his enemy, "This is the end GranDracmon, this time, you will not be coming back! Heavenly Wings Beheading!" A blade of glowing red energy erupted forth.

"No!" GranDracmon gasped, "No!" He tried to maneuver to safety, but Susanoomon's attack was far faster than him. The blade of energy slashed through his neck, throwing his head flying into the air. His data scattered, exploding into nothingness.

Susanoomon placed his hands together, and his palms begin to glow. He threw them into the air, sending a blast of energy into the ceiling. "Eight Thunder Gods!"

Eight transparent dragons erupted from the epicenter, swimming through the gray membrane, causing it to bubble and explode with beams of colored energy.

-

Outside of Ogudomon, the giant digimon was wobbling as beams of energy ripped him apart from the inside out.

"What is happening to him?" Yasu asked.

"He iz in pain," Eliane gasped.

"Well, duh!" Ines snapped, "Energy beams are blasting out of his body!"

-

Inside Ogudomon, Asami, Masa and their partners were trying to keep their footing as the massive digimon was ripped apart around them. "What the hell is going on here?!" Masa demanded as he jumped to avoid a blast of energy that erupted from the ground.

"The whole place is exploding!" Dorumon answered, "We have to get out of here!"

"What about Uncle Taichi?" Asami gasped, ducking to avoid another blast.

Leormon began to sniff the air, "Someone's coming, look!"

The group peered through the exploding tunnel to see the massive armored figure of Susanoomon running towards them. "Who is that?" Masa asked.

Asami blinked, but her eyes focused on the Greymon and Garurumon gauntlets. "Uncle Taichi?"

Susanoomon stopped in front of them and shouted to be heard over the explosions, "We must leave here at once."

"What about GranDracmon?" Masa demanded.

"He is gone," the God Man simply replied. He pointed his two arms at the wall, and a glowing circle appeared. "Hurry."

"Is that a gate?" Leormon asked.

There was a loud explosion from behind them. "Now!" Susanoomon shouted.

The humans and digimon nodded at each other and leapt through the circle. Susanoomon took one last look at the exploding innards of Ogudomon and jumped through as well.

-

Back outside, Ogudomon's front left leg had been ripped apart by the exploding energy. A beam blew a hole in his rear, another beam tore off his hind leg. Suddenly, he began to moan loudly, then a massive beam erupted through his top, blowing his eye into data. The massive body was still for a moment before a massive explosion erupted from inside, blasting his data in all directions before it vanished into the early morning.

The DATS Agents all stared, blinking in surprise. "What just happened?" Akira asked.

Joey smirked, "Hey, who cares, we won, right?"

The team suddenly realized that fact, and began to cheer loudly. Joey and Aleksey gave each other a hi-five. Ines and Bolades hugged one another. Sora and Noriko were laughing, Dingo and Lynna kissed each other. Eliane and Yasu held each other's hands and began to dance around in a circle. Akira and Adan gave one another the thumbs up.

But then the red-headed boy turned and grabbed Yasu by the waist, lifting her into the air while both laughed loudly. He put her down, both looked into each other's eyes, then lightly kissed each other on the lips. Everyone was too busy celebrating to notice, that is, everyone except for Sora and Noriko.

The red-headed woman smiled slightly, while Noriko paled. "Oh man, Yamato's gonna flip out! That's his little girl!"

Sora chuckled and put her hand on Noriko's shoulder, "They're getting more and more grown up every day."

Noriko frowned, "Yeah, I guess. But…wow, Akira…I mean, I hate to admit it but, I think I was close to giving up, but…." She shook her head, "Akira really made me…I don't know, believe that we could do it."

Sora nodded, a slight smile on her face, "Yes, he's got a lot of Taichi in him. When we had our first adventure in the Digital World, it was Taichi that really kept the rest of us going…"

"Y…yeah," Noriko said, "But…he's got a lot of you in him too. You don't every give up either Sora. You should be really proud of him."

"Yeah," she said, her voice cracking, "I am."

-

After Susanoomon exited the Gate, he found himself amongst the clouds. He had not been anticipating materializing in the sky, so he was not prepared to fly. He began to fall very fast. Before he even realized what happened, he smashed into what he assumed to be the ocean. Susanoomon went under the surface, but Taichi, Yamato, Agumon X and Gabumon X emerged.

Taichi was panting heavily, blinking. "W…what happened?"

"I…I'm not sure," Yamato answered, "I remember grabbing that crystal…and…we defeated GranDracmon, right?"

"Yeah!" Agumon X answered, "I defiantly remember that. We were….we were something really strong. We had all ten powers...."

Gabumon X glanced around, "Yeah, but, where are we?"

They were floating in the middle of the ocean, with the morning sun slowly creeping over the horizon. "We've got to be in the Digital World," Taichi replied, "I think…I think we created a Digital Gate!"

"Uncle Taichi!"

They spun around to see Asami, Masa and their partners standing on the shoreline. The girl was jumping in the air, waving her arms wildly. She was giggling and laughing, "Over here!"

"That's Atrops island!" Yamato gasped, "We're right where we left Yddrisil!"

"Where are the others?" Taichi exclaimed, "Where's…?"

"Daddy! Daddy!"

Taichi almost had tears in his eyes when he saw Kasumi standing behind Asami, shouting as loud as she could. Behind Kasumi was standing Yuki Agumon, who was waving as well. Shiro and Psychemon were there as well, but containing their happiness in a more controlled manner. Lino and Patamon were seating on the ground, their backs resting against a log. Gabe and Kenji were walking towards the beach, each one was supporting Mitsuo, who managed to give a slight salute. Kotemon, Otamamon and V-mon were following closely behind.

Taichi and Yamato instantly began swimming towards shore, with Agumon X and Gabumon X closely behind. They climbed onto the beach and into the waiting arms of their children. Everyone was talking at once, bragging about which Hunters they took down, about how they faced Demon Lords, what strategies they used, how they won. Taichi did not hear any of it, he simply embraced his daughter.

"Dad!" she shouted, pushing away from him. She winced and grabbed her shoulder, "Sorry," she smiled slightly, "Still a little sore."

"What happened?" he gasped.

She shrugged slightly, "Just took a few hits from Artemis…" Her smile grew, "But, I defeated her, she won't hurt us again."

"Daddy!" Asami called, running over to Mitsuo, as he propped himself against a tree, "Are you okay? What happened?"

He chuckled, "Nothing, I guess I just over did it. But you…you look fine."

She nodded, her face beaming, "Yes, I fought Ancient Greymon _and_ the Demon Lord Asro!"

Her father blinked in surprise, "You did?"

"Yeah, and beat them both!"

Mitsuo stared at her for another moment before chuckling. He nodded slightly, "Well, I'm very proud of you."

Yamato was telling his son about how he fought Juro. "So, Dad," Shiro asked, "Was I right? Was he really our….our ancestor?"

Yamato was silent for a moment, then nodded, "Yes, he was my grandfather." He sighed, "Damn it, there was so much I wanted to ask him!"

"Hoakah was tough, man!" Gabe said, "I tell you. He was like…impossibly strong!"

Kenji nodded, "Well, Nanook wasn't a walk in the park either."

"You knew him, right?" the other boy asked.

"Yeah, and you knew Hoakah, right?"

He nodded slowly. "Yeah. And…and I think that maybe…I don't know. He killed all of my teammates, my friends. I wanted to make him pay so much, I…I wanted to kill him-I _did_ kill him, at least, I always thought so. Then I had to do it again, but…I don't feel…."

"Avenged?" Kenji asked.

"Y..yeah, I guess."

The other boy nodded, "Because hate just leaves you empty inside. You don't feel avenged, but…do you feel that you probably saved a countless number of lives by k….by removing him from hurting those people again?"

Gabe was silent for a long while, then nodded. "Y…yeah," he smiled, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Kenji nodded and smiled as well. "Yeah….that's how I feel too."

Masa and Dorumon stood off to the side while family and friends embraced one another. He spied Lino and Patamon on the ground, by themselves as well. He trotted over and collapsed next to him. "Tough day at the office?"

Lino stared at him, "A joke? From you?"

He shrugged, "Yeah, well I guess Asami must be rubbing off on me" He mentioned to Lino with his head, "Besides, what have our…_previous attitudes_…gotten us except for loneliness, right?"

Lino laughed slightly. He held out his fist, "Glad to see that you made it."

Masa lightly punched Lino's fist, "Yeah, you too man."

Kasumi held up her arm and shouted, "All right, all right, quiet, quiet!" She pointed to Masa, "Let's hear it for Masa who took down Ancient Garurumon and Schmidt once and for all!"

They cheered.

She pointed to Asami, "And my only cousin who took out Ancient Greymon and that hideous thing that looks like my Mom, that bitch Asro!"

They cheered again.

She mentioned to Yamato. "And Mr. Ishida, who finished off Juro."

They cheered once more.

She hugged her father, "And for the greatest guy in the whole world, who took out Cahiti."

They cheered again.

Kasumi suddenly ran over and grabbed Yamato and pushed him into Taichi, then grabbed Gabumon X and pushed him next to the two men, then did the same for Agumon X. "And let's hear it for these guys, the strongest Chosen in the entire world, who defeated GranDracmon once and for all!"

They all jumped to their feet, cheering and shouting wildly. The humans lifted Taichi and Yamato over their heads, while the digimon did the same for Agumon X and Gabumon X. They threw them into the air, cheering loudly. They gently placed them on the ground, and the four heroes hugged their family and friends, watching as the sun lifted over the horizon.


	45. Digimon Magog: Finale: New Day Dawning

-------------

_Digimon: Magog_

_Finale:_

_New Day Dawning_

_------------_

The reports of Ogudomon attacking the DATS base was once again all over the news, but unlike the Demon Invasion, these reports were nothing but praise. The Prime Minister even wanted to host a special celebration, but Taichi and Yamato refused.

"We want to keep that fact that we're Chosen a secret," Taichi said, "Our children have to go to school. We want them to try to have as much a normal life as possible. "

"Not that we don't appreciate it," Yamato said with a slight smile, "But…"

He nodded. "Yes…yes, I understand. However, there are still some things I would like to discuss with you."

Taichi and Yamato glanced at one another, then back at the Prime Minister. "Don't worry," he smiled reassuringly, "Nothing bad, I assure you. Now, Taichi, as you know, Minister Watanabe will be retiring shortly. And the position of Minister of Defense will be available. If you would like it, it is yours."

He blinked, "W…really?"

"Yes," the Minister nodded, "You have certainly proven your worth to me."

Taichi sat back in his seat, unable to believe his ears. Yamato stared at Taichi, then over at the Minister. "Now, Yamato. We, along with other nations, are currently in the process of establishing a special project in association with NASA of America, to send an expedition to Mars. If you wish, I can make you the head of our participation in this project."

Now it was Yamato's turn to remain stunned. The Prime Minister addressed both men at once, "These both positions are…considered long-term positions. This is a major decision, so I shall give you some time to discuss this." He smiled, "Now, since you won't allow me to host a celebration for you, at least pass my thanks and my admiration along to your fellow teammates. Good Day."

The two men slowly exited the Prime Minister's office and numbly walked down the hall, still too in shock to fully contemplate their life-changing offers.

-

When Yamato returned home, he saw Yasu and Eliane playing a card game at the table, while Noriko was busy in the kitchen. "Hey," he said, walking over to her.

"So," Noriko said, lighting kissing him on the cheek, "How did it go?"

He hesitated for a moment. "Well, um…."

Noriko turned away from the pot and dried her hands on her apron, "What?"

"Well, he…he offered a position as the head of a project working with NASA."

"N…NASA…in America?"

He nodded.

Noriko's face broke into a smile. "That….that's great!"

"Y….yeah, I know, b…but…"

"But what?"

"If I agree to do this, then…my life as a DATS Agent would no doubt be over. I'd be home for probably only a few weeks, if that, a year."

"W…well, okay, but, you've done that before. Remember your last tour of duty?"

"Yeah, I know…" he fidgeted, "But…then I came back and….and this whole thing with the Demons and the Hunters and everything, well…it made me realize how important doing this really is."

She sat down at the table and lightly embraced his hands. "Well, just think it over before you decide on anything, okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah…yeah…"

They both heard Yasu and Eliane march into the hall, heading for the kitchen. "Just don't tell the kids," Yamato said, "I don't want to say anything just yet."

Noriko nodded quickly as she stood up. "Yeah, sure."

"Daddy!" Yasu cheered, hugging him tightly.

Eliane maneuvered over to Noriko and peered at the pot, "Zat smells really good, Mrs. Ishida."

She smiled. "Why thank you, Eliane. Oh, by the way, your mother called earlier. She said that whenever you're ready, we'll buy your ticket, okay?"

She nodded, "Oui."

"Ticket?" Yasu asked, "Are you going home for a visit?"

She gave her friend a curious expression. "N…no, Yasu, I..I am going home."

The blond girl felt her heart slow to a stop. "W..what?" She turned to her parents, "Mom, Dad…she's not…"

"Yasu," Yamato said, "We beat the Hunters and the Demons, t…the war is over."

She was almost in tears, "B…but, s…she can't…"

"Now Yasu," Noriko said, "I'm sure that Eliane wants to see her own parents."

"Y..yeah, but…"

Eliane cut in quickly, "We can still talk over ze Internet, and…and I will visit whenever I can…"

"I'm sorry Yasu," Yamato said, "But…it's time to say goodbye."

-----

Gabe was lying in his hospital bed, his arms behind his head and his eyes closed. He heard the door opened and a female's voice call out, "Gabe, are you awake?"

He smiled and sat up quickly, "Hey, Asami."

She meekly sat next to him on the, gently rubbing her legs. "So, where's Kotemon?"

He sighed, "Oh, Lizzie somehow got it in her head that he was bothering me, so he went with her and Alruamon somewhere."

"Oh, I think it's sweet that she worries about you like that." She frowned, "It makes me wish I had brothers or sisters."

"Well…you have to look after Kasumi like a big sister.."

"G_a_-_a_be," she frowned.

"Sorry," he said quickly.

The girl sighed deeply and turned her head, "So, you're going to be going home in a few days, right?"

He felt a strange feeling in his stomach, "Y…yeah…"

Asami frowned, "Can we really do it? I mean, can we really have this relationship if we're so far away?"

Gabe frowned, "Well…I mean, we can talk every night with the internet."

"Yeah, I know, but talking isn't the same as seeing you…"

The boy sighed, "Y…yeah, I know." He was silent for a long moment, "Well, we can try and meet in the Digital World on the weekends or something…"

"Gabe," she said, "I…I don't want to be away from you…."

"I know," he sighed, "But…we'll try, okay? We'll do the best we can, all right?"

Asami could not help but smile.

---

Kasumi climbed out of her hospital bed and walked over to look out the window. "Damn it! I'm so bored!" She went to raise her arms to lightly pound on the glass, but her injured shoulder shot pain through her entire body as she lifted her arm. She hissed and lightly rubbed her bandage-covered shoulder.

"Looks like you still belong here. I mean, I'm fine."

She glared at her partner, who was sitting in the armchair, munching on a sandwich, "Digimon heal faster than humans." She swiped the food from Yuki Agumon's hand, "And don't eat my lunch!"

"I'm hungry!"

"You already ate!"

She crossed her arms and hugged, "I'm still hungry."

The door to the room opened and Asami walked inside. "Hello, Kasumi, Yuki Agumon, how are you feeling today?"

"Bored," they said in unison.

The other girl smiled slightly. "Really?"

Kasumi groaned as she fell onto the bed, "I'm getting sick of always being in the hospital. You're lucky you didn't get beat up." He noticed the smile on the girl's face, "What are you so happy about?"

"Oh," she blushed slightly, "I…well…I was just talking to Gabe, and…we're going to try to make our long-distance relationship work. "

Kasumi sighed and rolled her eyes.

Her cousin sat on the bed next to her. "Well, I just came by because I wanted to know if anything happened between you and Lino."

The other girl's face turned beat red, "W…what are you talking about?"

"Did you two talk about your feelings yet?"

"What?! How did you know about…" She suddenly grabbed the pillow and threw it into her partner's head.

"What the hell was that for?" Yuki Agumon snapped.

"You're the only one I told!" the pony-tailed girl shouted.

The white dinosaur fidgeted slightly, "I…you were so happy, I just…"

Kasumi sighed deeply, "Yuki, I…"

Asami placed a hand on her cousin's shoulder, "So, this means that you haven't…"

"N…no…"

The other girl sighed, "Well, I think you probably should do so soon."

Kasumi blinked, "W…why?"

"Because, he and Adan are going to be leaving soon."

----

Sora ran over to kiss her husband as he entered the apartment. "Hi honey, what did the Prime Minister want?"

Taichi sighed as he sat down at the table, "Well…"

Agumon X and Piyomon walked into the kitchen a moment later. "Hey, Taichi," Agumon X said, "What's up? How'd it go?"

"Well," he said, "The Prime Minister wants me to…to become the Minister of Defense after Watanabe retires."

"What?" Sora blinked, "R…really? I mean, you said something about that before, but…"

"Yeah," Taichi sighed again, "I know."

"What's wrong?" Agumon X, "Isn't that a good thing?"

"Yeah, but if I'm the Minister of Defense, that means I won't be able to run DATS anymore."

"Oh…right…"

Sora sat down as well. "But, Taichi, Mitsuo's perfectly able to…"

"It's not only that," he said.

"What?"

"He'll be stuck behind a desk," Agumon X explained, nodding slightly at his partner, "Right?"

"Yeah," he frowned, "Yeah…"

His wife smiled reassuringly and lightly rubbed his shoulders, "This is about you getting old, isn't it? Taichi, you and Yamato still had to beat GranDracmon, you're still the strongest Chosens on Earth."

He frowned, "Yeah, but…there are so many Megas now…maybe…maybe it's time I did kind of retire from it."

"Retire?" Agumon X gasped, "But…what happens to me then?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, relax?"

He lightly rubbed his chin, "Yeah…you know, that might not be such a bad…"

"You're not just gonna sit around and do nothing," Piyomon said.

Sora rubbed her husband's shoulders again, "Well, whatever you decide…."

Agumon X nodded. "That goes for me too."

Taichi took a deep breath, "Yeah…thanks…"

----

Yamato sat inside the office of his apartment, tapping his fingers against the arm rest of the chair. "I don't know Gabumon, what should I do?"

His partner was seated on the floor, staring back at him. "I don't know. Why don't you think about the pros and cons of both sides?"

Yamato leaned back in his seat. "Well…if I take the job, then it's no doubt more money, but, I won't be able to be part of DATS anymore. This is a major government project, and running it will probably be a full-time job."

Gabumon X stared at his partner curiously, "Is this about you thinking that you're not useful to DATS anymore?"

He blinked, "W…what are you talking about?"

"I'm your partner, remember? I can sense your moods."

He frowned, "Well, maybe you're right. I mean, we've got the Royal Knights as part of DATS now, there's eight Megas now…" He trailed off, then mentioned to Gabumon X, "Aren't you worried about getting old? I know that you don't age the same way we do, but your data starts to break down, aren't you worried about that?"

He shrugged slightly, "I don't know, I never really thought about it. But…is that was this is really about, you getting older?"

"Maybe….maybe I've gotten to the point where getting that kind of…of 'managing' job is the next step. It's a military position, I'd probably get a promotion."

"But Yamato, is that what you really want?"

The blond man did not answer.

----

Kasumi ran into the hospital room that was being occupied by Lino; the boy was lying in his bed, watching television with Patamon was on his lap. "Lino!" she yelled.

He stared at her, raising an eyebrow, "W…what?"

The girl was panting, "Y…you're leaving?"

He hesitated for a moment, then turned his head away. "I…I would like to see my parents again…and I know Adan misses them."

She sat down on the bed. "Patamon," Lino said to his partner, "Why don't you see if you can find Adan and Akira?"

"Yeah, sure," the small digimon said, flapping his wings and fluttering out the door.

"Lino," Kasumi said, "What about…you know…_us…_"

He sighed, "I…I don't know. I mean, it probably wouldn't work…."

"What? W…why not…?"

"Well…because of…you know….your family…"

"What?" she snapped, jumping to her feet. She spoke in a high-pitched voice, "Oh, I'm just a fair princess who needs my Daddy's royal proclamation to court a boy and he must me Daddy's strict approval. Come on, I love my Dad, but…Besides, I don't think he'd really care. My Mom always told me how much your sister meant to him. I…I think he'd be really happy if you…"

He shook his head. "Well, you live in Japan, and I…I live in America."

"Yeah, so?" she asked, "Gabe and Asami are gonna try to make it work!"

"It's…different with them…"

"Different? How is it different?"

"They're the same age."

The ponytailed girl blinked in surprise.

"Kasumi," Lino sighed again, "What happened…shouldn't have happened. I'm nineteen, you're only fifteen."

"So? We just have to wait until…"

"But it's not fair to you. You're only fifteen, you shouldn't wait your entire teenage years just so you can be with a guy you shared a kiss with."

"But…we understand each other…."

"I know," he nodded, "But…does that really mean we're in love? Are the feelings you have for me really…love?" He rubbed his forehead, "Jeeze, I sound like Masa!" He shook his head, "But…Kasumi, are you _really_ in love with me?"

She blinked, "I…I don't know…" She shrugged, "But, I mean, my Mom and Dad knew each other a really long time…"

"And we…_really_ just got to know each other. Let's stop it now before it becomes too hard for us later."

She frowned, "Yeah, but…"

Lino put a hand on her shoulder, "It's better this way…really…"

Kasumi just nodded. She jumped up and ran out the room. Lino sighed and stared at his hands, tears forming in his own eyes.

-

Once Jyou said it was okay for the injured Chosen to leave the hospital, they made plans to return home. It seemed to be such a long way away, but soon, it was time to say goodbye. They stood in the airport, each one, human and digimon, were embracing their friends.

Michael shook Mitsuo's hand, "Well, it was a pleasure seeing you again."

He nodded with a slight smile, "Yeah, we'll have to get together sometime without having a war to fight."

Lizzie was hugging each of the girls as tight as she could. "Oh, I'm gonna miss you all so much! You're all like my sisters!"

Yasu and Eliane were hugging tightly, tears in their eyes. "Promise you'll write everyday!" Yasu cried.

"_Oui,"_ Eliane nodded, crying as well, "You are _mon meillour ami,_ my best friend."

"We'll always be best friends, right?" Yasu sniffiled.

"_Oui,"_ she sobbed, "_oui."_

Ines put a hand on Yasu's shoulder, and the blond girl twirled around. "What do you want?"

The older girl shrugged slightly. "Well, I just wanted to say that…you're pretty strong."

She blinked, "R…really?"

Ines nodded quickly, blushing. "Y…yeah…for a squirt!"

Yasu snarled, "Yeah, well, you're just a bitch!"

Bolades and Eliane sighed, shaking their heads.

Joey slapped Aleksey on the back, "Hey man, it was a pleasure fightin' with ya."

The Russian boy nodded, "_Da_, it was something that I will not forget."

Mimi was hugging each of the women. "Sora, Noriko, Hikari, Anna, Lynna, man, I never realized how long it's been until we see each other again."

Lynna smiled and nodded, "Yeah, we gotta get together again." She threw her arm into the air, "Girls of DATS, yeah!"

"So," Masa said to Lino, "Remember when we were waiting for the Demons to start their invasion? I asked you if you knew what you were fighting for?"

He gazed at him curiously, "Yeah…?"

"Well, did you find it?"

He looked over at Adan, then over at Kasumi, who was talking to Lizzie. "Yeah, I think I did."

A voice came over the loud speaker, announcing the departure of a number of flights. Taichi sighed, "Well guys, have a safe flight home."

Eliane lifted her bag, which contained her Mushmon hidden inside. She waved, "_Au revoir."_

"Later," Dingo, and Lynna said with a slight wave, pushing the suitcases which contained their partners. Joey gave Aleksey a thumbs up, then waved to the others.

Anna smiled and bowed slightly, "Good bye, my friends."

Aleksey smiled as well, "It was a pleasure to have met all of you."

"Remember to keep in touch," Hikari called.

Michael placed a hand around Mimi's shoulder as they both waved their goodbyes. Lizzie gave a final hug to Kasumi and Asami before running after her parents. Gabe faced Asami and gently grabbed her hands. "Well, I'll be seeing you."

She reached over and kissed him on the lips as hard as she could. She had tears in her eyes, "Yes, goodbye."

Akira and Adan were staring at each other. "Um…" the redheaded boy said, blushing, "I..um I guess I'll see ya around."

Adan nodded. He opened his mouth, hesitated for a moment, then continued speaking, "Um, guys really don't hug each other, but…well…maybe we're old enough to…um…shake hands…?"

Akira laughed and held out his hand. Adan grabbed it and shook it as hard as he could. "I know that's what you usually do in America," he said, "But in Japan, we like to bow."

Adan nodded quickly and both boys bowed as low as they could.

Kasumi had been watching her brother. She turned to leave, but Lino appeared in front of her. She blinked in surprise, and before she could speak, he kissed her on the lips. "W..wha?"

He stared deeply into her eyes, "Please, don't forget me."

She was in shock and continued to stare forward as Lino and Adan walked away.

Miayag and Masa stood side-by-side, and both bowed at the group. "Farewell," the middle-aged woman said.

Hikari stepped forward, "D…do you really have to leave again? I mean, there's still so much I want to talk to you about, and…and we only see you when there's a problem."

Both mother and son were quiet, glancing at each other.

"Please," Asami said, "Please…?"

Miayag turned and began to walk away. Masa looked at the others, then ran after her. She stopped and glanced over her shoulder, "Maybe…maybe we don't need to wait until the next crisis before we see you again."

Hikari and Asami both grinned. Miayag and Masa then disappeared into the crowd of the lobby. The Japanese members of DATS then began to file out of the airport.

--

A few days later, Yamato and Gabumon X walked onto the roof of the DATS building. Taichi and Agumon X were standing near the edge, staring at the city's horizon. "Don't jump!" Yamato shouted with a smile on his face, "I know I'm better looking than you, but that's not any reason to kill yourself!"

Taichi rolled his eyes and crossed his arms as the blond man and digimon walked over. "Yeah, you _wish_ you were as good looking as me."

"Yeah, I'm sure," he mumbled. The duo joined them at the edge. "So…"

"So…."

There was a silence that hung in the air for a few moments. Finally, Taichi spoke, "So, we've both got some major decisions to make soon, huh?"

"Yeah," Yamato nodded, "Yeah…" He was silent for another moment before continuing, "But…I mean, we've done our parts, time and again, right? We had to save the world so many times."

Gabumon X nodded, "Venom Myotismon, the Dark Masters, Diablomon, Armageddmon, the Demon Lords, GranDracmon…that's a lot."

"Well, we had to," Agumon X added, "It was all up to us."

"But maybe it's time for someone else to do it," Yamato said, "We're not going to be around forever. Someone else needs to be the…the end all hero."

"Maybe we are getting too old for this," Taichi sighed, "Maybe it's time we passed the torch. Maybe we all deserve some sort of retirement."

They were silent, contemplating what was said. A fierce breeze blew across them. Taichi was the first to speak again," Remember when we first went to the Digital World? We had no idea what was going on?"

Yamato nodded. "Yeah, we were pretty much stumbling around in the dark. The Digital World, the Digimon, everything was so weird to us."

"It was weird to us too," Agumon X said, "We didn't know anything about our missions or anything like that. We just knew we had to find you."

"I had no idea what a 'Yamato' was," Gabumon X added, "But I knew that I had to find and protect him."

"Well," Taichi continued, "My point is, we had to learn everything ourselves, there was no one to teach us. But now…now the next generation has DATS to teach them. They won't be so…lost, like we were. There's enough Chosen…Soldiers, to handle anything."

They were silent again. Yamato glanced at him, "So, does this mean you're going to take the Minister position and retire from fighting?"

Taichi was silent, then smiled slightly, "Nah. This is too much fun."

Yamato sighed, smiling as well, "Yeah, ditto."

They both looked over their shoulders as Sora and Noriko entered the roof. "There you two are," Sora said.

"Yeah, sorry," Taichi said, "We're just going to take a quick workout." Before either woman could protest, both men took out their digivices.

"Agumon X warp evolve to Wargreymon X!"

"Gabumon X warp evolve to Metalgarurumon X!"

They floated into the air. Wargreymon X stretched his arms, "So, you wanna go once around?"

Metalgarurumon X stretched his neck from side to side. "Yeah, sure."

"What?" Noriko gasped, "You're gonna run around the block like that?"

Both Megas looked at each other and began to laugh. "Just what is so funny?"

"See ya later honey," Metalgarurumon X chuckled. He glanced at the dragon man, "Ready?"

Wargreymon X nodded, "Ready."

Both Mega's exploded in light as they shot forward, flying through the air. They flew around the DATS Building, peeking inside the window to see Mitsuo and Hikari seated within his office, gently embracing each other.

They passed through the buildings of Tokyo. They flew by the Yagami's apartment building, where Yasu and Akira were playing a two-player game. Their characters were in direct competition with each other, and, like a gentleman, Akira let Yasu win. She cheered and hugged him.

They continued flying; Wargreymon X flew to the left, while Metalgarurumon X flew to the right.

-

Wargreymon X flew past the park, where Kasumi was playing soccer with Asami. The pony-tailed girl kicked the ball as hard as she could, and Asami dove for it, successfully blocking the ball from passing into the goal. Kasumi cheered for her cousin.

-

Metalgarurumon X flew past Jyou's hospital, where Jyou and Kikku were examining an x-ray of a digimon's leg. Kenji and Shiro were comparing their notes for an upcoming school assignment.

-

Both digimon left Japan, Wargreymon X heading towards the North, while Metalgarurumon X flew towards the South.

-

Wargreymon X passed through Russia. Anna, Aleksey and their partners watched from the window as the Dragon Man flew past.

-

Metalgarurumon X flew past the shorelines of Australia, where Dingo and his family were skimming the water in their boat. Dingo was driving, the throttle as far as it could go. Lynna was resting on the deck, sunbathing, while Joey was water skiing behind.

-

Both Megas passed by each other somewhere over India, Wargreymon X heading South, and Metalgarurumon X flying North.

-

Wargreymon passed over a small town in Africa. The children came running out of the houses, Bolades stood among them. She gave a slight wave as the Dragon Man flew by.

-

Metalgarurumon X flew through a town in France. Eliane was standing on the balcony of her house. The girl was leaping into the air, waving her arms wildly and laughing.

-

Wargreymon X passed into Brazil, flying low over Brasilia. Ines was standing on the roof of her apartment building, smiling slightly at the flying digimon.

-

Metalgarurumon X flew over New York City, where the Bartons were standing on the balcony of their apartment. Gabe was standing with his arms crossed while Lizzie leapt up and down excitedly. Michael placed a hand on Mimi's shoulder and lightly kissed her on the cheek.

-  
Wargreymon X passed over Mexico City, where Adan was playing basketball with a group of other children. Lino was standing off to the side. He glanced over her shoulder and nodded slightly.

-

Both Megas met up again over the Great Plains of the United States. They flew together over California, where Miayag and Masa stood, watching the sun rise over the coastline. Both gave a slight wave as the Dragon and the Wolf passed by.

They both flew as hard as they could over the Pacific Ocean before returning to Tokyo. They landed on the roof of the DATS building, where Sora and Noriko were awaiting them. Both Megas returned to their previous forms, and both women embraced their husbands. They all exited the roof, closing the door behind them.

-

….Four years later….

Nineteen-year-old Kasumi sat at the table in the dance club. She tapped her finger against the table, glancing at her watch. She looked over to the dance floor, where Asami and Gabe were laughing and giggling as they attempted to keep up with the rhythm. She sighed deeply, looking at her watch again. Why did she agree to come? Just to watch her cousin and her cousin's boyfriend act like the happy couple and just make her jealous?

"Excuse me, would you like to dance?"

She turned to look at the young man standing beside her. She studied his face, it looked familiar. "I'm sorry," she said, "You look really familiar, did we go out before?"

"No, not really, but we did share a kiss-two, in fact: one in the hospital, and the other when I had to leave, and I told you not to forget about me."

Her heart began to beat as her mouth slowly opened. She jumped to her feet and wrapped her arms around his back. "L…lino!"

He chuckled, hugging her back. He mentioned with his neck, "So, how about that dance?"

-

_My name is Kasumi Yagami. Back when the Second Black Death was devastating the Digital World, and so many Chosen were dying; back before Miayag and the Demon Lords first appeared, my Aunt Hikari thought that the "…happy times went by in the blink of an eye and the bad times just go on and on…"_

_Well, now I know, that the bad times _don't_ go on and on, and the good times…yeah, they _do_ last forever._

THE END.

Author's note: Well, this story is finally at its end. I had a few people ask me if I was going to write a fic about the First Chosen. I had considered a Digimon: Genesis, but, I think it's time to finally move on. This was my final fic.

I first started writing digimon fanfiction back in the winter of 2000. That was almost nine years ago, nine years…it seems like such a long time ago. I really did enjoy it, but I think it's time to move on. I really and truly enjoyed writing and posting to this site, but I have my own original stories that I would like to work on and try to get published. Who knows, maybe someday, aspiring authors will be writing fanfiction about _my_ stories.

Because that's what I always considered fanfiction to be, a way for aspiring authors to understand concepts such as plot and above all, characterization. These fanfiction writers know how the characters are suppose to act, how they would think, and that helps them understand characterization in creating their own characters. And, it helps these authors deal with criticism, and hopeful learn which criticisms are constructive, and should be considered, and which are nothing but flames and should be ignored. So, for all fanfiction writers everywhere that hope to someday create and publish original stories, remember the lessons you will learn from fanfiction.

I say this truly, I will never forget this site, or any of my fellow fanfiction writers. Waruseadra, HevnoAngered, if every author had fans like you, they would never lose faith in themselves. Dragonchad, Frozen Twins, you were like scholars, analyzing my fics like literature, and that truly makes me happy. Cherrygurl and Demino, don't stop writing, your fics are great. LightScreener and anyone else I've forgotten, thank you for some many reviews, you guys were great.

And to all readers, good luck and thank you.

I don't like to say goodbye, because that implies its forever, so I'll simply say…

"Later."

---

Timeline:

**1928:**

Jiro Takenouchi and Duval Rupert are born

**1929:**

Zorion Ramrio, Sachi Mizutani are born

**1930:**

Zilya Mishca, Alem Genet, Sophie Tradam, Adelio Monteng are born

**1931:**

Amanda Chailyn, Fai Shan are born

**1933:**

Haruki Makato, Hagan von Schmidt are born

**1939:**

The ABC (Atanasoff-Berry Computer) is completed at Iowa State University.

**1940:**

The ENIAC (Electronic and Numeric Integrator And Computer) is created by John William Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert of the University of Pennsylvania. When the ENIAC is activated, the Digital World is created. The programmers discover they have created another world and even journey to this other world that they name the Digital World. They create lifeforms for this world, which they call Digital Monsters, or digimon.

**1941**

The digimon, under the leadership of the Three Celestial Angels, rebel and force the Gods from the Digital World. While they try to banish all records of those Gods, kingdoms in the Digital World still worship them, the greatest being Ceria and Fertanti.

One of the Digimon evolves to GranDracmon, the first virus digimon. He entices a group of angels and transforms them into seven demon digimon.

GranDracmon is defeated, his seven demons are destroyed. GranDracmon himself is sealed within the center of the Digital World, called the Dark Area. The Three Angels position themselves around the Digital World to keep GranDracmon sealed away. They eventually die and are reborn as digitamas, which become the three moons of the Digital World.

**1945**

Asuka Kae is born.

**1950:**

Despite being trapped as Digitamas, the Three Angels are still able to utilize their powers. They call for help from the Human world to destroy the "Pagan" Kingdoms that still worship the Gods. The First Chosen are pulled into the Digital World. They are scattered around the Digital World. They travel the Digital World, meet their partners, but all meet up in the Desert Kingdom of Fertanti, which is ruled by Pharoahmon. They meet three girls who were pulled into the Digital World as well, each one with the gift of prophecy, Sachi, Sophie and the greatest one, Asuka.

These three priestesses rename the First Chosen: Jiro is named Hidokoro, Amanda is named Kendra, Zilya is named Svetlana, Adleio is named Montenegro, Duval is named Lucien, Fai is named Daiyu, Zorion is named Glaucio, Alem is named Abungu. Haruki is named Yuushi.

Four months after they first arrive, Hagan, named Juro, joins them.

The First Chosen go to war with the Royal Knights and defeat them. Each Chosen takes a weapon of the Knights for themselves: Yuushi the Staff, Hidokoro, the Katana, Lucien, the Shotguns, Kendra the Gauntlets, Svetlana the Claymore, Montenegro the Spear, Glaucio the Shield, Abungu the Bow and Juro the Flail. They built a city called Holy Digitapolis on the Island of the Center, where they ruled from their Divine Castle.

They spent their lives moving from Earth to the Digital World and back, each one starting a family. They lived normal lives on Earth, while ruled as Kings in the Digital World.

**1958:**

Arkadiy Danika, son of Zilya "Svetlana" Mishca, is born

**1959:**

John Jeffry, son of Amanda "Kendra" Chailyn, and Henri Rupert, son of Duval "Lucien" Rupert are born

Kurata is born.

**1960:**

Duka Genet, son of Alem "Abungu" Genet and Jia Li, daughter of Fai "Daiyu" Shan, is born

**1961:**

Haruhiko Takenouchi, Susumu Kamiya, and Eberardo, son of Adedlio "Montenegro" Monteg are born

**1962:**

Satoe Tachikawa, Inigo, son of Zorion "Glaucio" Ramiro is born.

While visiting Hidokoro and Yuushi in Japan, Juro meets Naoki Ishida. They leave for Germany and are engaged.

**1964:**

Yuuko Makato, daughter of Haruki "Yuushi" Makato is born.

**1965:**

Triplets, Dierk, son of, Felici, daughter of, and Hiroki, son of Juro and Naoki Ishida, are born. Naoki, realizes that Juro will be coming for them. She gives Dierk to family friends, with the instructions to find Lucien, due to his illness, Dierk cannot stand long travel, while she takes Felici and Hiroki back to Japan to find Hidokoro or Yuushi.

While crossing the Sea of Japan, their ship is caught in a storm and sinks. Juro believes Naoki and his children are dead.

In truth, only Naoki died, Felici and Hiroki are rescued, but only Hiroki has any identification on him-i.d. tied to his wrist, Felici's fell off, and without any way to i.d. her, is placed in foster care. Hiroki is adopted by Naoki's sister.

**1966:**

Kumiko Makato, second daughter of Haruki "Yuushi" Makato, is born. Akihiro Kurata is born.

**1968**

Juro and the First Chosen have a falling out. Juro is banished from the kingdom. He wanders and is contacted by GranDracmon. He agrees to become GranDracmon's agent in the Digital World.

He creates his own kingdom which begins hostility towards the First Chosen kingdom.

**1972:**

-Natsuko Takaishi is born.

-Dagomon tries to bring the Gods back to the Digital World. Yuushi and Juro work together to seal him within Yddrisil's dimension-a dimension apart from the Digital World. The First Chosen create the Ancient Warriors to stop any attempts to restore the Gods to the Digital World. Each First Chosen creates an Ancient with their power, except for Yuushi and Juro, who decide that their power is too great, they instead create warriors of ice and thunder.

**1973:**

**-**Yuushi and Juro both fall in love with Asuka, but she cannot bear their rivalry, and so ends her own life, pouring her power into her watch, the Timepiece of Asuka.

-The War of the First Chosen. Juro's kingdom is destroyed and Juro is banished from the Digital World, his name and weapon hidden for what should have been all time.

**1975:**

The Kingdom of Cer invaded and destroyed the Divine Castle. The First Chosen escape to Earth, and would remain there for the rest of their lives. They kept their lives in the Digital World a secret, not wanting the governments of the world to know of its existence.

**1983:**

Kumiko Makato leaves for America

**1985:**

Susumu and Yuuko Yagami are married.

**1985:**

James Masters is born

**1987:**

Jyou Kido, Iduia Ramiro, daughter of Inigo Ramiro, Mitsuo Yamaki, son of Sadao and Felicie Yamaki is born.

**1988:**

Taichi Yagami, son of Yuuko "Makato" Yagami, Yamato Ishida, Sora Takenouchi, daughter of Toshiko " Kaji" Takenouchi, Anna Danika, daughter of Arkadiy Danika, Victor Von Schmidt, son of Dierk and Helene von Schmidt, Dingo Hogan are born

**1989:**

Vicente Lobo, Mimi Tachikawa, Michael Barton, Koushiro Izumi, Lynna Jeffry, daughter of John Jeffry, Catherine Rupert, daughter of Henri Rupert, Keeya Genet, daughter of Duka Genet Miyako Inoe are born

**1990:**

Hikari Yagami, Takeru Takashi, Daisuke Motomiya, Ken Ichijoji, Yuri Ruskoy, are born

**1991:**

-Apocalymon escapes from beyond the Wall of Fire and warps the Digital World, creating a race of evil digimon and throwing time out of synch with the time of Earth.

-Tatum Heany, Alexandre Rupert, second daughter of Henri Rupert, Sam Anderson, Dingo Hogan, Madelyne Osborn are born

**1992:**

Kumiko Makato meets Masato Seisou

**1993:**

Hiroshi Shibya, Keiko Shingu, Noriko Kawada, daughter of Jia Li Kawada is born

Megumi Seisou is born

**1994:**

Iori Hida, Maria Silvano, daughter of Eberardo Monteng are born

**1993-1999:**

The First Chosen all pass away.

**1995:**

At Hikarigaoka, a Digi-egg emerges from the computer in the Yagami apartment, where it is found by Taichi and Hikari. The egg evolves to Greymon and battles Parrotmon in the city streets. Eight children that witness this event then become the next Chosen Children.

**1996:**

-Takashi Yuuske is born

-The children and their families move out of Hikarigaoka, settling in Odabia. Gennai's order fashions Tags and Crests for each of the second group of Chosen Children, These Tags and Crests are taken by Piedmon and are given to Etemon to hide across the Server desert. Gennai brings seven of the eight eggs to File Island to await the coming of their partners, the eighth became lost in the mountains of Server.

**August 1, 1999:**

-The Dark Masters began to plot their conquest of the Digital World. The Chosen are pulled through a Digital Gate at camp. They land on File Island and begin their quest by destroying Devimon.

-After gathering their Crests, the Chosen defeat Etemon. Taichi is brought back to Earth momentarily. The rest of the Chosen disband.

-Taichi returns and begins to reunite the Chosen Children.

-After rejoining, they journey back to Earth through Myotismon's gate to search for the Eighth Child.

-Koushiro creates the Crest of Greed when his greed for knowledge overcame his friendship with Mimi during their encounter with Kentarumon in the Dino Ruins maze.

-Taichi inadvertently creates the Crest of Pride when his pride creates Skullgreymon.

-Jyou creates the Crest of Sloth when he does not leave the Gekomon's Diner, preferring to stay there instead.

-Mimi creates the Crest of Envy during her stay in the Gekomon's castle, when she began to crave the life and lifestyle of a princess.

**August 2, 1999:**

-Hikari is revealed as the Eight Child.

-Myotismon takes over the city. Daisuke and Iori are part of the children taken.

-Sora is attacked by Phantomon and is impaled on his scythe. Hikari's Crest heals her and revives her immediately.

**August 3, 1999:**

-The Eight Children, together for the first time, defeat Myotismon.

-The Dark Masters, meanwhile, have taken control of the Digital World. The Chosen fight and defeat them.

-Yamato creates the Crest of Wrath when Juriemon manipulates his anger into hate for Taichi.

-During Taichi's battle with Piedmon, he is killed, but is revived immediately due to the power of Yamato's crest.

-The Chosen defeat Apocalymon, and the time between Earth and the Digital World is synchronized once again. The Chosen are forced to return to Earth.

**March 2000:**

Diablomon and Omegamon battle on the Internet. Miyako is one of the Children watching this battle.

**2001:**

At some point Michael receives his Betamon partner, and even spends time within the Digital World.

**Spring-Summer 2002**:

Takeru and Hikari join Daisuke, Miyako and Iori in becoming the next generation of Chosen. They fight and defeat, Ken the Digimon Emperor.

-Takeru creates the Crest of Gluttony when he begins to crave the power he had during his first adventure.

**Fall-Winter 2002:**

Yuukio Oikawa and his two servants Archnemon and Mummymon attempt to disrupt the natural defenses of the Digital World by attacking Destiny Stones. Ken overcomes his guilt at having been the Digimon Emperor and joins with them.

**December 24, 2002:**

-Taichi asks Sora out, but she dates Yamato instead.

-Sora creates the Crest of Lust from her feelings towards Yamato.

-Archnemon unleashes digimon all across the world.

**December 25, 2002:**

**-**Chosen from all over the world are given their Digimon partners to combat the invasion of Digimon.

-Megumi Seisou receives Plotmon, but cannot evolve her.

-Daisuke joins Mimi and Michael in returning the Digimon in New York to the Digital World. He meets Maria, Tatum and Sam.

-Hikari and Koushiro go to China and meet the Poi brothers and Mina from India.

-Jyou and Iori go to Australia and meet Dingo.

-Taichi and Takeru go to Paris and meet Catherine.

-Ken and Yamato go to Mexico and meet Rosa.

-Miyako and Sora go to Russia and meet Anna, Yuri and Lola.

**December 26, 2002:**

-The Demon Corps arrive, seeking Ken's Dark Spore.

-Noriko, Hiroshi, Keiko, and Takashi are infected by Oikawa.

**December 29, 2002:**

Noriko's Dark Spore blooms early and Oikawa steals her energy.

**December 31, 2002:**

-Oikawa gathers the Dark Spore children and absorbs their energy, intending to take them all to the Digital World. However, they appear in a dream world instead, where Myostimon reveals himself to be the source of Oikawa's ambitions.

-The Chosen from all over the world use their digivices to aid in the defeat of Malomyotismon.

-This event causes the gate between Earth and the Digital World to remain open permanently. Those with digivices of any design and type can cross over at will.

**2004:**

-Yamato and Sora break-up.

-Miayag begins to explore the Digital World.

-Juro approaches Victor von Schmidt and trains him how to reach the Fully Evolved level.

-Victor von Schmidt comes to America as an exchange student. He meets Michael.

**2006:**

-Taichi, Sora, Koushiro and Yamato graduate high school.

-Jyou enters college.

**2007:**

-Hikari, Takeru, Miyako, Mimi, Michael, Ken and Daisuke graduate high school

-Sora and Koushiro start college.

-Jyou begins to investigate a mysterious illness that is affecting the Digital City of Yclis. He determines that it is a virus that eats all 'living' digital matter. He warns the other Chosen, and they make preparations.

**2008:**

-Taichi, Michael, Schmidt and others form the Chosen Council. Its base is at Form Magnum Island.

-Hikari and Takeru start college. Daisuke enters culinary school.

-Koushiro determines that the mysterious illness is a mutated form of the . Virus.

-Ken, Takeru, and Iori die from the virus.

-Koushiro begins to develop a cure.

-Lino Silvano is born.

**2009:**

-Koushiro unleashes the X-Antibody, which only affects 10 percent of the population.

-GranDracmon creates the Demon Lords by forming them from the data of the deceased Chosen: Daisuke, Miyako, Ken, Koushiro and Takeru, and the data of Chosen that did die, but were revived immediately, Sora and Taichi. He gives each of the Demon Lords the "Negative" Crests: Pride, Greed, Envy, Sloth, Wrath, Gluttony and Lust.

-Catherine, Lynna, Iduia, Maria, Tatum, Sam, and Keeya are confirmed to be infected.

-Koushiro, Daisuke and Miyko die. Taichi is broken at the deaths of his friends and leaves the Digital World. The Chosen Council votes to put Victor von Schmidt as its leader. Schmidt's true plan is to locate the Flail of Chance for his grandfather.

-Taichi moves into an apartment in Shinjuku, starting a job as an assistant soccer coach.

-Later that year, he enters college.

-Jyou and Kikku are married.

-Hypnos is created with Mitsuo Yamaki as its director.

**2010:**

-Sora graduates from college and works as a designer for Issey Miyake before becoming a freelancer.

-The Synthetic Digital Energy Accelerator (S-DEA) is created.

-Kumiko "Makato" Seisou dies of a drug overdose

-Megumi Seisou moves completely to the Digital World. She wanders in depression and rage until the Digital God appears to her. He gives her the power of Taichi and Hikari and the name Chihi Miayag.

-Hikari graduates from college.

-Hikari begins her teaching job in Shinjuku.

-Hikari moves into Taichi's apartment.

-Michael and Mimi are married

-Noriko, Hiroshi, Takashi and Keiko are confirmed to have the virus.

-While visiting Takeru's grave, Hikari is overcome by emotions and runs away. She bumps into Mitsuo Yamaki and the two begin dating.

-Chihi Miayag appears and begins to preach the God of the Digital World.

**April, 2011:**

-Sora is infected with BD-2.

**May 2, 2011:**

-Jyou encounters Miayag, the first Odabia Chosen to do so.

-Taichi meets Sora for the first time in four years.

**May 3, 2011:**

**Day:**

-Miayag converts James, Vicente, Hiroshi, Keiko, Takashi, Sam and Tatum to her side, giving them the powers of Metalseadramon, Myostimon, Piedmon, Pinochimon, Mugen Dramon, Mummymon and Archnemon.

-Jyou calls Yamato, Hikari and Taichi. They encounter the Demon Lords and are tested.

-They rescue Maria and Noriko and return to Earth.

**Night:**

**-**Jyou confirms Sora's infection.

-Dingo and Lynna are chased by Karetu and Beelzebubmon.

-Karetu forces Lynna's power of water to awaken.

-Yamato and Jyou arrive to help and discover that Karetu looks similar to Takeru.

-They dig up Takeru's grave to find that his body is still there.

**May 4, 2011 **

**-**Catherine wakes up with nightmares. She puts the dreams down in drawings, and her father calls Yamato for help.

-Sora calls Hikari to tell her about her infection, however, Taichi receives the message. He goes to Sora's and they talk. He receives a message from Yuri and he, Sora and Maria travel to Zeradza to meet him.

-Yuri tells Taichi that Miayag is planning to invade Nightsun. As they travel to the city, they are attacked by Shiokuro, who looks exactly like Koushiro. He forces Anna's power of wind to awaken.

-Yamato and Noriko head to France to meet Catherine. They are attacked by Karetu, who forces Catherine's power of light to awaken.

**May 5, 2011**

-Taichi, Sora, and Maria arrive in Nightsun. They call for help.

-Yamato, Catherine and Noriko travel to the village of Namu to speak with Mina. They receive Taichi's message and, along with Mina's student, Keeya, head to Nightsun. They are attacked by Karetu once again, and Noriko and Keeya's power of darkness and forest awaken.

-In New Havenwood, Mimi and Michael meet with Iduia Ramiro. They encounter Tatum and Sam before facing Amikyo and Enk. Iduia's power of metal awakens.

**May 6, 2011**

-War comes to Nightsun as the Digitalatri invade. While the battle rages on, inside the city, Shiokuro arrives and forces Sora's power of fire to awaken and Maria's power of Earth to awaken. The other young women arrive and the Daughters of the First are together for the first time. Cahiti summons Chimeramon, and the X-Chosen are severely outmatched. All the Daughters, except for Sora and Catherine, give their power to the X-Chosen, but Cahiti steals half of it to power the Soul Catcher. The X-Chosen gain the ability to evolve to Fully Evolved, but Sora and Catherine are captured.

-Miayag gains the Staff of Yuushi and the Machina Codex. The Staff enables her and her Plotmon to evolve to Kuzuhamon

**May 7, 2011**

**-**The Chosen Council decides that the Infected Chosen are a threat and approves Chosen Council Executive Order #0045: the immediate classification of all infected Chosen.

**May 8, 2011**

**Day  
-** The first Relocation Camp is formed in New Havenwood. The X-Chosen travel there to rescue Iduia, but the Digitalatri arrive also. Schmidt fatally wounds Miayag and she appears to die.

-Miayag revives from death by the power of the Digital God (in truth, she was not dead, only unconscious).

-The Demon Lords and the leaders of the Chosen Council form an alliance.

-Yuuko Yagami comes to visit Taichi and Hikari,

-Miayag invades Tokyo, demanding the return of the Machina Codex.

-Schmidt and Osborne invade Tokyo as well, demanding the X-Chosen hand over the Infected Chosen they are harboring.

-Yuuko recognizes Miayag as her niece and runs into the battle, only to have Miayag's Bastemon accidently attack her, sending her into a coma.

-Yamato leads a group to attack Schmidt and Osborne. Noriko and the others surrendered themselves willingly, so that Yamato's group was not harmed. Maria and Iduia were given the highest infection number, and taken to Relocation Camps in the Digital World.

**Night**

-Osborne gives classification numbers to Sora and Catherine.

-The Digitalatri claim the Center Island and the First Chosen's castle as their own.

-The Demon Lords use the power stolen from the Daughters of the First to affect the environment of the Digital World.

-Anna and Yuri escape the Relocation Center in Zeradza.

-Noriko and Yamato start to fall for one another.

-The X-Chosen visit Mina, and are given the first information on the First Chosen's weapons. She presents the Katana of Fire to Taichi and the Shotguns of Light to Yamato.

-The X-Chosen are attacked by Asro. She steals Taichi's goggles and brings them back to the Demon Lord's base, where she presents them as 'proof' to Sora and Catherine that Taichi and the X-Chosen are dead.

-The X-Chosen survived, however, and split up to take out the Relocation Centers of the Chosen Council.

**May 9, 2011**

**-**The sun does not rise in Zeradza. This is the result of Shiokuro using the power of Darkness stolen from Noriko. He does this to convince the Chosen population of the city that the Infected Chosen must be exterminated. Among the prisoners of Zeradza is Maria. The administrator of Zeradza's Relocation Center is Ivan Kragoff.

-Amikyo and Enk use the power of Water stolen from Lynna to stop the tide in Ausata, another location of a Relocation Center. Iduia is among its prisoners. The Ausata's Relocation Center is run by Raven Frost and Sebastian Pierce.

-The Demon Lords and the Chosen Council prepare for an attack on the Center Island.

-Yamato, Mimi and Michael arrived in Ylicis to rendezvous with Anna and Yuri. They have to fight Karetu and Samuel Sterns, but are successful.

-Taichi, Hikari and Jyou attack the Zeradza Relocation Center, freeing Maria and the Infected Chosen seconds before they would have been exterminated in the gas chamber.

-Shiokuro uses the power of Darkness stolen from Noriko to fuse Ivan Kragoff to his Karentmon partner, turning them into Reichmon, who is defeated by the X-Chosen, but Shiokuro has run off.

-In Ausata, Yamato's group frees Iduia and the rest of the Infected Chosen from the Relocation Center. Amikyo and Enk, hearing what Shiokuro has done, use the Power of Water stolen from Lynna and the Power of Forest stolen from Keeya, to fuse Raven Frost and Sebastian Pierce to their partners, creating Mermaimon and Trojamon.

-His group is unable to defeat them until Noriko, sensing Yamato is in trouble, tries to give him more of her power, hoping it will evolve Weregarurumon X into a Mega, but it proves to be incompatible with the Shotguns of Light, and Yamato and Weregarurumon X fuse together to become Cerberumon X. He defeats the two transformed Chosen Council members in a rage before returning to normal.

-In Zeradza, Taichi's group locates Shiokuro and he uses the entire stolen power of darkness to fuse with his Barbamon. Maria gives Taichi more of her power, hoping it will evolve Metalgreymon X into a Mega, but it is not compatible with the Katana of Fire, and Taichi and Metalgreymon X evolve to Skull Mammon X. He was able to defeat Shiokuro/Barbamon, but was given a glimpse of the First Chosen's past.

**May 10, 2011**

-Taichi brings Maria back to Earth while Hikari and Jyou plan an invasion of Form Magnum Island.

-Mimi brings Iduia, Anna and Yuri back to Earth as well.

-Miayag, feeling guilty about sending Yuuko to the hospital, goes to visit her in disguise. Taichi recognizes her and the two begin to fight in the street. Yuuko wakes up momentarily and see the battle outside. She runs outside and reveals that Miayag is her niece, and that she and Taichi are cousins. Miayag escapes, but Yuuko falls back into her coma.

-Mimi and the Daughter of the First, seeing the same news coverage of Taichi and Miayag's battle, go to help, but they run into Amikyo and Leviamon. Mimi and Lillymon X are able to defeat Leviamon, and Amikyo kills herself rather than return to Cahiti in defeat.

-Miayag returns to the Center Island and locks herself in her room, considering the recent revelations. Tatum, Sam and Vicente misunderstand her silence and return to Earth to kill Taichi Yagami.

-Mimi and the Daughters of the First fight and have to kill the three to stop them. Tatum and Mimi make amends with one another before she dies.

-Still prisoners of the Demon Lords, Sora wakes up with prophetic dreams of a dragon destroying the Digital World. Catherine declares that she is the second messenger.

**May 11, 2011**

-Taichi and Mimi return to the Digital World. Taichi does not tell Hikari that Miayag is their cousin.

-Taichi, Hikari and Jyou enter Form Magnum Island and discover the location of the Demon Lords' base. They have to fight the fused Enk/Belphamon, and Jyou and Anomalocarimon X kills them.

-Sora and Catherine are tricked by Osborn into watching Digital World coverage of the battle. The two Daughters of the First, having thought that the X-Chosen were dead, send their powers to Taichi's group to help them evolve. The powers are intercepted by Cahiti, and now his Soul Catcher has the power of all of the Daughters of the First.

-Yamato, Mimi and Michael travel to the Demon Lords' base. They are in time to watch Schmidt and Cahiti take Sora and Catherine before they are forced to fight Samuel Sterns and his Sagitarimon partner evolved together to Volcamon.

-They chase Schmidt and Cahiti, but are forced to fight Karetu and Beelezbumon. Yamato defeats him, but they lose Schmidt and Cahiti.

**May 12, 2011**

-The Demon Lords and the Chosen Council invade the Center Island. They thoroughly defeat the Digitalatri.

-Cahiti uses the Soul Catcher, powered with the energies of the Daughters of the First, to turn the elements of the Digital World against each other. This is the Digital Hazard that will destroy the Digital World.

-When Taichi, Hikari and Jyou arrive, they find a barely alive Miayag, who reveals that she is Taichi and Hikari's cousin.

-The three X-Chosen attempt to break through the Chosen Council defenses that guard the First Chosen's castle. Yamato's group arrive, with the Daughters of the First and Dingo and Yuri. Taichi and Yamato lead the Daughters of the First into the Castle.

-Michael fights and defeats Schmidt, and Mimi defeats Osborn. They leave them both for dead.

-Yamato, Noriko, Lynna, and Iduia fight and defeat Seiduka and Demon, freeing Catherine.

-Taichi, Maria, Anna and Keeya fight and defeat Asro and Lillithmon, freeing Sora.

-Sora and Taichi share their first kiss.

-They confront Cahiti and Lucemon. Sora powers up Taichi's Katana of Fire, and Catherine powers up Yamato's Shotgun on Light, enabling them to evolve to Wargreymon X and Metalgarurumon X.

-Cahiti/Lucemon summons the powers and energies of the defeated Demon Lords and evolves to Lucemon Satan Mode. Wargreymon X and Metalgarurumon X are able to defeat him, but the Digital World is completely destroyed, leaving only the three moons and a mysterious black orb where the center once was.

**May 13, 2011**

-Miayag leads her following Digitalatri into the black orb in the former center of the Digital World, believing it to be the haven of the Digital God.

-Mina receives information that the Digitalatri have entered the center orb, and the X-Chosen follow. They battle the X-Chosen before arriving before the Digital God, who reveals himself to be GranDracmon.

-He reveals his four Horsemen, Matut, Asm, Oiri and Karihi created from the data of the deceased Tatum, Sam, Iori and the negative emotional energy from Hikari.

-The Digitalatri and the X-Chosen escape, but Yuri is killed.

**May 14, 2011**

-Miayag and the X-Chosen recover their strength while the Daughters of the First and the Digitalatri follow Sora's prophetic dream and investigate the three Digital Moons.

-Sora, Maria, Keeya and Anna arrive on the Seraphimoon, where they battle Oiri. Keeya is killed. The rest reach a cavern where Sora is put through her greatest fear, going blind from BD-2. She overcomes this fear and is rewarded with Serphaimon's Digitama.

-On the Ophanimoon, Noriko, Catherine, Lynna and Iduia fight Asm and Iduia is killed. The rest reach a cavern where Noriko is tempted with her insecurities about comparing herself to Catherine. She realizes that she is not Catherine, she is simply who she is. She will not compare herself to Catherine anymore. She is rewarded with Ophanimon's Digitama.

-On the Cherubimoon, Hiroshi, Keiko, Takashi and James are shown images of their past misdeeds, including nearing killing Maria and Noriko to prove their loyalty to the Digitalatri. They realize that their past was not "good" but they must move forward. They were rewarded with Cherubimon's Digitama.

-On Earth, Karihi brings the Infected Chosen to Tokyo's park, using their energy to free GranDracmon from the Dark Zone and enter Earth.

**May 15, 2011**

**Day**

-The X-Chosen and the Daughters of the First prepare for the coming battle.

**Night**

-The Four Horsemen prepare for GranDracmon's arrival.

-The X-Chosen, the Digitalatri and the Daughters of the First battle the Horsemen, Maria is killed.

-Asm is defeated.

-GranDracmon arrives on Earth. He unleashes his Crystal Revolution, turning all in the park to glass except for Taichi, Yamato, Miayag, the Digitalatri, the remaining Daughters of the First and their partners.

-Oiri kills Catherine. Noriko and Sora are able to use the Digitamas of the Angles to fuse with Lynna and Anna, evolving to Plesiomon and Hououmon. They kill Oiri.

-The Digitalatri are able to use Cherubimon's Digitama so that all four evolve to Apocalymon and kill Matut.

-Kuzuhamon kills Karihi.

-Wargreymon X, Metalgarurumon X, Apocalymon, Kuzuhamon, Plesiomon and Hououmon battle GranDracmon. He turns them all to crystal.

-In a realm between life and death, Taichi, Yamato, Agumon X and Gabumon X are met with the spirits of the Daughters of the First. Sora, Maria, Keeya, and Anna give Fire, Earth, Forest and Wind to Taichi, and Noriko, Catherine, Iduia and Lynna give Darkness, Light, Metal and Water to Yamato. This influx of power evolves them to Omegamon X.

-Omegamon X defeats GranDracmon, freeing all those trapped in crystal.

**August, 2012**

-Gabriel "Gabe" Barton is born to Michael and Mimi Barton.

**-**Miayag returns to her home in San Francisco.

**September, 2012**

-Kenji Kido is born to Jyou and Kiku Kido.

-Miayag enters college.

**October 2, 2012**

**Day**

-With the Digital World destroyed, the Weapons of the First Chosen return to Earth. The Flail of Chance falls near the Island of Shikoku, the Bow of Forest crashes into Mount Komaga-take, and the Shield of Metal falls into the sea near the Nichinan Coastline. Taichi, Yamato, and Miayag all feel the weapons enter the Earth due to their weapons, while Juro feels his Flail.

-Hypnos takes the Flail before Juro arrives.

-He challenges Sora and Noriko, his only leads as they contain the power of Hidokoro and Daiyu for the Flail.

**Night**

-Sora and Noriko tell Hikari and Jyou about their encounter. They don't want to bother Taichi or Yamato, so they travel to Shikoku for information themselves.

-They get a lead on a group of Hypnos "Black" vans that were at the beach earlier that day. Jyou and Hikari find the vans in Kochi city outside Hypnos's temporary base in a warehouse.

-They encounter Juro outside, and the subsequent fight forces the Hypnos staff to flee. Juro follows them.

-When they return to Tokyo, they inform Taichi and Yamato.

**October 3, 2012**

-Miayag arrives in Tokyo and begins to search for information.

-Through news reports, the X-Chosen determine that the Black Vans have been seen in the Shinjuku Area. Taichi and Yamato head there.

-They locate a Hypnos storage building. Both Yamato and Taichi feel a strange sensation when they approach the building. Juro appears a moment later and reveals that Taichi and Yamato were able to feel the Flail because of _their_ own weapons, Juro could feel his Flail return to Earth, but could not locate it.

-He summons his Flail to him, and summons Metal Piranhmon. He battles Taichi and Yamato and kills them.

-Hypnos quarantines the site, but Taichi and Yamato's data reforms into 12 Digitamas

**October 5, 2012**

-Taichi and Yamato's funeral.

**October 8, 2012**

-Kurata and Yamaki bring the Digi-tamas back to Hypnos. Miayag attempts to follow them, but she loses them.

-The X-Chosen attempt to move on with their lives.

-Noriko takes a job in a fast food restaurant.

-Sora begins to experience morning sickness.

-Kurata brings the Digi-tamas back to Hypnos's base. They soon 'hatch,' but only a small number survive the first night. Kurata theorizes that six of the 12 Digitamas are Taichi's data merged with the power of a Daughter of the First and six belong to Yamato. The powers of the Daughters of the First came from when the two absorbed their power to created Omegamon X.

**October 11, 2012**

-Miayag finally locates Hypnos's base.

-Yamaki discovers that Kurata is holding the surviving 'splinters' of Taichi and Yamato prisoner. He panics and orders them to be terminated. Miayag reveals herself and battles Megumi Ootori. During the fight, the power is damaged and the surviving 'splinters' escaped.

-Sora goes to the doctors for her morning sickness and discovers she is pregnant.

**NIGHT**

-The group of 'splinters' that escape arrive at a construction site and name themselves: Takuya, Tanna, Miach and Taichi Jr., Koji, Yariko, Yamag and Yamato Jr.

-Miach and Yamag, the 'dark' sides of Taichi and Yamato merged with the powers of Fate, leave.

-Once the others are asleep, Takuya and Koji go after them.

**October 12, 2012**

**Day**

-Miayag begins to follow Yamaki.

-Sora and Noriko are attacked by Juro, who wants the weapons of Taichi and Yamato.

-Miayag arrives and battles Juro. They leave when they feel the Katana of Fire and the Shotguns of Light are use.

-Takuya and Koji catch up with Miach and Yamag. They begin to battle and Takuya and Koji summon the Katana of Fire and Shotguns of Light.

-Tanna and Yariko take Taichi Jr. and Yamato Jr. to Hikari's apartment.

**NIGHT**

-Hikari, Sora and Noriko determine that each of the "Splinters," are an aspect of Taichi and Yamato's personalities with a power of the Daughter of the First.

-Miach and Yamag, wanting to know more about who they are and how Takuya and Koji summonsed the two weapons, return to Kurata.

-They reabsorb the data of the deceased Splinters.

**October 13, 2012**

-Miayag once again follows Yamaki, and discovers that he is Hikari's boyfriend.

-Kurata, needing more data, sends Miach and Yamag to attack Noriko and Sora. Only a timely rescue by Takuya and Koji saves them.

-Miayag joins with them, and they determine that they need to find the other two weapons that fell to Japan.

-Miayag reveals that Yamaki is the director of Hypnos. Hikari confronts him and he confirms Miayag's revelation. Hikari is heartbroken and remains behind.

-Juro approaches Kurata, Miach and Yamag and proposes an alliance.

-Juro and Kurata decide to construct a Digital Gate in order to manipulate Juro's DNA and extend his life. Kurata also forges documents that appear that Yamaki authorized a Hypnos team and agents to help him.

**October 14, 2012**

-Sora, Takuya, Tanna and Michael travel to Mount Komaga-take. Miach and Nanami arrived there first and took the Bow of Forest, evolving Miach's Black Agumon to Gaiomon. Takuya is able to take the weapon from him and Miach flees.

-Noriko, Koji, Yariko and Jyou travel to Nichinan Coastline and encounter Ivan and Yamag. They are able to take the Shield of Metal and Hypnos flees in defeat.

**NIGHT**

-Both groups return to Tokyo. However, since Keeya and Iduia, the Daughters of the First needed to empower those weapons, are deceased, Miayag proposes to 'jumpstart' the Power of Metal in Michael. The result is both weapons activating and Jogressing Jyou, Michael and their partners into Metalseadramon X, Betamon X's Mega form. The power proves too much for him, and he goes on a rampage.

-The Splinters and the Daughters try to subdue him. They defeat Metalseadramon X, but he Slide Evolves to Plesiomon X, Gomamon X's Mega form.

-Hikari uses Miayag's Staff of Fate to evolve to Holydramon X.

-Juro and his allies hear of the battle, and he and Kouki fly to intercept.

-Holydramon defeats Plesiomon X and Kouki takes Jyou, Michael, their partners and the two weapons back to Kurata.

-Juro taunts Holydramon X with lies about him being Hikari's true grandfather and that she and Tailmon were a liability to the Chosen.

-Reika finds Yamaki drunk in his apartment. He is depressed and heartbroken over his and Hikari's break up. Reika alerts him to Kurata's forged authorization orders.

-Takuya and Koji, realizing that they cannot fill the shoes of "Taichi," and "Yamato," have to reform with the other Splinters. They begin to search for Yamato and Miach.

-Hikari determines that their only lead to Juro and Kurata is Yamaki.

-Kurata finishes the Digital Gate but needs to return to his lab.

**October 15, 2012**

-Hikari, Noriko, Miayag and Sora go to Hypnos to look for Yamaki. They are met by Reika Ootori.

-Yamaki goes to Kurata's lab to confront him, only to find evidence of his crimes. Kurata arrives and Yamaki is about to execute him, but Hikari, Miayag and Reika arrive. Hikari and Yamato make up.

-Yamaki orders Reika to take Kurata to a government prison after he reveals the location of the Digital Gate.

-Juro, Kouki, Ivan and Nanami arrive to free Kurata.

-Takuya and Koji find Miach and Yamag. The two 'dark' sides use the weapons to evolve to their Mega forms, but Takuya and Koji still are victorious.

**NIGHT**

-Yamaki, Reika and Megumi receive their digimon partners.

-The Chosen attack the warehouse, but the Digital Gate is activated. The Splinters jump inside, and Miach and Yamag realize that they belong as one being and fuse together again.

-Omegamon X emerges from the Gate. He fights and deletes Metal Piranhmon.

-The Gate begins to malfunction, and Juro scarifies himself and Juro to seal the Gate.

-Yamaki professes that Hypnos was useless in the end, but Taichi thinks that it might not be a bad idea to have such an organization.

- While the couples are reunited, Miayag and her Plotmon silently sneak away.

**October 31, 2012**

-Juro joins with GranDracmon and the Demon Lords in the Digital Underworld.

-They contact Schmidt, who, along with Osborn and Kragoff, survived the Digital Hazard. GranDracmon offers Schmidt the chance to serve him, and he agrees. He is transformed into Lord Sentry, Osborn into Artemis, and Kragoff into Orion, forming the Hunters.

-Lord Sentry finds the Gospel of Juro, discovering the secrets of Yddrisil. In order to reach Yddrisil, he will need to free Dagomon, but the level of Fate and Chance needed cannot be generated by anyone living. He puts in motion a plan to create that power.

**November 8, 2012**

- Aleksey Danika is born.

**December 2, 2012**

-Taichi and Sora are married.

**December, 2012**

-Lord Sentry appears before Miayag in the guise of a normal human named Hagan, his grandfather's name. They began to date.

**January 14, 2013**

Yamato and Noriko are married.

**March 18, 2013**

-Bolade Jelani is born.

-Yamato enters the military.

**April, 2013**

-Miayag becomes pregnant.

**July, 2013**

Kasumi Yagami is born.

**November 16 2013**

-Ines Pedro is born.

**May 30, 2013**

-Joey Hogan is born.

**September, 2013**

Shiro Ishida is born.

**December, 2013**

-Miayag discovers that Hagan is actually Schmidt, and he wants her child for the combined powers of Fate and Chance. She runs from him.

**January 1, 2014**

-Masahiko and Masanori are born. Miayag and Schmidt both discover that Fate and Chance became split in her womb: Masahiko has Fate and Masanori has Chance. Miayag is only able to escape with Masahiko before Schmidt finds her.

-Schmidt takes Masanori, promising that at some point, he will come for Masahiko.

**February 4, 2014**

-Asami Yamaki is born.

**April 21, 2014**

-Elizabeth Barton is born.

**August 31, 2016**

Adan Silvano is born.

**2017**

-Taichi is elected to the Diet.

**July 20, 2017**

-Yasu Ishida is born.

**November 14, 2017**

-Akira Yagami is born.

**2018**

-Shinji, Yuuji, Ami and Tsuragi, in their true forms, may have been born.

**January 31, 2018**

-The Digital Accident Tactics Squad is founded. Taichi is its director, Yamato the assistant director, and Mitsuo as the commander.

**April 4, 2018**

-Eliane Debre is born.

**2019**

-Yamato leaves DATS to participate in a military project.

**2022**

-Sentry takes the guise of Michiro Kazuki, and 'buys' his way into the position of Minister of Finance.

-The Hunters find Lino, Adan, Bolade and Ines. Lino takes the Spear of Earth and the name Mixcoatl.

-While training, Mixcoatl and Rudra become rivals.

**2027-2028**

-At some point, the American Team of DATS Agents are betrayed by Ralph Azala.

-Kenji is an exchange student in American. He meets Langelet.

-Both Azala and Langelet are approached by Lord Sentry and they agree to become the Hunters: Hoakah and Nanook respectively.

-The Digital World reconfigures itself into the configuration it had during the time of the First Chosen.

**June 6, 2028**

-Masa begins to have strange dreams. He meets Dorumon and they encounter the Hunter, Hinkon. They, along with Miayag, are captured and brought to the Hunters base. Masa attempts to escape, and encounters Hinkon again. Masa summons the Staff of Fate and evolves Dorumon through all of his forms, reaching his Mega form of Dorughoramon, killing Hinkon. Sentry appears and threatens to kill Miayag if Masa does not join the Hunters. With no choice, he agrees.

-Despite now having Masa, Sentry still cannot get the 'Fate' power that he needs. He is forced to clone Miayag, creating Araki, the Demon Priestess.

-Araki and Masanori start to 'recruit." Araki uses the Uni Gift of Demons to turn two orphans into Ami and Tsuragi, and other set of orphans into Rei and Neo. She later experiments on Rei and Neo in an attempt to make Demon Chosen reach the Mega level without losing their minds. This is only mildly successful, Rei and Neo do not lose control, but they are clearly insane.

-Masanori uses the Decima Gift of Demons to turn a tomboy into the male Shinji. He is partnered with Yuuji.

**September 16, 2028**

-Yamato returns from his tour of duty and resumes running DATS with Taichi and Mitsuo.

-Kasumi and the others meet Gabe and Lizzie for the first time. Kasumi and Gabe do not get along.

-DATS enters Neodigital to explore it.

-Taichi, Hikari, Kasumi, Gabe and Asami encounter Shinji and Yuuji as they acquire the Golden Fleece.

-Yamato, Sora, Akira and Shiro encounter a digimon village under attack by Tsuragi and Ami for the mystical belt Megijorno. They are captured by the Demons, and Akira's Fire power erupts.

-Mimi, Noriko, Yasu and Lizzie are exploring a grassland area when Yasu feels Akira's power. They run to their rescue. Tsuargi and Ami escape with the belt.

-They reorganize their teams: Yamato, Noriko, Shiro and Yasu as one group and Mimi, Lizzie, Sora and Akira as the other.

**September 23, 2028**

-Masanori tells the Demons to capture Asami, Shiro and Yasu to test them.

-Shinji and Yuuji arrive to capture Asami while Taichi's group is enjoying a dinner by the beach.

-Ami and Tsuragi grab Shiro and Yasu while their group is exploring a mountainous area.

**September 24, 2028**

-Taichi's group finds Yamato and Noriko, and they set off together to find Asami, Shiro and Yasu.

-Sora's group is attacked by Goblimons, who are under the control of Tsuragi, who is searching for the Giallorhorn.

-The Demons discover that Asami posses the power they are searching for, but the DATS Agents arrive and free her, Shiro and Yasu.

**September 30, 2028**

-Anna finds the Claymore of Wind in Russia, and Lynna finds the Gauntlets of Water in Australia.

-Now that Sentry and Masa know that Asami has the power they are searching for, they begin to plan to take it. The first step is to terminate the DATS Agents, who will protect her.

-Taichi, Yamato, and Mitsuo have a press conference in front of the Diet building. Unknown to them, Kasumi convinces Shiro to skip school and watch the conference.

-While Taichi begins his speech, Artemis attempts to assassinate him. Her arrow strikes him the chest.

-Kasumi, Shiro and Yamato run after her. Yamato reprimands Kasumi for fighting instead of being with her father. Yamato and Shiro chase after Artemis while Kasumi goes with Mitsuo to the hospital.

-Sora and Noriko, who were watching the conference from Noriko's apartment, go to the hospital.

-While Jyou takes Taichi into the operating room, Mitsuo tells Kasumi to wait for her mother and he returns to DATS Building.

-Along the way, he encounters the Hunter, Flidais. He wins the battle, then, fearing for Hikari, runs to get to his wife.

-Plotmon X calls Hikari, and she leaves to go to the hospital, but along the way, has to battle the Hunter Nanook.

-Yamato catches up with Artemis, but Orion appears. Yamato and Orion battle, and Orion severely injuries him. Shiro arrives a few minutes later and brings Yamato and Gabumon X to the same hospital as Taichi and Agumon X. Kiku Kido begins to operate on Yamato.

-Sora and Noriko arrive at the hospital. Hikari takes Akira and Yasu to DATS and watches them.

**-**The Bartons leave New York to return to Japan. Along the way, Michael fights Hoakah.

**Night**

-The Demon Chosen are spotted in Neodigital. Hikari, Kasumi, Shiro and Kenji go with her.

-They arrive on Atrops Island, and fight Shou and Kiyoshi of the Uni Clan. They call Akira and Yasu for help.

-Shiro and Kasumi follow Tsuargi and Ami to the Oracle at Digiphi on the island. She tells the Demons where to find the Gjiallarhorn,

-She tells the DATS Agents that one of them will shortly die.

-Shinji, however, has been watching, and sees Kasumi's personality.

-Jyou and Kiku are able to stabilize Taichi and Yamato's condition, and they begin to recover.

**October 2, 2028**

-Noriko and Yasu travel to China to get the Lance of Darkness. Yasu powers up the weapon and gives it to Shiro.

**October 3, 2028**

-The Hogans, Anna and her son and the Bartons arrive in Japan. Kasumi and Gabe still do not get along.

-Shinji leads a group of Decima Demons to attack Kasumi to see her strengths.

-Lynna's son, Joey gives the Gauntlets of Water to Gabe and Anna's son Aleksey gives Asami the Claymore of Wind, but gives the Power of Wind to both Asami and Kasumi.

-Eliane arrives from France.

**October 4, 2028**

-Gabe, Asami and Shiro go to the Digital World to practice with their weapons. Kasumi feels left out. Sora takes her to visit Taichi in the hospital.

-Artemis returns to finish her assassination of Taichi, but is stopped by Kasumi. Artemis flees, and is chased by Kasumi, Sora and Kenji. She leads them to a base where the DATS Agents encounters Mixcoatl, Adan, Bolade and Ines. Kasumi's rage takes control again.

-Shiro, Gabe and Asami encounter Tsuragi and Ami in the Digital World. The Demons find the Giallarhorn, but Shiro, using the Lance of Darkness, evolves his Psychemon to Weregarurumon. He severely injuries Ami and her Astamon, and the Demons escape.

**October 5, 2028**

-Kasumi is upset that despite being the great-granddaughter of both Hidokoro and Yuushi, is still weaker than everyone else, even Akira and Yasu.

**-**Shinji appears before her and forces her to take the Decima Gift of Demons. She refuses and fights back, but no one truly believes that she did not become a Demon willingly.

**Night**

-Mixcoatl attacks and in order to save her family, Kasumi uses the Gift of Demons. She transforms into a Decima Demon, and Yuki Agumon evolves to Orochimon.

-Under complete control of the Gift, she leaves with Shinji.

**October 6, 2028-Early morning**

-Sentry, realizing that one of the Demons is acting on his own agenda, sends Masa and Dorumon to terminate the Demon Kasumi.

-Mitsuo, Shiro, Akira, Gabe find Kasumi on a rampage in Neodigital. They want to test Jyou's Digital Encephalon Reader, or DER. Orochimon proves too powerful, and would have killed them, but Masa and Dorumon arrive.

-A fierce battle erupts, but when Masa discovers her family name, he flees with the DER. Kasumi escapes as well.

**October 15, 2028**

-Kasumi spends nine days with the Demon Generals.

-With Tsuragi and Ami still recovering from Shiro's attack, Masanori puts Shinji in charge of the invasion of Tokyo.

-Sentry sends Masa and Mixcoatl to terminate Kasumi when the Demons invade.

-Gabe tells Asami that Kasumi betrayed them, Lizzie argues with him, telling him that just because he doesn't like her, doesn't mean everyone else does.

-Gabe remembers Angela and when Azala murdered the rest of the American team.

**October 16, 2028**

-The Demons begin their assault of Tokyo.

**-**Gabe, Masa, Mixcoatl and Asami confront Shinji, Yuuji and Kasumi. Shinji tricks Asami into giving herself up to save Kasumi, which Shinji does not do.

-Masa attempts to use the DER, but it malfunctions, pulling inside Gabe and Mixcoatl as well.

-The Uni Demon Khatsuharu and his Blimpmon attack the center of Tokyo, while Chiaka and her Locomon travel to the DATS building along their private train tracks. Traveling with her, is Masanori and Dexdorumon.

-Inside of the DER, Gabe and Mixcoatl confront each of Kasumi's negative personalities. They are also given glimpses of their pasts: Gabe's battle with Azala, and Mixcoatl losing his step-sister, Maria.

-While Mixcoatl keeps Shinji and Yuuji busy, Gabe's Kotemon evolves to Mystimon and they defeat and bind each of Kasumi's negative personalities, putting the _real_ Kasumi back in control.

-Kasumi and Orochimon kills Yuuji and Shinji flees. Mixcoatl and Masa leave as well.

-Upon Khatsuharu and Blimpmon's defeat, they crash into a major power facility, cutting off power for most of Tokyo, including the DATS building. Chiaka and Locomon are able to sneak into the building.

-Masanori is able to take the Flail of Chance and Dexdorumon evolves to Dexdorughoramon. He destroys Chiaka and Locomon in a fight of power and escapes

**October 17, 2028**

-With most of the city damaged from the attack, Sentry, disguised as Kazuki, now has the leverage to shut down DATS.

-Kasumi, depressed over her past deeds as a fully controlled Demon, attempts to kill herself, but is stopped by Akira.

-Shiro begins to research why Asami was taken by the Demons, and comes to the conclusion that she has both Fate and Chance.

-The DATS Children decide to enter Neodigital and rescue Asami themselves, since their parents cannot. They elected Shiro to be their leader.

-Yuuto, the Decima Demon tasked with bringing Asami to the Demon's base, finds that Asami's powers prevent her from crossing into the Demon's domain. He leaves the unconscious Asami and Leormon outside the boundaries while he goes for help.

-Asami and Leormon wake up and they escape.

**October 18, 2028**

-The group of DATS children are split up during a battle with the Demons.

**October 19, 2028**

-Kenji, Lizzie, and Akira encounter Masa, Mixcoaatl and Adan, who are investigating the Temple of the First Chosen. They encounter the first of the Ancients: Ancient Beetmon, Ancient Irismon, Ancient Megatherimon.

-Akira empowers Kenji and Lizzie to evolve them to Fully Evolveds. They defeat the three Ancients and reach the cavern where the First Chosen banished Juro.

-Shinji leads Tsuragi and Ami to find the escaped Asami. They encounter Shiro, Gabe, Yasu, Eliane and Kasumi instead. Shinji reveals that he turned Kasumi to a Demon because her desire to evolve would show him the way to evolve to Mega. He manipulates Kasumi into killing Ami, which sends her over the edge, and she and Orochimon evolve together into Lucemon Satan Mode.

-The DATS Agents try to stop Lucemon Satan Mode, but he is too powerful. Asami and Leormon arrive, and Asami tries to fight, but her Claymore begins to glow. Asami manages to get through to Kasumi.

-Lucemon Satan Mode leads them to the Demons Base. Masanori arrives to stop them. He evolves to Dexdorughoramon and kills Kasumi and Yuki Agumon.

-Masanori takes Asami back to the Demons Base.

-Masanori gives Asami to Tsuragi and Shinji to guard while he and Araki prepare to take Asami's powers.

-Shiro's group arrives to rescue Asami. Gabe saves Asami and they share their first kiss.

-It does not last long, as Tsuragi and Shinji follow Kasumi's example and give into their feelings, evolving to Demon and Barbamon.

-Shiro and Gabe are able to use their weapons and evolve to Duftmon X and Dynasmon X.

-During the battle, Demon switches sides and helps to defeat Barbamon. Demon dies from his injuries.

-With both Gabe and Shiro unconscious, the girls move to a hidden area in the dark forest.

**October 20, 2028**

-Asami, Yasu and Eliane recuperate with the unconscious Shiro and Gabe, waiting for a rescue.

-Kasumi awakes in the Digital Limbo and is sentenced by Annubimon to the Digital Underworld due to her anger, envy and pride during life. She is attacked by Asro and Shinji before being rescued by Maria, Catherine, Iduia and Keeya. They have a plan to send Kasumi back to the Living realm by expunging her demon side.

-Masanori and Araki send their only two remaining Demons after Asami: Neo and Rei.

-Kenji, Lizzie, Akira, Masa, Mixcoatl and Adan, while investigating the Temple of the First Chosen, awaken two more Ancient Warriors, Ancient Troiamon and Ancient Wisemon. The two Ancients chase them back to the surface.

-Neo and Rei arrive at Asami, Yasu and Eliane's camp.

-Maria's group, with the addition of Tsuragi, bring Kasumi to a cavern in the Digital Underworld where hypocrites are forced to face themselves. Cahiti leads a force of Demons to attack them, and they force Kasumi inside. She encounters each of her negative personalities, each one a creation of the inferiority she felt towards the other DATS children. Once she realized she had to stop comparing herself to others, the negative personalities were re-integrated within her being. The Gift of Demons then had nothing on which to power itself, and so Kasumi was returned back to normal. Yuki Agumon evolved to her true Fully Evolved form, Aero V-dramon.

-Sentry, in disguise as Kazuki, the Minister of Finance, forces Taichi to give up the DATS Agents list in return for reopening DATS.

-Kenji's group and the Hunters defeat the Ancients, but receive Eliane's distress call. Masa leaves the Hunters to go with DATS.

-Eliane and Yasu, due to their friendship, are able to get their partners to Jogress to the Fully Evolved form of Machgaogamon to battle Rei and Lotusmon. Asami's Leormon evolves to his Fully Evolved form of Grappleomon.

-Kasumi's discarded negative emotions are taken by GranDracmon and formed into Sakumi, the Demon Princess. She is sent back to the Living World to aid Sentry and Masanori.

-Kasumi and Aero V-dramon fight their way past Juro and GranDracmon to return to the Living World as well. They immediately set out to aide Asami, Yasu and Eliane.

-They arrive just in time and defeat Lotusmon. Neo, enraged at the loss of his sister, jumps into battle with his Arkadimon. Asami relinquishes her Claymore of Wind to Kasumi, and she and Yuki Agumon evolve to Alforce V-dramon X to defeat him.

-Kenji's group arrives, but so does Masanori and Araki. Asami cannot stand the thought of any others hurt because of her, and allows them to siphon her powers of Fate and Chance.

-Masanori reveals to Masahiko that they are twins and that their father is Lord Sentry.

**Night**

-While the others return to Earth, Taichi and Yamato meet Masa, Akira and Yasu at the Hunters Base. Inside, they rescue Masa's mother, revealed to them to be Miayag, as well as discover that Sentry is Schmidt.

**October 21, 2028**

-The Hunters begin to exterminate DATS Agents around the world.

-Taichi orders Kazuki to met him at the DATS building to confront him about the killings.

-Miayag leads Masa, Asami, Hikari, Gabe, after Masanori and Araki, who are going to free Dagomon, the Agent of Destruction.

-Ancient Mermaimon and Ancient Volcamon follow them, and Miayag, Hikari and Gabe fight them.

-Masa and Masanori battle each other, while Araki uses Asami's power to augment her Power of Fate and Masanori's Power of Chance to summon Dagomon.

-Anna, Aleksey, Lynna, Dingo and Joey are on their way back to Tokyo to escape the Hunters, when they encounter the Hunter Rudra. Aleksey and Joey evolve their partners to Shawujinmon and fight him off.

-Mixcoatl, Adan, Ines and Bolades attack DATS and are repelled by Kasumi, Akira, Yasu and Eliane.

-Shiro and Kenji investigate a disturbance in the Tokyo Bay. It turns out to be Ancient Sphinxmon, who begins to attack DATS.

-Kasumi convinces Mixcoatl to help them. Adan orders Ines and Bolades to get the Shield of Metal and the Bow of Forest from DATS and power them so that two more Royal Knights can appear.

-Akira and Adan, because of their similar feelings towards their older siblings, evolve their partners to Rizegreymon.

-Kazuki reveals himself to be Sentry.

-Dynasmon X defeats the two Ancients.

-Masa and Dorughoramon defeat Dexdorughoramon and take the Flail of Chance from him.

-Masanori uses Asami's Power of Chance, condensed into a crystal, to evolve to Dexmon.

-Masa and Dorumon use Asami's Power of Fate, condensed into a crystal, to evolve to Alphamon.

-Asami and Leormon use the Flail of Chance to evolve to Rhodo Knightmon.

-Mitsuo uses the Shield of Metal and Kenji uses the Bow of Forest to evolve to Dukemon and Sleipmon. Mixcoatl and Patamon use the Spear of Earth to evolve to Cranniumon. These three Royal Knights, along with Alforce V-dramon X, Duftmon X and Omegamon X, destroy Ancient Sphinxmon.

-Dagomon realizes how long it has been since he was imprisoned, uses his connection to Yddrisil to gain control of the Knights.

**October 22, 2028**

-Ancient Greymon and Ancient Garurumon arrive on Earth and begin to destroy cities with high populations of Chosen.

-Dagomon sends the Royal Knights to major cities around Earth. He demands the surrender of the Earth governments, or the Knights will begin to destroy the cities.

-Adan, Ines and Bolades agree to help DATS in order to save Mixcoatl. Sora and Noriko send teams of DATS Agents to each city to try and stop the Knights: Mimi and Michael in New York to stop Dynasmon X, Jyou and Anna in Moscow to stop Alforce V-Dramon X, Dingo and Lynna in Beijing to stop Duftmon X, Joey and Aleksey in Cario to stop Sleipmon, Bolades and Ines in Washington D.C. to stop Alphamon, Yasu and Eliane in Paris to stop RhodoKnightmon, Hikari and Lizzie in Brazil with Dukemon, Adan and Akira in Mexico City with Cranniumon. Sora, Noriko and Miayag stay behind to act as leaders.

-Alphamon and RhodoKnightmon disregard Dagomon's deadline and attack the DATS teams that arrive before them. Bolades and Ines are able to get through to Alphamon and he slide evolves to Dorughoramon, breaking Dagomon's hold over him. They fly to engage RhodoKnightmon, and are able to defeat her, regressing her to Asami and Leormon. The new team then move to attack Dagomon.

-Lord Sentry arrives in Dagomon's base. They discuss a partnership but Dagomon refuses the offer. Sentry leaves, but not before stealing a sample of Dagomon's data. Dagomon, now fearful that others will discover his base, sends Omegamon X to attack DATS in Tokyo.

-Miayag appears before the two Ancients and offers them a deal: if they stop attacking cities and killing Chosen, she will arrange for them to battle Taichi and Yamato the next day. They agree.

-Masa's group arrives at Dagomon's base. He and Dorumon evolve to Dorughoramon and battles Dagomon. He does fairly well, but soon loses his advantage, as Dagomon reveals that as long as he is connected to Yddrisil, he will be immortal. All over the Earth, the DATS Agents begin to lose against the Royal Knights, especially in Tokyo, where Garudamon and Ladydevimon are severely outclassed.

-Just as hope is lost, Asami's power of Chance manages to block Dagomon's connection with Yddrisil, allowing Dorughoramon to delete him. With Dagomon gone, his control over the Knights is broken, freeing them all.

-Sentry and the Hunters have been monitoring the battle, and trace Dagomon's last transmission. They now know where Yddrisil is located.

**-**The Royal Knights are brought back to DATS's hospital to heal. Mixcoatl, not wanting to be a 'DATS prisoner,' orders Adan, Ines and Bolades to leave with him. They do not want to leave DATS, so Mixcoatl escapes by himself.

-He returns to the Hunters base and Lord Sentry reveals that he wants control of Yddrisil so he can bring GranDracmon back from the dead. Mixcoatl tries to stop him, but Sentry severely defeats him and leaves him for dead.

-Kasumi, Adan and Akira come to save him, but are forced to fight Sakumi and her Orochimon, whom they defeat, but flee before she can mount a counter-attack.

**October 23, 2028**

-The Hunters locate Yddrisil and Sentry uses Dagomon's data, downloaded into his systems, to gain entrance to it. Once inside, he orders that all governments of Earth surrender to the new ruler, GranDracmon.

-The Royal Knights leave to confront the Hunters inside Yddrisil. Kasumi manages to convince Mixcoatl to put his angst over Maria's death behind him. She confesses to him that she tried to kill herself after becoming a Demon, that she knows what it's like when negative feelings and memories are overwhelming. They kiss, and Mixcoatl agrees to help DATS. He gives up the Hunter Mixcoatl, and returns to his true name, Lino.

-With the Knights gone. Sakumi attacks the DATS building. Akira and Adan are able to delete her.

-The Knights enter Yddrisil and are separated. Craniumon, Alforce V-dramon X, Dynasmon X, Rhodo Knightmon, Sleipmon, Alphamon, Duftmon X, Dukemon battle Rudra, Artemis, Hoakah, Araki, Nanook, Dexmon, Orion and Flidais respectively. Each Hunter tries to taunt their Knight opponents with memories of their past mistakes and negative personae, but each Knight overcomes it and kills the Hunters, but they fall in the process. Only Rhodo Knight and Alphamon survive. When Alphamon defeats Dexmon, he takes the Crystal of Chance that had empowered him.

-Omegamon X fights and defeats Sentry as he attempts to use Yddrisil's power to open a gate to the Digital Underworld and bring GranDracmon back to this world. Thinking their mission is over, Taichi, Yamato, Asami, Masa and their partners begin to head back. They are unaware that Sentry was successful, and GranDracmon, Cahiti, Asro and Juro posses Sentry's body, bringing him back to life.

-On their way back down Yddrisil, Ancient Greymon and Ancient Garurumon arrive to commence their battle with Taichi and Yamato. Knowing that they still need time to recover, Masa and Asami fight them instead. It is a short battle, as the possessed Sentry arrives. He absorbs the data of the two Ancients. Sentry now has the data of: Wargreymon X, Metalgarurumon X, GranDracmon, Cahiti, Juro, Dagomon, Ancient Greymon, and Ancient Garurumon, giving him the power to evolve to Ogudomon. GranDracmon now takes direct control of Sentry's transformed body, leaving Sentry, Juro, Cahiti and Asro in need of physical bodies. Ogudomon absorbs Taichi, Yamato, Masa, Asami and their partners into his body.

-Ogudomon arrives on Earth and marches towards Tokyo. Akira leads the DATS Agents into battle against him.

-Inside Ogudomon, Taichi, Yamato, Masa and Asami are forced to fight the digital 'ghosts' of: Cahiti, Juro, Schmidt and Asro. They make short work of them, and Taichi and Yamato go to confront GranDracmon.

-Omegamon X and GranDracmon engage in a fierce battle. GranDracmon has simply grown too powerful. Omegamon X is close to defeat, but then uses the Crystal of Chance that GranDracmon had stolen from Alphamon and infects himself with the power of Chance, giving him all ten powers, evolving him to Susanoomon. Now in his perfect form, he easily defeats GranDracmon and destroys Ogudomon.

-The Royal Knights all manage to survive and return to Earth.

**October 27**

**-**With the Agents healed from their battle with the Hunters and Ogudomon, they return home.

-Taichi is offered the position of Minister of Defense, while Yamato is offered the position of supervisor officer for an astronaut program. Both decline, realizing that DATS is more important to their lives.


End file.
